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Context: Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), launched on 12th April,2005 under the umbrella of NRHM has shown it’s impact in terms of increase in number of institutional deliveries and decrease in maternal and neonatal mortality rates but still the awareness about the scheme is low in women from rural areas and urban slums, especially in low performing states. Aims:To assess the differences in awareness of married women from rural areas and urban slums regarding JSY and to study the effect of socio-demographic factors on the level of awareness. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the rural areas and urban slums of field practice areas of Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, for a period of one year. Methods and Material: all the married women (15-49 years) of reproductive age group were included in the study. After taking informed consent from the head of the families and targets, the study subjects were interviewed by a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. Statistical analysis used: SPSS 10 and Epi Info software (with Yate’s correction). Results: Awareness was more among women belonging to rural areas i.e 79%.Age, educational status, occupation, socio-economic status and place of residence showed a significant statistical association with the level of awareness. Conclusions: There is an urgent need to strengthen IEC campaigns and monitoring strategies.

Background. Antenatal care (ANC) is the essential regular care of women that prevents potential health problems during pregnancy. In India, the proportion of women who received four or more antenatal visits was only 51% (National Family Health Survey, 2015--2016). An even worse situation prevails in urban areas where women from poor communities face greater health risks. We assessed various barriers women residing in these areas come across in availing ANC services. Methods. This study is a part of a mixed-methods, community-based study, and we report its qualitative component. We conducted the study at the residence of the study participants in September--October 2019. The study participants were women who had less than four antenatal visits throughout the pregnancy. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted based on data saturation. Data were transcribed and themes were drawn concerning the gender analysis framework. Results. Through this study, we found how gender relations affect the utilization of antenatal services concerning access to resources, division of labour, social norms including the belief of husband and other family members towards pregnancy and decision-making power of women. Conclusion. Our findings underline the importance of making the urban health system gender-sensitive and responsive to the needs of women during pregnancy. There is a need to educate men regarding maternal health so as to allay such social norms that label pregnancy as a woman's responsibility and encouraging them to accompany their wives during pregnancy visits, thus making men a part of antenatal services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Familial Short stature is considered one of the most common causes of Short Stature along with the constitutional delay in growth and puberty (CDGP) from which it can easily be distinguish. The core parameters of anthropometry represent diagnostic criteria for obesity and other non-communicable diseases. To measure the anthropometric parameters in the patients with idiopathic clinically non-syndromic familial short-stature and to correlate those parameters with their height and compare them with the control group. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Familial Short Stature females of 5-18 years age group referred from Paediatric and Genetic OPD of AIIMS, Rishkesh. Non-parametric tests were applied for comparing the variables and correlation coefficients were obtained. Results: There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of Standing Height (cm) (W = 376.000, P = <0.001), BMI (Kg/m2) (W = 1128.500, P = 0.002), with the median BMI (Kg/m2) and Waist/Height Ratio (W = 1164.500, P = <0.001), with the median Waist/Height Ratio being highest in the Short-Stature group. There was moderate to strong positive correlation between standing height and other anthropometric parameters. The mean waist to height ratio of 0.6 among short stature and 0.5 among the control group, with short stature having more odds of getting overweight and also shows a greater predilection of short-stature group for developing Cardio-vascular diseases. Discussion and Conclusion: Familial short stature though being a manifestation of some underlying cause, can fall in a non-syndromic group until further studies including karyotyping, next-generation sequencing etc. Extensive research for appropriate categorization and how this can effectively help combat the burden of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases should be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to assess the urban–rural difference in prevalence of hypertension (HT) and to explore the disparities in lifestyle risk factors of HT among urban and rural individuals aged 15–49 years in India. Study Design: The cross-sectional data collected as a part of the fourth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) was analysed in this observational study. NFHS-4 was conducted between January 2015 and December 2016 amongst men aged 15–54 years and women aged 15–49 years. In order to maintain uniformity, age group of 15–49 years was considered. Descriptive analyses were performed for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Binary logistic regression was conducted to assess the predictors of HT in men and women in urban and rural settings. The presence of HT was considered as the outcome variable. Results: The overall age adjusted prevalence of HT was 17.2% and was greater in urban (18.3%) than in rural population (15.5%). The age adjusted prevalence was also higher in males (18.2%) as compared to females (16.1%). Age and wealth were associated with HT in both urban and rural population. Education and dietary habits played a role in all except rural men. Alcohol consumption, diabetic status and marital status were significantly associated with HT in both urban and rural women. Occupation was associated with HT only in urban women. Conclusions: The study has shown higher HT prevalence in urban areas despite higher prevalence of lifestyle risk factors in rural settings. This calls for more robust screening and health education in the entire population, especially in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the fact that hypertension is increasing, merely 50% are aware of the disease. Being aware of hypertension is important to control it. Aim: The study's objective was to estimate the level of hypertension awareness in India and explore its associated sociodemographic factors. Materials and Methods: The data collected in National Family Health Survey 4 (2015–2016) among men aged 15–54 years and women aged 15–49 years were analyzed. Taking awareness of hypertension as an outcome variable, descriptive analysis, and multivariable logistic regression model were performed, by gender. Results: Of 1,41,215 hypertensive individuals analyzed, 34.7% of men and 53.6% of women were aware of being hypertensive. The control among those aware was 67.1% in men and 74.6% in women. The awareness varied among states ranging from 29.6% in Chhattisgarh to 75.6% in Tamil Nadu. The multivariable logistic regression model explained the awareness of hypertension in males increased with age (odds ratios [OR]: 0.226 for 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.139–0.366 for 25–29 years of age increased to 0.599 for 95% CI: 0.48–0.74 for 40–44 years of age), education (OR of 0.66 for 95% CI: 0.51–0.85 for primary increased to 0.69 for 95% CI: 0.54–0.89 for secondary school level), and wealth status (OR of 0.407 for 95% CI: 0.309–0.535 for poor wealth quintile increased to 1.030 for 95% CI: 0.863–1.230 for the richest wealth quintile). For women, the awareness increased with age (OR of 0.306 for 95% CI: 0.119– 0.791 for the age of 20–24 years increased to 0.736 for 95% CI: 0.570–0.951 for the age of 45–49 years) and wealth status (OR of 0.28 for 95% CI: 0.18–0.44 for poor wealth quintile increased to 1.262 for 95% CI: 0.859–1.855 for the richest wealth quintile). Conclusion: Improving access to hypertension screening and awareness especially among men, with lower wealth and younger age is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of health of the people in developing countries does not show a very good trend. They are faced with the double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases as well as other sociocultural factors that need to be addressed, especially in rural areas. The present study was conducted in a rural area with the dual purpose of training the undergraduate medical student in the field and exposing or sensitizing them toward the need of the rural masses and provision of services in the form of medical aid or health education and awareness. It was a camp-based approach where an intense phase was planned for a week and a follow-up phase every month. The present article is the result of the week-long intense phase. The intensive phase is basically the period when this camp was run for 7 days with the involvement of specialists from various departments providing their services. In the next phase there were follow-up activities and services that were provided once a month. The study generated an interest in the students, and they are very keen for the follow-up visits. Because the students were allotted families, the whole village was covered and health awareness was generated, which created demand. This demand was met given the number of patients attending the clinics, of which 57% were females. Furthermore, 77% of the patients reported that they were fully satisfied with the services being provided. KEYWORDS. Community and maternal care, health managers, maternal health care, mothers' awareness