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Background: Breast cancer and cervical cancer are the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in Indian women. As part of the Indian national guidelines for population-based cancer screening, village-level accredited social health activists (ASHAs) are the key mobilizers for encouraging women to undergo cervical and breast cancer screening. Assessing screening rates in these health workers themselves, can improve implementation of the national program by identifying some of the facilitators and barriers for screening., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among ASHAs in Puri, Odisha, in eight primary health centers (PHCs) randomly selected from 10 blocks. Of all 291 ASHAs in these PHCs, 242 (83.2%) who consented, were given a self-administered questionnaire to assess screening and its associated factors., Results: The screening rates for cervical and breast screening in ASHA workers were 9.1% (95% CI: 5.4%-12.8%, 22/242) and 14.9% (95% CI: 10.3%-19.5%, 36/242), respectively. Having undergone screening themselves, was associated with referring others for screening (83.3% of those screened for breast cancer had referred others vs 37.4% of those never screened; 86.4% of those screened for cervical cancer had referred others vs 34.1% of those never screened)., Conclusions: ASHAs reported low rates of screening for breast and cervical cancer. History of screening significantly influenced the referral of others for screening. ASHAs need to be empowered with both educational exposure as well as motivation for health-promoting activities for themselves, in order to increase population-wide screening coverage., (Copyright © 2025 Indian Journal of Cancer.)

Background: Globally, over 130 million babies are born every year, and almost 8 million die before their first birthday. Data on perinatal mortality (PM) and its various causes are lacking in many parts of the world including India., Objectives: This study aimed to estimate stillbirth (SB), early neonatal, and PM rates and its causes over the last decade in a rural development block, India., Materials and Methods: This is a nonconcurrent cohort study, analyzing the births, SBs, and early neonatal deaths between January 2008 and December 2017. The World Health Organization-PM classification was used to allocate causes of death as well as maternal risk factors. Birth weights were classified using standard growth charts., Results: There were 20,704 births after 28 weeks gestation and where the fetus weighed more than 1000 g of which 285 were SBs. There were 20,419 live births with 229 early neonatal deaths. There was a significant decline in PM rate from 32 per 1000 to 11 per 1000. There was a decrease in the small for gestational age fetuses from 20% to 12.5%. The main cause for SBs was antepartum hypoxia (34.4%) and fetal growth disorders (26.3%). Complications of intrapartum events contributed to 32.8% of the early neonatal deaths., Conclusion: Steady decline in PM rate and in the number of small for gestational age fetuses over 10 years was seen. Pregnancy registration and follow-up help in giving us a better understanding of the causes of PM., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Indian Journal of Community Medicine.)

Background: Early detection of breast and cervical cancer by organized screening has been found to reduce mortality rates in trials, but documentation of programme results and challenges is rarely done from non-trial settings. This study reports results of a population-based cancer control programme in a rural block in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, population size (116,085), targeting a population of 18,490 women aged 25-60 years, between November 2014 and March 2018., Methods: Village-based health education sessions were conducted by social workers, using trained volunteers and health workers to motivate eligible women. Screening was done at a secondary level hospital, by trained general physicians using visual inspection with acetic acid and clinical breast examination, followed by colposcopy, radiological imaging (breast) and biopsy as required., Results: A total of 8 volunteers and 17 health workers motivated women for 93 health education and screening sessions, in 46 out of 82 villages. While 1,890/18,490 (10.2 per cent) were screened for breast cancer, 1,783 (9.6 per cent) were screened for cervical cancer, with a yield of 3.4/1,000 for cervical pre-cancer/cancer. The main challenges were creating time for screening activities in a busy secondary hospital and difficulty in ensuring treatment completion of screen-detected cases., Conclusions: Population-based cancer screening programs can be offered by secondary hospitals that also run primary care services, to increase screening rates. Clear referral systems need to be established, bearing in mind that social factors, especially poor family support, may pose a threat to treatment, in spite of easy availability of cure., Competing Interests: None

Introduction: Vitamin B12 is essential for the normal functioning of the nervous system and for the formation of red blood cells. Vegetarian diet, low socioeconomic status, and social and religious reasons are known risk factors of its deficiency. Pregnant women, children, and the elderly are vulnerable groups. Indians have the highest prevalence, but the data among pregnant women in the rural setting is lacking., Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency and its associated factors among pregnant women of rural South India., Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to recruit consecutive 120 multigravida women with ≤20 weeks of gestation, attending the mobile doctor run clinic of Kaniyambadi block, Vellore. A structured questionnaire was administered, and blood samples were collected., Results: The prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency (<200 pgm/ml) and anemia (Hb ≤10.5 g/dL) was 55% and 17.5%, respectively. Only 11.7% were B12 deficient and anemic. Past history of abortion (odds ratio [OR] = 0.5), fatigue (OR = 0.4), and low B12 intake (OR = 2) was associated only in the bivariate analysis. First trimester (OR = 3.9) and obesity (OR = 9.6) were found to be independent risk factors of Vitamin B12 deficiency., Conclusion: Our study showed a high prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in pregnancy in rural India. Some risk factors were identified. However, studies with a higher sample size will be beneficial to study the associated risk factors better., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Community Medicine.)

Context: Domestic violence in Indian setting has five major components: emotional abuse; physical violence; sexual violence; honor killing; dowry-related abuse; and death., Aims: The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence and 3 of its components - emotional abuse, physical violence, and sexual violence among women in the age group of 15-49 years in Kaniyambadi block, rural Vellore, Tamil Nadu and to determine the risk factors of domestic violence., Settings and Design: A community-based cross-sectional study among women between the ages 15 and 49 years at the rural setting of Kaniyambadi block, Tamil Nadu., Results: Prevalence of all forms of domestic violence among women was 77.5%, and forty percent women were classified as having ever been subjected to severe domestic violence. Prevalence of physical violence was 65.8%, sexual abuse was 17.5%, and emotional abuse was 54.2%. Alcohol consumption by husband (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 4.37; 1.35, 14.18), controlling behavior by family member (AOR 8.07; 2.47, 26.37), and woman's employment (AOR 4.33; 1.27, 14.77) were statistically significant determinants of domestic violence. Three-fourth (73.1%) of the women felt that being subjected to domestic violence has affected their physical and mental health., Conclusions: The high prevalence of domestic violence in our community needs to be addressed as it has tacit implications on socioeconomic well-being, physical and mental health of a woman, her family, and thereby, society as a whole., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Indian Journal of Community Medicine.)