Abhiruchi Galhotra | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur (original) (raw)

Papers by Abhiruchi Galhotra

Research paper thumbnail of Pharmacovigilance in India: Do Not Take a Chill Pill

International Journal of Current Research and Review, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Baseline risk factor prevalence among adolescents aged 15–17 years old: findings from National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) of India

BMJ Open, 2021

ObjectiveTo generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for ad... more ObjectiveTo generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years) identified in the National NCD Monitoring Framework and, study the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards NCD risk behaviours among school-going adolescents.Design and settingA community-based, national, cross-sectional survey conducted during 2017–2018. The survey was coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research—National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research with 10 reputed implementing research institutes/organisations across India in urban and rural areas.ParticipantsA multistage sampling design was adopted covering ages between 15 and 69 years—adolescents (15–17 years) and adults (18–69 years). The sample included 12 000 households drawn from 600 primary sampling units. All available adolescents (15–17 years) from the selected households were included in the survey.Main outcome measuresKey NCD risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years)—curre...

Research paper thumbnail of Epidemiology of Rhinosporidiosis

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 2 of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

Additional file 2: Additional Table 2. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific... more Additional file 2: Additional Table 2. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific technologies were always or generally available.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 3 of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

Additional file 3: Additional Table 3. Availability (%) of technical human resources in public pr... more Additional file 3: Additional Table 3. Availability (%) of technical human resources in public primary urban and rural health facilities in India; NNMS (2017–18).

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 1 of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

Additional file 1: Additional Table 1. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific... more Additional file 1: Additional Table 1. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific medicines were always or generally available.

Research paper thumbnail of Baseline risk factor prevalence among adolescents aged 15–17 years old: findings from National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) of India

BMJ Open, 2021

Objective To generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for a... more Objective To generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years) identified in the National NCD Monitoring Framework and, study the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards NCD risk behaviours among school-going adolescents. Design and setting A community-based, national, cross-sectional survey conducted during 2017–2018. The survey was coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research—National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research with 10 reputed implementing research institutes/organisations across India in urban and rural areas. Participants A multistage sampling design was adopted covering ages between 15 and 69 years—adolescents (15–17 years) and adults (18–69 years). The sample included 12 000 households drawn from 600 primary sampling units. All available adolescents (15–17 years) from the selected households were included in the survey. Main outcome measures Key NCD risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years...

Research paper thumbnail of An overview of health care system in India

Medical economics, 2020

Health Care embraces a multitude of “services provided to individuals or communities by agents of... more Health Care embraces a multitude of “services provided to individuals or communities by agents of the health services or professions, for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring, or restoring health.” Health services meet the needs of entire population; cover the full range of Preventive, Curative and Rehabilitative services, as part of the basic social services of a country. India has a population of over 1.2 billion with 28 states and 9 Union Territories. Central government formulates comprehensive health policies and plans under the direction of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for items of national importance, including disease control, medical education, the medical profession, and state budgets, are the shared responsibility of the central government and individual states. Public health sector consist of Primary Health Care (Provided at Sub centre) Secondary Health Care (Provided at PHC, CHC, DH) Tertiary Health Care (Provided at large hospitals). Public hea...

Research paper thumbnail of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

BMC Health Services Research, 2021

Background The monitoring framework for evaluating health system response to noncommunicable dise... more Background The monitoring framework for evaluating health system response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) include indicators to assess availability of affordable basic technologies and essential medicines to treat them in both public and private primary care facilities. The Government of India launched the National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in 2010 to strengthen health systems. We assessed availability of trained human resources, essential medicines and technologies for diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases as one of the components of the National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS - 2017-18). Methods NNMS was a cross-sectional survey. Health facility survey component covered three public [Primary health centre (PHC), Community health centre (CHC) and District hospital (DH)] and one private primary in each of the 600 primary sampling units (PSUs) selected by stratified multi...

Research paper thumbnail of Public Private Partnerships In The Health Sector

The Internet Journal of Health, 2007

Partnerships with the private sector has emerged as a new avenue of reforms, in part due to resou... more Partnerships with the private sector has emerged as a new avenue of reforms, in part due to resource constraints in the public sector of governments across the world. PPPs seek to complement rather than substitute for public health services. Partnerships in the health sector can be for various purposes. Many of such partnerships have positively contributed to health outcomes in the past; developing technologies for tropical diseases, surveillance and screening strategies, etc. Further research on effectiveness of PPP's is needed before substantial resources are invested in the expansion of PPP efforts.

Research paper thumbnail of SCOPUS IJPHRD CITATION SCORE Health status of under Five Children living in urban slums

Research paper thumbnail of Community Perception of Chronic Kidney Disease in Supebeda, Chhattisgarh

International Journal of Current Research and Review

Recent media reports have highlighted the high burden of CKD in Supebeda village of Gariyaband di... more Recent media reports have highlighted the high burden of CKD in Supebeda village of Gariyaband district, Chhattisgarh state in central India (Figure1), with reports of

Research paper thumbnail of A Study About Library Usage by Undergraduate Medical Students in a Medical College in North India

Background: Since no study has been done regarding use of library in medical students in North In... more Background: Since no study has been done regarding use of library in medical students in North India and very few studies in whole of India that is why this study was conceived. Objective: To study the use of library by medical students in all the professional courses in Government Medical College, Chandigarh U.T. Material and Methods: 235 students were administered pre-structured and pre-tested proforma in classroom and guided filling of proforma was done by authors. Results: Maximum students (265) were in the age group of 18-25 years.122 students felt that their objectives were partially fulfilled in the library, 71 felt their objectives were fully fulfilled in the library, while 20 felt none of their objectives were fulfilled in the library. 64.5 % students were visiting library for updating their knowledge, 31.7% for retrieving literature, 18.7% for information on a specific disease, 12.6% for research purposes, 6.7% for diagnosis, 2.6% for publications, 2.2% for patient care. A...

Research paper thumbnail of Health concerns of migrants and refugees

International Journal of Biomedical and Advance Research, 2016

Migration is a process of social change during which a person moves from one cultural setting to ... more Migration is a process of social change during which a person moves from one cultural setting to another in order to settle for a longer period of time or permanently. If internal and international migrants are being taken in to account, it would be the third most populous country in the world, just after China and India. The collective health implications of this sizeable population are considerable and are not often in accordance with their need, thus raising concerns with regard to equity, social inclusion and cohesiveness. During different phases of migration, Linguistic, cultural and legal factors are amongst the major barriers in accessing basic health services for migrants. Hence a migrant sensitive inclusive health system equipped with trained work force should be formally established by inter country, inter regional and international framework to address this complex issue-Migration.

Research paper thumbnail of A cross sectional study of utilization of sanitary facilities by adolescent girls in an urban slum of Raipur City, Chhattisgarh, India

Medical economics, 2020

Universal access to adequate sanitation is a fundamental human right Article 21 of Indian constit... more Universal access to adequate sanitation is a fundamental human right Article 21 of Indian constitution. Hygienic sanitation facilities are crucial for public health. The world continues to urbanize and the cities increasingly bear the burden of poor sanitation with an estimated 57% and 16% of urban dwellers lack access to toilets and basic sanitation services respectively. Almost 100 million urban residents practice open defecation in the midst of challenges of providing many millions of rural households with adequate sanitation the issue of toilets is more serious in urban areas because in urban areas, spaces are cramped and open space is deficient. Our objectives of the study to assess the availability and accessibility of various types of sanitary facilities to adolescent girls. Community-based cross-sectional study. Complete enumeration of adolescent females (10-19years) living in the selected division was done and a list of the same was prepared (107). Written informed consent ...

Research paper thumbnail of Experience, Challenges and Outcome of Implementing Universal New Born Hearing Screening in a Medical College Hospital Set Up

Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 2021

In India, newborn hearing screening programs have been implemented as a part of research studies ... more In India, newborn hearing screening programs have been implemented as a part of research studies since early 1970s. Amongst the previously reported programs most are from the southern region and very few are from the west and the northern region of the country. There is a lack of evidence of such program in other region of the country. 1. To study the outcome, experience, and challenges faced during the implementation of the universal newborn hearing screening program in a medical college set up of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 2. To determine the prevalence of hearing impairment with a two tier screening protocol with Otoacoustic emission and Auditory Brainstem Response. The Prospective Non randomised study was carried out between December 2017 and December 2019. A total of 1200 neonates delivered at the medical college, Raipur were screened using the two tier screening protocol. In our study, the prevalence of hearing loss was 2 per 1000 live births for bilateral hearing loss and 1 per 10...

Research paper thumbnail of Importance of early identification of hearing impairments

Indian Journal of Community and Family Medicine, 2016

A process of identifying apparently healthy people, who may be at increased risk of a disease or ... more A process of identifying apparently healthy people, who may be at increased risk of a disease or condition, is called screening. A hearing screening camp basically aims to deliver ear care services and to create awareness about hearing disorders amongst the society. A hearing screening camp was organized to mark “World Hearing Day” on 03/03/2016 with the theme of ‘Childhood hearing loss-Act now, here is how!’ at AIIMS, Raipur. A total of 70 children (0-14 years) participated in camp.

Research paper thumbnail of Need of the hour, “health literacy”: the drug of choice for the current pandemic

The outbreak of SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan city, China. T... more The outbreak of SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan city, China. The World health organization (WHO) declared the COVID19 emergency to be the sixth public health emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020. According to the report on 12 May 2020 the total number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was 4006257 cases with 278892 deaths in 170 countries/regions; among these, 62 939 confirmed cases and 2109 deaths have been reported in India. COVID19 was officially declared a pandemic by WHO on 11 March 2020. As no effective treatment has been found and preventive measures remain the key for its control. In the current situation, well-informed individual and his behaviour is a key intervention alongside medical and governmental action. Nguyen et al in a study in Vietnam, People with suspected COVID-19 symptoms were more likely depressed and had a lower health-related quality of life it found an increase in health literacy scores resulted in...

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges and Concerns for Toilets Access among Adolescent Girls in an Urban Slum –A Viewpoint

Indian cities are experiencing rapid population growth and expansion of urban poor. Many of these... more Indian cities are experiencing rapid population growth and expansion of urban poor. Many of these people live in informal settlements which are areas of high density, poor qual-ity housing-the ‘poverty pockets’ with inadequate provision of basic water and sanitation services. Sani-tation in slums poses the dual risk of increased disease incidence, on one hand, and it raises the issue of personal safety, security, and digni-ty of women and girls on the other hand. A community toilets (CT) fa-cility is a shared facility provided for a defined group of residents or an entire settlement/community. Women, despite having a high de-mand for safe toilet facilities, con-tinue to practice unsafe sanitation. In response to the shame and fear associated with open defecations, women restrict their mobility. To ensure safe, accessible and long-term usability of community toilets, it is critical to select the most ap-propriate location and community toilet design

Research paper thumbnail of A Study on School Sex Education in Chandigarh: An Experience Sharing

Sex education seems important today than any time before as a large no. of young people are suffe... more Sex education seems important today than any time before as a large no. of young people are suffering with AIDS than ever. The reason seems lack of proper awareness about the risk involved, and ways to protect themselves, shyness, nonavailability of information, etc. This study was conducted with the objectives of increasing knowledge, awareness of adolescents as well as teachers on HIV/AIDS/STI.A total of 91 students and 55 teachers participated in the present study. Knowledge of teachers was higher in comparison to students before the training. However, after the training there was improvement and the level of knowledge among students was comparable with teachers. Despite the various educational efforts to address the problems of HIV/AIDS, the knowledge of school students is inadequate and the students still engage in risky behaviour. Results of this study clearly stress the need for health education and AIDS awareness programmes in adolescents.

Research paper thumbnail of Pharmacovigilance in India: Do Not Take a Chill Pill

International Journal of Current Research and Review, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Baseline risk factor prevalence among adolescents aged 15–17 years old: findings from National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) of India

BMJ Open, 2021

ObjectiveTo generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for ad... more ObjectiveTo generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years) identified in the National NCD Monitoring Framework and, study the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards NCD risk behaviours among school-going adolescents.Design and settingA community-based, national, cross-sectional survey conducted during 2017–2018. The survey was coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research—National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research with 10 reputed implementing research institutes/organisations across India in urban and rural areas.ParticipantsA multistage sampling design was adopted covering ages between 15 and 69 years—adolescents (15–17 years) and adults (18–69 years). The sample included 12 000 households drawn from 600 primary sampling units. All available adolescents (15–17 years) from the selected households were included in the survey.Main outcome measuresKey NCD risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years)—curre...

Research paper thumbnail of Epidemiology of Rhinosporidiosis

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 2 of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

Additional file 2: Additional Table 2. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific... more Additional file 2: Additional Table 2. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific technologies were always or generally available.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 3 of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

Additional file 3: Additional Table 3. Availability (%) of technical human resources in public pr... more Additional file 3: Additional Table 3. Availability (%) of technical human resources in public primary urban and rural health facilities in India; NNMS (2017–18).

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 1 of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

Additional file 1: Additional Table 1. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific... more Additional file 1: Additional Table 1. Proportion of public health care facilities where specific medicines were always or generally available.

Research paper thumbnail of Baseline risk factor prevalence among adolescents aged 15–17 years old: findings from National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) of India

BMJ Open, 2021

Objective To generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for a... more Objective To generate national estimates of key non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years) identified in the National NCD Monitoring Framework and, study the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards NCD risk behaviours among school-going adolescents. Design and setting A community-based, national, cross-sectional survey conducted during 2017–2018. The survey was coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research—National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research with 10 reputed implementing research institutes/organisations across India in urban and rural areas. Participants A multistage sampling design was adopted covering ages between 15 and 69 years—adolescents (15–17 years) and adults (18–69 years). The sample included 12 000 households drawn from 600 primary sampling units. All available adolescents (15–17 years) from the selected households were included in the survey. Main outcome measures Key NCD risk factors for adolescents (15–17 years...

Research paper thumbnail of An overview of health care system in India

Medical economics, 2020

Health Care embraces a multitude of “services provided to individuals or communities by agents of... more Health Care embraces a multitude of “services provided to individuals or communities by agents of the health services or professions, for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring, or restoring health.” Health services meet the needs of entire population; cover the full range of Preventive, Curative and Rehabilitative services, as part of the basic social services of a country. India has a population of over 1.2 billion with 28 states and 9 Union Territories. Central government formulates comprehensive health policies and plans under the direction of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for items of national importance, including disease control, medical education, the medical profession, and state budgets, are the shared responsibility of the central government and individual states. Public health sector consist of Primary Health Care (Provided at Sub centre) Secondary Health Care (Provided at PHC, CHC, DH) Tertiary Health Care (Provided at large hospitals). Public hea...

Research paper thumbnail of Preparedness of primary and secondary health facilities in India to address major noncommunicable diseases: results of a National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS)

BMC Health Services Research, 2021

Background The monitoring framework for evaluating health system response to noncommunicable dise... more Background The monitoring framework for evaluating health system response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) include indicators to assess availability of affordable basic technologies and essential medicines to treat them in both public and private primary care facilities. The Government of India launched the National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in 2010 to strengthen health systems. We assessed availability of trained human resources, essential medicines and technologies for diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases as one of the components of the National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS - 2017-18). Methods NNMS was a cross-sectional survey. Health facility survey component covered three public [Primary health centre (PHC), Community health centre (CHC) and District hospital (DH)] and one private primary in each of the 600 primary sampling units (PSUs) selected by stratified multi...

Research paper thumbnail of Public Private Partnerships In The Health Sector

The Internet Journal of Health, 2007

Partnerships with the private sector has emerged as a new avenue of reforms, in part due to resou... more Partnerships with the private sector has emerged as a new avenue of reforms, in part due to resource constraints in the public sector of governments across the world. PPPs seek to complement rather than substitute for public health services. Partnerships in the health sector can be for various purposes. Many of such partnerships have positively contributed to health outcomes in the past; developing technologies for tropical diseases, surveillance and screening strategies, etc. Further research on effectiveness of PPP's is needed before substantial resources are invested in the expansion of PPP efforts.

Research paper thumbnail of SCOPUS IJPHRD CITATION SCORE Health status of under Five Children living in urban slums

Research paper thumbnail of Community Perception of Chronic Kidney Disease in Supebeda, Chhattisgarh

International Journal of Current Research and Review

Recent media reports have highlighted the high burden of CKD in Supebeda village of Gariyaband di... more Recent media reports have highlighted the high burden of CKD in Supebeda village of Gariyaband district, Chhattisgarh state in central India (Figure1), with reports of

Research paper thumbnail of A Study About Library Usage by Undergraduate Medical Students in a Medical College in North India

Background: Since no study has been done regarding use of library in medical students in North In... more Background: Since no study has been done regarding use of library in medical students in North India and very few studies in whole of India that is why this study was conceived. Objective: To study the use of library by medical students in all the professional courses in Government Medical College, Chandigarh U.T. Material and Methods: 235 students were administered pre-structured and pre-tested proforma in classroom and guided filling of proforma was done by authors. Results: Maximum students (265) were in the age group of 18-25 years.122 students felt that their objectives were partially fulfilled in the library, 71 felt their objectives were fully fulfilled in the library, while 20 felt none of their objectives were fulfilled in the library. 64.5 % students were visiting library for updating their knowledge, 31.7% for retrieving literature, 18.7% for information on a specific disease, 12.6% for research purposes, 6.7% for diagnosis, 2.6% for publications, 2.2% for patient care. A...

Research paper thumbnail of Health concerns of migrants and refugees

International Journal of Biomedical and Advance Research, 2016

Migration is a process of social change during which a person moves from one cultural setting to ... more Migration is a process of social change during which a person moves from one cultural setting to another in order to settle for a longer period of time or permanently. If internal and international migrants are being taken in to account, it would be the third most populous country in the world, just after China and India. The collective health implications of this sizeable population are considerable and are not often in accordance with their need, thus raising concerns with regard to equity, social inclusion and cohesiveness. During different phases of migration, Linguistic, cultural and legal factors are amongst the major barriers in accessing basic health services for migrants. Hence a migrant sensitive inclusive health system equipped with trained work force should be formally established by inter country, inter regional and international framework to address this complex issue-Migration.

Research paper thumbnail of A cross sectional study of utilization of sanitary facilities by adolescent girls in an urban slum of Raipur City, Chhattisgarh, India

Medical economics, 2020

Universal access to adequate sanitation is a fundamental human right Article 21 of Indian constit... more Universal access to adequate sanitation is a fundamental human right Article 21 of Indian constitution. Hygienic sanitation facilities are crucial for public health. The world continues to urbanize and the cities increasingly bear the burden of poor sanitation with an estimated 57% and 16% of urban dwellers lack access to toilets and basic sanitation services respectively. Almost 100 million urban residents practice open defecation in the midst of challenges of providing many millions of rural households with adequate sanitation the issue of toilets is more serious in urban areas because in urban areas, spaces are cramped and open space is deficient. Our objectives of the study to assess the availability and accessibility of various types of sanitary facilities to adolescent girls. Community-based cross-sectional study. Complete enumeration of adolescent females (10-19years) living in the selected division was done and a list of the same was prepared (107). Written informed consent ...

Research paper thumbnail of Experience, Challenges and Outcome of Implementing Universal New Born Hearing Screening in a Medical College Hospital Set Up

Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 2021

In India, newborn hearing screening programs have been implemented as a part of research studies ... more In India, newborn hearing screening programs have been implemented as a part of research studies since early 1970s. Amongst the previously reported programs most are from the southern region and very few are from the west and the northern region of the country. There is a lack of evidence of such program in other region of the country. 1. To study the outcome, experience, and challenges faced during the implementation of the universal newborn hearing screening program in a medical college set up of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 2. To determine the prevalence of hearing impairment with a two tier screening protocol with Otoacoustic emission and Auditory Brainstem Response. The Prospective Non randomised study was carried out between December 2017 and December 2019. A total of 1200 neonates delivered at the medical college, Raipur were screened using the two tier screening protocol. In our study, the prevalence of hearing loss was 2 per 1000 live births for bilateral hearing loss and 1 per 10...

Research paper thumbnail of Importance of early identification of hearing impairments

Indian Journal of Community and Family Medicine, 2016

A process of identifying apparently healthy people, who may be at increased risk of a disease or ... more A process of identifying apparently healthy people, who may be at increased risk of a disease or condition, is called screening. A hearing screening camp basically aims to deliver ear care services and to create awareness about hearing disorders amongst the society. A hearing screening camp was organized to mark “World Hearing Day” on 03/03/2016 with the theme of ‘Childhood hearing loss-Act now, here is how!’ at AIIMS, Raipur. A total of 70 children (0-14 years) participated in camp.

Research paper thumbnail of Need of the hour, “health literacy”: the drug of choice for the current pandemic

The outbreak of SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan city, China. T... more The outbreak of SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan city, China. The World health organization (WHO) declared the COVID19 emergency to be the sixth public health emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020. According to the report on 12 May 2020 the total number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was 4006257 cases with 278892 deaths in 170 countries/regions; among these, 62 939 confirmed cases and 2109 deaths have been reported in India. COVID19 was officially declared a pandemic by WHO on 11 March 2020. As no effective treatment has been found and preventive measures remain the key for its control. In the current situation, well-informed individual and his behaviour is a key intervention alongside medical and governmental action. Nguyen et al in a study in Vietnam, People with suspected COVID-19 symptoms were more likely depressed and had a lower health-related quality of life it found an increase in health literacy scores resulted in...

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges and Concerns for Toilets Access among Adolescent Girls in an Urban Slum –A Viewpoint

Indian cities are experiencing rapid population growth and expansion of urban poor. Many of these... more Indian cities are experiencing rapid population growth and expansion of urban poor. Many of these people live in informal settlements which are areas of high density, poor qual-ity housing-the ‘poverty pockets’ with inadequate provision of basic water and sanitation services. Sani-tation in slums poses the dual risk of increased disease incidence, on one hand, and it raises the issue of personal safety, security, and digni-ty of women and girls on the other hand. A community toilets (CT) fa-cility is a shared facility provided for a defined group of residents or an entire settlement/community. Women, despite having a high de-mand for safe toilet facilities, con-tinue to practice unsafe sanitation. In response to the shame and fear associated with open defecations, women restrict their mobility. To ensure safe, accessible and long-term usability of community toilets, it is critical to select the most ap-propriate location and community toilet design

Research paper thumbnail of A Study on School Sex Education in Chandigarh: An Experience Sharing

Sex education seems important today than any time before as a large no. of young people are suffe... more Sex education seems important today than any time before as a large no. of young people are suffering with AIDS than ever. The reason seems lack of proper awareness about the risk involved, and ways to protect themselves, shyness, nonavailability of information, etc. This study was conducted with the objectives of increasing knowledge, awareness of adolescents as well as teachers on HIV/AIDS/STI.A total of 91 students and 55 teachers participated in the present study. Knowledge of teachers was higher in comparison to students before the training. However, after the training there was improvement and the level of knowledge among students was comparable with teachers. Despite the various educational efforts to address the problems of HIV/AIDS, the knowledge of school students is inadequate and the students still engage in risky behaviour. Results of this study clearly stress the need for health education and AIDS awareness programmes in adolescents.