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Background: Occupational Health Psychology is the application of Psychology to improve the quality of work life, to protect, promote the safety, health, and well-being of workers. Occupational Health Psychology is to promote a happy and healthy workplace that benefits all employees. Aim and objectives: The study objectives were to estimate the stress level in health care professionals, job satisfaction attributes, coping mechanisms and different aspects of Professional quality of life in health care professionals. Materials and Methods: Study Design: Multi Method Design (Multiple approach Design) Cross sectional study of 228 participants. Solomon 4 group Design: Total 64 participants. Different health care professionals viz Allopathic doctors, Physiotherapists, Nurses and Community Health Officers (CHOs) were study participants. 9 scales/questionnaires along with a sociodemographic and a qualitative proforma were finalized to achieve the objectives. Results: Overall, the anxiety score was 9.38. The Post Hoc (LSD) test revealed, that the anxiety scores were significantly different for the Doctors and Physiotherapists group. Overall, the perceived stress score (Perceived stress scale- PSS score) was 18.40 and (Perceived stress Questionnaire-PSQ score) was .42. Resilient coping (Brief Resilient Coping Score-BRCS) and Flourishing scores were 14.81 and 46.25 Conclusion: A primary scientific assessment is required to study socio demographic correlates in Occupational health psychology. Once these are assessed, some intervention can be planned suitable to the individual and organizational needs to increase the resilient coping and reduce the burnout which may lead to flourishing. Key words: Occupational Health Psychology, PSQ, PSS, FS, BRCS, Work satisfaction .

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has been shown to be associated with a lot of neurological complications, of whom Guillain‐Barre syndrome (GBS) is an important post‐infectious consequentiality. More than 220 patients with GBS have been reported thus far. We intend to share our experience with five patients of GBS where one of them had severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This is the first‐ever report demonstrating the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in the CSF of an adult patient; a similar occurrence has recently been described in a pediatric patient. We wish to emphasize the fact that commonly GBS occurs as a result of a post‐infectious process but in a few cases where the symptoms of COVID‐19 and GBS occur concurrently, corresponding to the viremic phase, separate pathogenesis needs to be thought of. This para‐infectious nature is exemplified by the presence of virus in the cerebrospinal fluid of one of our patients. We review the neuroinvasive potential of SARS‐Cov‐2 in this regard and draw parallels with Cytomegalovirus, Zika virus, and Human Immunodeficiency virus‐associated occurrences of GBS.

Context: The nature of the work in saw mills carries a huge risk as the workers are exposed to various life-threatening hazards. Aims: This study was conducted to know the “Work place Wellbeing” of the saw mill workers, occupational Hazards identification and Risk assessment (HIRA) including hazard communication, occupational accidents, injuries and diseases. Settings and Design: The study was a cross sectional study amongst workers of saw mills. Methods and Material: A total of 219 saw mill workers were interviewed. “Work place wellbeing”, was studied by using the “Workplace Wellbeing Questionnaire - Black Dog Institute” which includes four areas of workplace wellbeing viz. (1) Work satisfaction, (2) Organizational respect for the employee, (3) Employer care, and (4) Intrusion of work into private life. Reliability analysis was done and Cronbach's alpha was found. Association was found between the work place wellbeing and other demographic and occupational variables. Statistical Analysis Used: Proportions and Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Scores of all the participants fall in the medium scale for “work satisfaction”. For “respect”, 93.6% fall in the medium scale. In “employer care” 97.7% fall in medium category. All the workers scored in the medium scale for the “intrusion in private life”. None of the scores were in low scale for any domain. Injury as an event was reported by 8.22%. Specific disease prevalence was highest for back ache as 72.1%. Hazard communication was done in 40% workers. Conclusions: We found poor working positions at work place and they did suffer from various medical morbidities at the work place.

Background: Accredited social health activist (ASHA) has the pivotal role to play in the whole design and strategy of national rural health mission (NRHM). The performance of ASHA is, therefore, critical for the success of NRHM and hence of the health improvement strategy of the government of India. Objectives: (1) To evaluate the knowledge and performance of ASHA. (2) To assess the factors affecting these two attributes of ASHA. Methods: Ten ASHAs were randomly selected from each of the eight administrative blocks of Anand District. Thus, a total of 80 ASHAs participated in the study. Knowledge of ASHAs was assessed by computing knowledge score which included 15 questions, while the performance was assessed through performance score which included 17 indicators. Each ASHA was ranked “Poor,” “Average,” and “Good” based on the performance score. Results: Out of 80 ASHAs, 49 (61%) were in the age group of 30–40 years. Majority of ASHAs(68%) belonged to other backward class (OBC). 73 (91%) ASHAs had education up to at least secondary level. 65 (81%) ASHAs were working for more than 4 years. About 84% of ASHAs had knowledge score between 12 and 15. Nearly 51% of ASHAs ranked average in performance, while 49% ranked poor. None of the ASHAs ranked good. Knowledge score and performance ranks were not associated with age, caste, education, and duration of service of ASHAs. Performance ranks were found to be significantly associated only with time lapse since the last training received. Conclusion: To strengthen the grass root cader of ASHAs, their evaluation should be conducted regularly. Additional refresher training should be provided to ASHAs with low knowledge and performance scores so that the engagement of rural community with the health system can be improved.

Background: Smartphone use is escalating among adolescents, thereby increasing the risk of its addiction among them. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of smartphone use and its addiction among adolescents in 16–19 years of age group. Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among 496 students in the age group of 16–19 years. Relevant information was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and the Smartphone Addiction (SA) Scale. Chi-square test and logistic regression were applied to study the association between independent and dependent variables. Results: Smartphone use was found to be 83.9%. It was associated with age, area of residence, discipline, use of hands-free kit, and parents' education and income. The smartphone addiction rate was reported to be 37%. It was found to be associated with age, area of residence, place of education, duration of smartphone use, daily hours of use, perception that cellphone use is harmful to health, and parents' education and income. Conclusion: A high rate of SA among adolescents warrants effective strategies at local, state, and national level to address this growing health problem in this population.

Basilar artery thrombosis is a rare and potentially fatal cause of posterior circulation stroke. Among the various etiologies, hyperhomocysteinemia is crucial and often under diagnosed, especially in developing countries. Authors describe the case of a 15-year male who presented with 1-day history of headache, vomiting and altered mental status. Non-contrast CT Head revealed multiple acute infarcts in posterior circulation of brain. Laboratory investigations revealed hyperhomocysteinemia. Contrast enhanced MRI Brain showed acute infarcts in bilateral cerebellar hemispheres, pons, midbrain, medulla and vermis. MR venography was suggestive of Basilar Artery thrombosis. Thrombolysis was not done due to delayed presentation; hence authors resorted to conservative management with folic acid and vitamin B supplementation. The patient showed gradual clinical improvement and had complete clinical recovery during follow up visit. A favorable outcome with conservative management of basilar artery thrombosis is rarely reported in literature.

The current article is about the background knowledge of corona, various epidemiological definitions and different strategies adopted to prevent and control corona infection. How the preventive measures are applied and what is epidemiological basis behind these measures is the core of the article. The article also mentioned the variations in mortality pattern and goes on defining important indicators as case-fatality ratio, deaths/1 lakh population and the relevance of both in the current situation of corona infection. In the article, important terms such as different types of cases in corona infection, basic reproduction number, effective reproduction number, and their epidemiological significance in corona infection, herd immunity, and herd immunity threshold are discussed. The importance of lockdown as a preventive measure, enforcement of epidemic disease act 1897 and its amendment, disaster management act 2005, social distancing, cough etiquette, and others are highlighted.

Background and Aims: Faith healing is a method of treating illnesses through the exercise of faith rather than medical methods. The current study was done with the objective to find out demographic variables of faith healers, various conditions for which the people approach them, various practices and processes used and to look for scope of integrated approach to healthcare with faith healers. Settings and Design: RHTC village was a sub center village of PHC Morad. Hence, for the study, all the villages which comes under PHC Morad were selected. The design of the study was a cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: The study was a cross sectional study where faith healers were interviewed based on a semi structured questionnaire comprising of both close and open-ended questions. Statistical Analysis Used: Absolute numbers. Results: Different reasons for which the persons usually came for ranged from supernatural possession, unemployment, family problems etc., and various different processes were used by these healers to solve the problems included giving charms and amulets, personal sacrifices like “baddha” (Nischay/praan) and many others. Conclusion: The study concludes that faith healers in many conditions and situations became the first point of contact as the faith of the community in these faith healers is deeply rooted.

Context: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the musculoskeletal disorders that is often described as an occupational hazard, including occupations involving computer use. However, clear consensus is lacking as far as the association between the use of computer and risk of possible CTS is concerned. Aim: To assess the association between CTS and computer use. Settings and Design: A case-control study. Materials and Methods: A sample size of 411 (137 cases and 274 controls) was calculated using Epi Info (version 6). Thus, 137 confirmed cases of CTS and 274 controls (matched for age and sex) were studied using a structured questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval was calculated between the two groups to analyze the association. For control of confounding factors, logistic regression analysis was done. Results: Current use of computer was found to be significantly higher in controls rather than cases (OR = 0.47, CI = 0.27–0.84, P = 0.009). Similarly, past use of computer was also found to be higher in controls. However, the difference was not statistically significant (OR = 0.38, CI = 0.11–1.35, P = 0.20). On applying logistic regression, variables found to be significantly associated with CTS were education (OR = 0.79, CI = 0.66–0.94, P = 0.01), obesity (OR = 3.11, 95%CI = 1.92–5.04, P = 0.00), and short stature (OR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.02–1.1, P = 0.00). Although current use of computer (OR = 0.33, CI = 0.16–0.67, P = 0.00) was significantly associated with CTS in multivariate model, OR of value less than one does not indicate positive association between this variable and CTS. Conclusion: The study did not demonstrate any positive association between computer use and CTS.

Context: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in first the 6 months of life is the most effective way to satisfy nutritional and psychological needs of a baby. However, EBF rate for India remained low at 54.9% during 2015–2016. It is therefore essential to understand the reasons for such a low EBF rate in the country so that appropriate interventions can be developed and implemented. Objectives: (1) To estimate the prevalence of EBF in rural community of central Gujarat and (2) to identify barriers to EBF in this community. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross sectional study was conducted among mothers of 330 infants of age 6 months to 1 year using pretested questionnaire. Two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select the sample. χ2 test, t-test, and logistic regression were applied to assess the significance of associations. Results: EBF rate in the studied population was detected to be 49.7%. Early marriage of parents, less educated parents, male child, Christian religion, working mother, less number of antenatal visits, operative delivery, late initiation of breastfeeding, not feeding colostrum, lack of knowledge about EBF, and poor counseling of mother regarding EBF were identified as barriers to EBF. Conclusion: Prevalence of EBF was found to be lower than the national average in the rural community of central Gujarat. Effective strategies at local, state, and national levels should aim at addressing the barriers to EBF that are identified in this study.

Background: Adolescence is a period full of life marked by various changes such as biological, social, and psychological changes. Adolescence age group is particularly important seeing to the fact that this is a vibrant age group with lots of turbulence, energy, and lots of thought with changes in the thought process if put in correct direction can do wonders, but also there are chances of deviance in full. Objectives: The current study was carried out with the objectives of (i) educating the students on adolescent matters, the problems in this age group, sensitizing them to “life skill education,” and (ii) to assess the students’ learning and the impact made through the educational intervention program. Materials and Methods: The study was an educational intervention study. RHTC Bhadran was the chosen field area based on convenience. One school was identified in Bhadran. Boys of class IX (all 4 sections) and XI and XII class girls (all sections) were participants. The students were provided the adolescent education based on the module of UNICEF and NACO “Adolescent Education Programme.” Results: Mc Nemars test for two variables, namely, “knowledge about adolescence” and “knowledge about reproductive system,” before and after is highly significant both for males and females. Students both boys and girls responded to the focused group discussion questions and participated actively. Conclusion: There is a lack of knowledge about adolescent health and reproductive system in school going adolescents. The common source of information is most often the peers and Internet which creates more confusion than education. A well-formulated discussion by medical professionals in schools can bring about significant change in the understanding of students and their needs.

Background: Internship is the best period for acquiring practical knowledge and skills in Community Medicine to become a successful primary health-care physician. Effectiveness of internship has been questioned in many research papers. Assessment of skills during internship holds a very important place, because if the interns are not assessed for the skills, these skills are usually not practiced. Aims and Objective: This study aimed to frame a conceptual setup and introduction of a system of skill assessment for interns at the end of Community Medicine posting for acquired skills in cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. Materials and Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional study. Totally 45 interns who completed their internship in Community Medicine at different points of time were inducted in the study. Before the starting of internship in Community Medicine, the interns were already briefed regarding their skills’ assessment at the end of the internship completion in the subject of Community Medicine. The interns were told about the skills which are already identified in the log book and were asked to practice it during their field training at respective places. Prior to assessing the skills, as this was a new method of assessment, the interns were briefed about the 10 skills. They were also briefed about the method of assessment which was a mix of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) question stations and OSCE procedural stations. About 2 stations were kept for psychomotor domain, 1 for affective domain, and the rest 7 were of cognitive domain. Hence in total, there were 7 question stations and 3 procedural stations. Interns went through each station and had to answer the questions. Results: About 17 (37.8%) interns liked the assessment from very much to some extent, 21 (46.7%) interns were of the opinion that they practiced and learned skills because of this assessment as it was compulsory for them to learn, 20 (44.4%) interns said that this assessment introduction enhanced the learning process, and 18 (40%) interns liked the assessment system in an overall format. Overall, 22 (48.88%) interns liked the internship assessment very much. Nearly 24.44% of the interns did not like the assessment system. Conclusions: Skill assessment during internship offers an effective method to enhance competencies in Indian Medical Graduates (IMGs). The majority of the positive feedback of this innovative method from the interns validates the importance of structured efforts to achieve continuous professional development of IMGs.

Background: Community medicine is one of the important subjects taught in MBBS course. The subject comes in first, second, third year, and again in internship. Objective: To know students’ satisfaction and effectiveness of current teaching methods in community medicine with specific focus on non-classroom teaching and this the only subject with maximum contact duration with the students. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. The questionnaire was made in the Epi Info software and the students were asked to fill in the questionnaire one by one maintaining due confidentiality as name was not entered. The study is opinion-based study, wherein all the students were requested to opine on 11 questions put to them. The questions responses were in Likert scale as well dichotomous (yes/no). Result: Total 83 students participated and 43 were females and rest 40 were males. Of the total students, 76% students commented that field visits contribute much to their practical skills and knowledge. Same way 66.3% students were of the view that a good contribution is made by family studies and case studies to their practical skills and knowledge. Almost two-third (61.4%) students told that practical classes helps a lot to understand the subject better and adds extra to their knowledge. A total of 59% students opined that village stay is absolutely important and it is a different experience from classroom learning. Conclusion: A good blend of classroom teaching and non-classroom teaching with more of practical approach is required in the form of real field-based situation which will bring in more clarity and liking for the subject.

Background: Skilled health workers are unable to deliver services effectively without appropriate physical capitals. Objective: The current study is pursued with the objectives (1) to study the competence level of medical officers in providing the treatment and care of two specific noncommunicable diseases and emergency conditions. (2) To score primary health centers (PHCs) on the basis of vulnerability by using Vulnerability Index calculator. (3) To know about the availability of the medicines to treat diseases in question, important instruments, and vehicle. Materials and Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional study involving PHC medical officers (MBBS). There are total 47 PHCs in Anand district in Gujarat. It was decided to include 50% PHCs from each block out of total 47 PHCs. The PHCs were selected by systematic random sampling with sampling interval of 2 and ni calculated for each block separate. Σni is 25. Results: We found that the median knowledge scores for hypertension and diabetes among PHC medical officers were 4.00 and 4.50 out of 10. Mean Vulnerability Index was 7.36, which is overall coming in moderate vulnerability. A total of 40% medical officers were able to identify correctly at least 2 symptoms of hypertension. A total of 88% medical officers were able to handle cases of snake bite and bee stings. In all the PHCs, emergency lifesaving drugs were available. Conclusions: There should be proper training of medical officers in the treatment of noncommunicable diseases. Logistics that are not available should be made available.

Background: The aged population is a medical as well as sociological problem. It makes a very great demand in terms of health services in the community. Objectives: The current study was conducted to know the important epidemiological determinants affecting mental status in geriatric age. Material and Methods: The study design was non-experimental, analytical cross-sectional study comprising of 200 participants from rural and urban areas. Consent of the subject regarding their participation in the study was obtained. Data entry was done in excel sheet and the final analysis was done using SPSS 15 and Epi info 7 software. Statistical significance was tested by applying Mann–Whitney U test and Logistic regression. Results: Among males and females, the urban–rural difference is statistically significant. The depression (both mild and severe) is 97/200 = 48.5% in rural area whereas in urban area it is 162/200 = 81%, and overall it is 64.75%. This difference is statistically highly significant as z-score is 6.8027 and p < 0.0001. Gender, area, marital status, education, social relation, and family type are found to be significant independent determinants. In urban area, type of family is a significant determinant whereas in rural area it is not (0.01 and 0.44, respectively). The results of logistic regression revealed that area, marital status, income source, age, and type of family are important determinants of mental status in older age. Conclusions: Modifiable independent determinants can be adjusted to the circumstances whereas it is almost impossible to deal with the non-modifiable determinants. Talking sessions should further be organized and they should be befriended and helped accordingly.

The Indus and Ganges River Basin, being the most populous in the world, is under extreme pressure to sustain food security. Production resources including water are being exploited to various levels from underdevelopment to heavy overexploitation. This report provides a bird’s eye view of the basin and focuses on the nexus between agricultural production and water consumption, making it possible to pinpoint the areas with high/low water productivity and identify the factors behind this, which helps to promote informed decision making in light of environmental sustainability.

Background: The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), the flagship sanitation program launched by Government of India, is to cover all households with water and sanitation facilities, and promote hygienic behaviour for overall improvement of health of the rural population, so as to reach the Millennium Development Goals. But this program has not yet achieved its set targets. Aims & Objectives: To study the implementation status of TSC and utilization of sanitary services. Materials and Methods: It was a comparative cross sectional study, in which, house to house survey was conducted in selected districts of Madhya Pradesh, to assess the coverage and usage of toilets in study population. Results: In this study, 100% households had access to individual, community or shared toilets but only around 81.56% were using toilets. Main reason for toilet construction was government provided subsidy. Most people used public hand pumps for drinking & using water. Lack of resources combined with negligence by the Sarpanch/ Panchayat members in not constructing an individual household latrine was also found. Non-functionality of toilets in school was due to lack of water and the toilets too were not clean. The disposal of solid waste was either in the form of dumping and indiscriminate throwing. Conclusion: The progress of TSC in the State has been quite encouraging with an increase in NGP awardees. Keeping in view the current increase in demand for sanitation services, it is anticipated that the state will achieve full sanitation coverage in near future.