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Background & objectives: Hypertension is a health problem of global priority. Screening and early diagnosis is important to plan appropriate interventions. The present study objectives were to screen the urban population aged 30 yr and above and diagnose for hypertension and to identify the factors associated with poor screening for hypertension, if any. Methods: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in urban field practice area of a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry, India, among individuals aged 30 yr and above. Individuals were asked if they have tested themselves for hypertension in the past two years. Pretested questionnaire was used for data collection. Data collection was done during regular working time of the health centre. All eligible participants from consecutive households were included till the required sample size of 394 was achieved. Results: Of the 394 individuals interviewed, 252 (64%) had undergone screening for hypertension. The prevalence of self-reported hypertension among those screened was 26.2 per cent with no significant gender-wise differences. Screening for hypertension was better among females (71.6%) as compared to males (55.2%). Population who were at a higher risk of not getting screened for hypertension were relatively younger (30-44 yr) individuals and males. Interpretation & conclusions: The prevalence of self-reported hypertension among those screened was 26.2 per cent [95% confidence interval (21.1-31.9)]. Screening needs to be targeted more towards males and younger population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this prospective cohort of 2006 individuals with drug-susceptible tuberculosis in India, 18% had unfavorable treatment outcomes (4.7% treatment failure, 2.5% recurrent infection, 4.1% death, 6.8% loss to follow-up) over a median 12-month follow-up period. Age, male sex, low education, nutritional status, and alcohol use were predictors of unfavorable outcomes., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. The authors: No reported conflicts of interest. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Tamil Nadu comes under group I high-prevalence state, with <1% prevalence of HIV infection in ante-natal women but above 5% prevalence in high-risk group. One of the ways to control HIV/AIDS in India is through prevention of parent to child transmission (PPTCT), the success of which lies in the utilization of services., Materials and Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the status of utilization of PPTCT services by rural HIV-positive mothers, in the Gingee Block of Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. All the mothers who tested positive between June 2006 and May 2010 were interviewed in-depth using an interview guide., Results: There were 21 HIV-positive mothers during this period, 19 of whom gave consent for the study. Thirteen out of 19 mothers (68%) received Nevirapine prophylaxis, while 15 out of 20 infants born to these mothers (75%) received Nevirapine syrup. During the study period, it was found that 61% of the mothers were not compliant to antiretroviral therapy (ART)., Conclusion: Poor access to the ART centers was reflected in majority of the cases (79%). There is a pressing need to improve access to quality PPTCT services especially during the intranatal period.

A tsunami struck the coast of Tamilnadu and Pondicherry on 26 December 2004. Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, (JIPMER) in Pondicherry played a vital role in providing medical relief. The experiences from the relief activities revealed areas of deficiency in medical education in regards to disaster preparedness. A qualitative study using focus group discussion was employed to find the lacunae in skills in managing medical relief measures. Many skills were identified; the most important of which was addressing the psychological impact of the tsunami on the victims. Limited coordination and leadership skills were also identified. It is recommended that activity-based learning can be included in the curriculum to improve these skills.

Portfolio-based learning is recognized in medical education. It helps students to assess themselves as per the key learning objectives and outcomes expected out of them. The faculty could also get feedback regarding individual student's progress toward learning outcomes and facilitate the students achieve the same. This article addresses the process of portfolio development and assesses from students feedbacks, if portfolio-based learning is an improvement over record-based study in community-based field studies. The results of this study shows that involving students in framing objectives, developing a mechanism for self-introspection and self-assessment by the students and a mechanism by which faculty can monitor each student's progress toward the defined objectives can significantly enhance the learnability of the students.