Search

Introduction: Globally, anaemia affects 1.62 billion people, corre- sponding to 24.8% of the population and South Asia contributes the highest proportion. As awareness about anaemia and its im- plication on the health has increased, nations and organizations worldwide are taking steps to combat the problem. This study was formulated with the objective to assess the prevalence of anaemia and the socio demographic, dietary factors associated with anaemia among adolescent boys and girls in a better per- forming coastal district of India. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in the rural field practice area enrolling 526 adolescent. A pretested, validated semi-structured questionnaire was used. Hemoglobin estimation was done using Hemo cue analyser. Result: The total prevalence of anaemia among boys and girls was 30.7% and 45.7% respectively (p

Background: Globally 10% of the world’s population is elderly and is expected to increase to 21% by 2051. The primary health care system is not geared up to meet the future challenges arising from the increased demands of the geriatric population. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among elderly residing in the rural field practice area of a medical college in coastal Karnataka. Detailed information about socio – demographic profile, activities of daily living and dietary pattern was collected by personal interviews. Results: Of the 247 participants, 172 (70%) were females and 75 (30%) were males. There was no impairment in performing activities of daily living among 93.5% of the population. Half of the study participants (51.8%) were aware of social security schemes available for the elderly. About 119 (48.2%) were insured for health whereas only 22 (8.9%) were insured for life. The diet was deficient in protein and calories among nearly 40% of the elderly. Conclusions: Among the elderly only 6.5% of them had impairment in performing activities of daily living. Over 65% of the individuals were socially secure. Two-fifths of the elderly were consuming a diet deficient both in proteins and calories.

Introduction/Back ground: The period of adolescence is associated with marked physical as well as emotional changes which make them vulnerable to many problems. Adolescent’s relation with parents, friends and school teachers can influence how they per- ceive life situations and can have great impact on their behaviors. Materials and methods: This cross sectional study was done in 3 urban and 2 rural schools of Udupi taluk consisting of 630 male adolescents studying in class 8th-10th using a validated tool. Results: About 71.4% male adolescents felt that, they could almost always talk closely with their mothers compared to their fathers. Most of the adolescents reported of positive atmosphere at home. Nearly 94.6% of them could seek their friends’ help regarding studies whenever they needed. Majority of students (71.9%) re- ported that they could seek advice from at least one teacher at school whenever they have problem. Conclusion: The present study showed that male adolescents re- late more closely with their mothers compared to their fathers. Though majority of the students experienced favorable environ- ment at home, a considerable proportion witnessed family prob- lems. A small section of students felt that they didn’t have any teacher with whom they can share their problems.

Introduction: Tobacco consumption is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world. This habit is increas- ingly being taken up at an early age. Various factors have been implicated for the uptake of the habit including inadequate knowledge and unfavorable attitude. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban schools in a town, located in South-west Karnataka. The students belonged to 8th and 9th grade and were aged between 13 to 15 years. A self-administered questionnaire adapted from Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) was used for the study.. Result: A total of 1271 students participated in the study with equal participation from boys and girls. The mean knowledge score for the study participants was 14.57 ± 4.0. Approximately 36% of the students had poor knowledge and was significantly less in females compared to males. The knowledge score was signifi- cantly different with respect to parent’s occupation, their favorable or unfavorable attitude towards not using tobacco products and presence of a smoking family member. Conclusion: In spite of several measures taken to improve the knowledge regarding tobacco hazards and laws among the ado- lescents, there are various barriers which need to be addressed for effectiveness of these interventions.

Introduction: Utilization of services during pregnancy will lead to further utilization of additional maternal services. The utilization of these services is not universal which was reflected during National Family Health Survey 3. Objective: To evaluate the utilization of antenatal care services among mothers in south India. Methods: The present community based cross sectional study was conducted among rural mothers who had delivered one year back and accompanied their children for immunization at the rural health centres. A semi-structured Proforma was used and detailed information regarding sociodemographic details and utilization of antenatal services was collected. Results: The study included a total of 300 antenatal mothers. Majority of the antenatal mothers had their antenatal checkups in private set-ups (n=257, 85.7%) and had their first antenatal check up in the first trimester (n=262, 85.3%).Around 95% of the study subjects had consumed more than 100 Iron and Folic Acid tablets. Conclusion: Utilization of antenatal care is much higher in the present study as compared to other available literature for the entire country. Consistent and focused efforts are needed to sustain and consolidate the good coverage and utilization of antenatal services.