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Background: Gaps in Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment (TPT) cascade among household contacts (HHCs) of Tuberculosis patients are often attributed to the knowledge gaps among the HHCs. Objectives: To examine the factors affecting the uptake of IGRA testing among HHCs of drug-susceptible, pulmonary TB patients registered between January and May 2023 in Kolar district, Karnataka using Health Belief model and qualitative interviews. Methodology: Between April and June 2023, 196 HHCs of 70 registered TB patients were included in the mixed methods study. Using a four-point Likert scale questionnaire, adult HHCs were interviewed regarding their knowledge of TB disease, perceived susceptibility and severity of TB Infection, benefits, and barriers in testing for TB Infection (IGRA) and cues for action. Mann Whitney U test was used to compare the scores of those who were tested and those who were not. Further, reasons for not undergoing IGRA testing were also assessed qualitatively. Results: Among 196 HHC, 45 were children under 5 years. IGRA testing had been done in 47% (71/151) of eligible HHCs. Among adult HHC, self- perceived and Index case-attributed susceptibility score was significantly associated with testing; while perceived severity scores, knowledge and perceived benefit scores were not. Major themes in barriers to testing were misinterpretation of ‘TB Infection’, selective testing of HHCs, delayed contact tracing, lack of logistics and lack of planning and coordination. TPT was given to 84% (38/45) under five HHCs. Major cue for TPT provision was availability of TPT, followed by caregiver’s perceived susceptibility. Conclusion: Perceived susceptibility of HHC to TB infection is often misinformed. Group counselling of HHCs, provision of IGRA at doorstep and a well-established referral system will improve the uptake of IGRA.

Background: In a given geographic region, risk of new cases of COVID19 are driven by internal factors such as agent, host and environment characteristics, as well as external factors, such as population mobility and cross border transmission of disease. COVID19 control measures are best implemented when local governments and health teams are well aware of these internal and external risks. These risks are dynamic in nature and hence need to be reviewed at regular intervals. Objective: To develop a composite spatiotemporal Hazard Index comprising of three factors – presence of susceptible population, population density and presence of active cases with corresponding growth rates, to rank areas within an administrative boundary by their fortnightly risk of active COVID19 cases. Methods: Using Principal Component Analysis, the weights of each of these factors were determined and applied to transformed values of factors in the districts of Gujarat state for months of January to July 2021. Hazard Index thus obtained was used to rank the districts. Results: Spearman correlation between the Hazard Index and number of active cases 15 days later was moderate and significant (p

In Surat city of Gujarat, India, female sex workers (FSW)-based targeted interventions (TI) and community-based organizations (CBO) have been functioning since 1998. To document the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown (March-May 2020) on FSWs and STI/RTI/HIV preventive measures provided through TI/CBOs in Surat city, sequential, explanatory mixed-methods design was used. We conducted a desk review of quarterly programmatic data (2018-2020) of four TIs and CBOs and interviewed of 221 FSWs to study pre- and post-lockdown socioeconomic conditions, engagement in sex work, health services during COVID-19 lockdown and coping strategies, followed by five focus group discussions of FSWs and TI/CBO project staff. Study identified four major themes: reasons for working as a FSW during COVID-19 lockdown, entry to sex work during or as a consequence of lockdown, exploitation of FSWs during lockdown, and challenges of TI and CBOs in service provision in pandemic situation. Number of new registrations and STI/RTI detection increased immediately after lockdown. TI/CBO and other NGOs working for women welfare must build financial independence by training them in microeconomics, savings, and entrepreneurship. TI/CBO staff must also include experts in finance or business, trained in emergency response. The presence of strong TI/CBO network facilitated prompt delivery of essential commodities and financial aid to FSWs. However, laboratory and screening services were hampered, which warrants need of introducing self-test kits. In backdrop of decrease in condom distribution, continuation of sex work during lockdown and disruption of routine HIV/STI/RTI screening facilities, our study also recommends intensified HIV/STI/RTI screening among FSWs., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Sustainable Development Goal 12.8 aims to capacitate people with relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature. This study documents unique opportunities and challenges associated with engaging school children in Sustainable lifestyle for health., Objective: To identify opportunities and challenges in engaging school children in Sustainable Lifestyle., Methods: Participatory action research was designed through "Sustainable lifestyle Campaign" for 134 students (11-14 years) of 8 schools in Kolar city, Karnataka, India. The project was divided into Induction, Interaction and Reinforcement phases. Induction phase included Inter-school competitions (on themes of climate change and health). In Interaction phase, participants individually named various impacts of climate change and the climate change risk they perceived. In groups of 6-8, they then Free Listed and Pile sorted Climate change actions. In Reinforcement phase, interactive games and symposium on Climate Change and Sustainable Lifestyle were organized for the participants. At the end of Reinforcement phase, participants repeated the free listing and pile sorting exercise. Free lists were analyzed for frequencies and Smith's Salience Index, and the pile sorts using non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (non-metric MDS) using Anthropac ver 4.98., Results: The participants named "Cancer" (65%) and "Asthma" (50%) as health impacts of climate change while other impacts were largely unknown. Major themes, such as "Perceived risk", "Eagerness to engage in climate action", "Incompleteness of information" and "Lack of autonomy" were identified. Reinforcement phase improved frequency and Smith's salience (>0.8) of individual level climate change actions across groups. Non-metric MDS showed that rationale of pile sorting shifted from "Source-based" sorting to "Level of Action" based sorting after the Reinforcement., Conclusions: Existing knowledge of participants regarding sustainable lifestyle is theoretical with insufficient emphasis on health. Sustainable lifestyle awareness campaigns focusing children must have provisions for family and peer involvement to sustain the individual or family level actions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) of India is implementing tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) for all household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary tuberculosis patients (index patients) aged <5 years and those HHCs aged >5 years with TB infection (TBI). We conducted an explanatory mixed-methods study among index patients registered in the Kolar district, Karnataka during April-December 2022, to assess the TPT cascade and explore the early implementation challenges for TPT provision. Of the 301 index patients, contact tracing home visits were made in 247 (82.1%) instances; a major challenge was index patients' resistance to home visits fearing stigma, especially among those receiving care from the private sector. Of the 838 HHCs, 765 (91.3%) were screened for TB; the challenges included a lack of clarity on HHC definition and the non-availability of HHCs during house visits. Only 400 (57.8%) of the 692 eligible HHCs underwent an IGRA test for TBI; the challenges included a shortage of IGRA testing logistics and the perceived low risk among HHCs. As HHCs were unaware of their IGRA results, a number of HHCs actually eligible for TPT could not be determined. Among the 83 HHCs advised of the TPT, 81 (98%) initiated treatment, of whom 63 (77%) completed treatment. Though TPT initiation and completion rates are appreciable, the NTEP needs to urgently address the challenges in contact identification and IGRA testing.

Objective: This study aimed to document caregivers' perceptions and preferences regarding coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) vaccination among children., Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed 272 caregivers with 347 children (aged 1-18 years) attending a subdistrict rural hospital in February-March 2022., Results: Vaccine acceptance was high (93.4%). Although fear of side effects was the most common reason not to vaccinate, a higher proportion of caregivers willing to vaccinate children had consulted healthcare personnel to clarify queries related to side effects. Familiar vaccination sites, where children had previously received routine immunization (RI), such as government hospitals, and Anganwadis (community-based childcare centers) where vaccines were available free of cost on all working days, were the most preferred for COVID-19 vaccination, followed by schools. Only 5.5% of the caregivers preferred private hospitals. Vaccination at home was desired for chronically ill and out-of-school children. RI as per age was associated with the willingness to vaccinate. In addition to protection from COVID-19, other benefits identified by willing parents were being able to attend schools, recreation, and travel., Conclusions: Out-of-school children, children left or missed out in RI, and children with chronic illness can be at risk of being left out for COVID-19 vaccination and can be included by expanding vaccination services house-to-house as in adults. Media engagement and communication must be interactive to address issues, such as fear of side effects, and promote additional benefits of vaccination., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (©Copyright 2022 by the Istanbul Medeniyet University / Medeniyet Medical Journal published by Galenos Publishing House.)

Background: In a close knit congregation such as prison, Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV can be major health problems. However, their prevalence in Indian prisons is under reported. This study aimed at adopting a camp based, active case finding approach to identify cases of TB, HIV and at risk prisoners in a central prison of South Gujarat., Methods: A multidisciplinary team of public health experts, pulmonologists, social workers and lab technicians conducted a week-long camp to screen 1665 prisoners for TB using clinical examination, sputum smear for AFB, CBNAAT and Chest X-Ray and for HIV through Rapid Antigen Testing., Results: Majority of participants (1392, 84%) were under trail prisoners, having spent an average of 1.4 years in prison. About 2.9% of participants had previous history of TB, of whom only 59% had completed treatment. About 14% of participants were underweight. Weight reduction was found to be significant in first five years of imprisonment. Of all participants, 3.6% were found to have diabetic range of blood sugar. Seven new active, drug sensitive pulmonary TB cases and three new cases of HIV infection were identified. All new cases of TB, HIV and increased blood sugar levels were linked to treatment., Conclusion: Camp based approach is effective in active case finding of pulmonary TB and predisposing factors such as malnourishment, Diabetes and HIV among prisoners. Routine screening of all prisoners at the time of entry and monthly thereafter in a camp based approach should be adopted to identify TB and at risk prisoners., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors have none to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Tuberculosis Association of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In India, the nationwide lockdown was implemented from March to May 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 2020, there were 13.08 lakh PLHIV availing ART free of cost from Government run ART centres, To maintain the continuum of care, National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) of India adopted Multi Months Dispensation (MMD) through ART centres and Community Dispensation of ART through the various Targeted Interventions (TI) and Community Based Organizations (CBO). A mixed methods study was designed, with desk review of programmatic data, semi qualitative interviews of 250 PLHIV and 15 In-Depth Interviews of ART centre and TI/CBO staff to document the process, strengths and challenges of these strategies in Surat city of South Gujarat. While administrative, technical and networking strengths were documented, manpower constraints, interrupted laboratory services, migration and relatively passive role of PLHIV in availing services were major challenges described in this study among several others.