Aline Ferreira - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Aline Ferreira

To evaluate the Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) strategy undertaken during the Anti Malaria ... more To evaluate the Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) strategy undertaken during the Anti Malaria Month (AMM) campaigns in terms of knowledge, attitudes and practices about malaria in the population. Cross sectional study design was used. The study areas were selected based on the selection criteria provided in Anti Malaria Month Operational Guide. Both the districts in Goa were selected for the study. From each of the districts two PHC areas and one UHC area were identified by random selection. In each PHC area two sub centre areas with one village from each sub centre area was selected and from each UHC area one urban ward was randomly selected with a total of 400 participants covering ten sites from the entire state. Participants were aged 19 years and above with almost equal number of males and females. Data was collected by house to house visits by trained researchers through interviews using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire for the purpose of these evaluations. Data ...

Journal of Food Science and Technology -Mysore-

Ribonucleotides have shown many promising applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. The... more Ribonucleotides have shown many promising applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of the present study was to produce ribonucleotides (RNA) by Kluyveromyces marxianus ATCC 8,554 utilizing cheese whey, a dairy industry waste, as a main substrate under batch fermentation conditions. The effects of temperature, pH, aeration rate, agitation and initial cellular concentration were studied simultaneously through factorial design for RNA, biomass production and lactose consumption. The maximum RNA production (28.66 mg/g of dry biomass) was observed at temperature 30°C, pH 5.0 and 1 g/l of initial cellular concentration after 2 h of fermentation. Agitation and aeration rate did not influence on RNA concentration (p >0.05). Maximum lactose consumption (98.7%) and bio-mass production (6.0 g/l) was observed after 12 h of incubation. This study proves that cheese whey can be used as an adequate medium for RNA production by K. marx-ianus under the optimized conditions at i...

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology

... They would also like to thank Augusto Vieira and Noêmia Rodrigues for technical assistance an... more ... They would also like to thank Augusto Vieira and Noêmia Rodrigues for technical assistance and Fundação André Tosello for standard E. coli ... Brassart, D., Woltz, A., Golliard, M. and Neeser,JR (1991), In vitro inhibition of adhesion of Candida albicans clinical isolates to human ...

The alarming increase of antibiotic resistant to bacterial pathogens makes it imperative to inten... more The alarming increase of antibiotic resistant to bacterial pathogens makes it imperative to intensify the search for new means of combating such bacteria. Few works report carbohydrates action against pathogens. Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, can be appropriate for that combat, due to its effectiveness, safety and non-immunogenicity (his work was to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-adherent properties of chemically and biotechnologically obtained xylitol against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. The tested xylitol concentrations varied from 1.0% to 10.0% (w/v) for both assays. S. aureus Was incubated in TSB medium containing xylitol at 37 degrees C for 24h. A new and simple method was developed to evaluate its ability of inhibition of S. aureus adherence. Oil antimicrobial assays, xylitol did not show bactericidal or bacteriostatic activities against S. aureus and xylitol inhibited S. aureus adherence to a glass surface tester, both for at all tested concentrations. These results i...

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of xylitol on J774A.1 macrophage adhesion. Adhesi... more The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of xylitol on J774A.1 macrophage adhesion. Adhesion consisted of a three-hour interval, at room temperature, followed by washing and cell incubation at 37ºC/5% CO2/ 48h. Xylitol was used to treat the cells either before (for 24h) or after the cell incubation (for 48h) at 5% as final concentration in both the situations. It was found that xylitol was effective in preventing the adhesion in both the conditions in spite of the former being 100-fold greater and significant (p < 0.001). The results pointed to an important xylitol action on macrophage adhesion, which should be further investigated as an inflammatory control.

Objectives: To study the prevalence of reproductive tract infections in rural Goa. To assess the ... more Objectives: To study the prevalence of reproductive tract infections in rural Goa. To assess the efficacy of syndromic approach in the management of reproductive tract infections and the compliance to treatment. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community based. Participants: Six hundred individuals aged 15-49 years selected by stratified random sampling. Study instruments: Study participants were interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. Syndromic approach was used to diagnose and manage reproductive tract infections. Statistical analysis: SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of reproductive tract infections (RTI’s) was 5.4%. It was 2% among males and 8.7% among females. Positive treatment seeking behavior was seen among 87.5% of those diagnosed with RTI’s. Complete treatment was taken by 96.4% of the individuals who came for treatment while 88.9% reported complete relief of symptoms of RTI’s on 15 days follow-...

The Journal of family welfare

The Indian practitioner

Objective: To study various bed utilization rates in surgical and gynaecological wards at a terti... more Objective: To study various bed utilization rates in surgical and gynaecological wards at a tertiary care hospital. Design: Retrospective data analysis of records from Medical Records Department. Settings: 845 bedded Goa Medical College Hospital. Statistical analysis: Average length of stay, bed occupancy rates, turnover interval and bed turnover ratio were calculated. Results: The average length of stay for the entire hospital was 5.5 days, bed occupancy rate was 83.1%, turnover interval was 1.1 days and the turnover ratio was 55.1 for the year 2006. The average length of stay was highest for the orthopaedic ward (9.4 days). The bed occupancy rate was also highest for orthopaedic wards (100.5%) followed by surgery wards (99.9%). The turn over interval was lowest for orthopaedic wards (-0.05 day) closely followed by surgery (0.01 day). Conclusion: Bed utilization indices are an objective measure of the efficiency of the hospital management system. Their consistent use will help the ...

The Journal of family welfare

Objective: To study the use and level of awareness of condoms in a rural community in Goa. Study ... more Objective: To study the use and level of awareness of condoms in a rural community in Goa. Study Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: A rural community in Goa. Participants: Persons aged 15-49 years. Statistical Analysis: Proportions, chi-square test, odds ratios. SPSS Software package was used for the analysis. Results: Around 24.8% respondents reported using condoms. The usage was higher among males (38.4%) compared to females (12.67%). Only 59.1% had ever seen a condom. Around ninety two percent respondents had ever heard of a condom, while 23.5% respondents had no knowledge about the source of condoms. Unmarried individuals were more likely to use condoms compared to married individuals (OR=7.54) and condom use increased with increase in socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Although awareness regarding condoms was appreciably very high in the community, their use was quite low. There is a pressing need to develop and implement innovative educational and marketing strategies to promot...

To study the health seeking behaviour among medical students studying at a Medical College.A cros... more To study the health seeking behaviour among medical students studying at a Medical College.A cross sectional study was conducted among medical students of Goa Medical College, Goa. Data collection was done with the help of a structured pretested questionnaire. Various aspects of health seeking behaviour were studied. Data was analysed using SPSS statistical software package.A total of 281 students were studied across three semesters/clinical years. Some form of illness in the preceding twelve months was reported by 80.4% of the student population. Students reported an average of 2.2 doctor visits over twelve months period. It was found that 31.3% had self investigated and 66.3% had taken self treatment. Around 38.4% of the students felt that it was alright to self investigate while 35.9% felt it was alright to take self treatment.There is a need to have a formal health program for the medical students, set guidelines for students to follow if they fall ill, provision of medicines. S...

Objective: To assess the impact of Behaviour Change Communication strategy on the knowledge, atti... more Objective: To assess the impact of Behaviour Change Communication strategy on the knowledge, attitude and practices of Malaria in Goa from 2006 to 2012. Methods: Cross sectional study design was used. The study areas and sample size were chosen based on the selection criteria provided in Anti Malaria Month Operational Guide. During each of the evaluations in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, six villages and two urban wards were randomly selected, and from each village and urban ward 50 adult residents (a total of 400 participants) with equal proportion of males and females were interviewed by house to house visits by trained researchers using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire for the purpose of these evaluations. Results: Study subjects were familiar with the symptoms of malaria with majority (81% to 96.25%) of the study participants correctly identifying fever as the main symptom of Malaria. Over the years an increasing trend of awareness is being observed regarding mosquito bi...

The determinants of prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction at a tertiary care hos... more The determinants of prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction at a tertiary care hospital were studied. Demographic and risk variables were explored in the outcome (survived or died) of AMI patients during hospital treatment. Bivariate analysis was performed and unadjusted odds ratios were calculated for each of the variables. Binary logistic regression analysis (forward Wald method) was carried out to obtain adjusted or standardized odds ratios. For group comparisons Pearson  2 test,  2 for trend and student's t-test were used. Mortality was 21.2% during treatment among the AMI inpatients. Mortality was higher among females compared to males (28% v/s 19.4%). On binary logistic regression analysis, time elapsed before reporting for treatment, length of hospital stay and systolic blood pressure at admission were found to be the significant variables determining outcome. The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 62.7% and 97.9% respectively at cut-off probab...

Objective: To study the prevalence and some correlates of psychiatric morbidities among geriatric... more Objective: To study the prevalence and some correlates of psychiatric morbidities among geriatric population in a rural area of Goa, India. Methods:A community based cross sectional study was carried out in a rural area of Goa, India. In all, 336 participants aged 60 years and above were selected by systematic random sampling. The participants were interviewed using a structured interview schedule. Scales such as Mini Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and relative's assessment of elderly were used. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Statistical tests of significance and multiple logistic regression were applied. Results: The prevalence of psychiatric morbidities in geriatric population was 33.3%. The commonest morbidity was depression with a prevalence of 22.6% followed by dementia (14%), anxiety disorder (2.4%) and psychotic disorder (1.8%). Age, gender, education, socioeconomic status...

Journal of Health Management, 2008

This article analyses the annual drug expenditure at Goa Medical College Hospital using ABC-VED a... more This article analyses the annual drug expenditure at Goa Medical College Hospital using ABC-VED analysis in order to identify drug categories requiring greater supervisory monitoring. Inventory control techniques ABC, VED and ABC-VED matrix analysis were utilised to study the drug expenditure at the hospital. The data was collected for the financial year 2005-6. Out of the 348 drugs, around 12.93 per cent of the drugs were found to account for 69.45 per cent of the annual drug expenditure (45 drugs) and were classified as category A drugs. Another 19.54 per cent of the drugs (68 drugs) consumed 20.48 per cent of the budget (B category), while the remaining 67.53 per cent (235 drugs) accounted for only 10.07 per cent of the annual drug expenditure (C category). Forty-three drugs (12.36 per cent) were classified as vital drugs, and 164 (47.12 per cent) and 141 (40.52 per cent) were considered essential and desirable drugs respectively. Based on ABC-VED matrix analysis, around 22.99 per cent of drugs were classified as category I, accounting for 74.80 per cent of the total drug expenditure. Category II drugs (41.67 per cent) consumed 21.68 per cent of the total drugs budget, while the remaining 35.34 per cent drugs (category III) accounted for only 3.52 per cent of the total drug expenditure.

The Journal of communicable diseases, 2008

A cross sectional study among 450 individuals selected by strafified random sampling was carried ... more A cross sectional study among 450 individuals selected by strafified random sampling was carried out in rural Goa to find out the prevalence of cysticercosis and taeniasis, as well as to study the role of various factors associated with this diseases. The study participants were administered a pre-tested structured questionnaire and subsequently blood and stool samples were examined. SPSS software was used to analyze the data statistically. The sero-prevalence of cysterosis was 22.4%, which increased with age. Prevalence of taeniasis was 9.7% by stool examination. Individuals with taeniasis were thrice more likely to have cysticercosis; however no association between sero-positivity for cysterosis and pork consumption as well as religion could be established. The study confirmed a high sero-prevalence of cysticercosis in Goa underscoring the need to general awareness about good cooking habits and sanitation.

Indian journal of public health

A retrospective data analysis of records from medical records department of Goa Medical College H... more A retrospective data analysis of records from medical records department of Goa Medical College Hospital was done to analyse the trends of various bed utilisation indices from 1999 - 2006. Average length of stay, bed occupancy rate, turnover interval and bed turnover ratio were the indices calculated. During the eight year period from 1999 to 2006, the average length of stay for the entire hospital registered a small decline from 6.23 to 5.51 days, the overall bed occupancy rate increased from 72.13% to 83.12% and the bed turnover interval declined from 2.41 days to 1.12 days. The Orthopaedics ward had the highest increase in bed occupancy and also fastest decline in turnover interval in 2006. Bed utilization indices are an objective measure of the efficiency of the hospital management system.

The Journal of communicable diseases, 2006

To study the heterosexual risk behaviors and to study the level of HIV/ AIDS awareness among male... more To study the heterosexual risk behaviors and to study the level of HIV/ AIDS awareness among males in a rural community in Goa. Survey was cross-sectional and community based. A sample of 300 males aged 15-49 years selected by stratified random sampling. An "UNAIDS protocol for measurement of HIV/STD prevention indicators" was used. SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. One hundred and ninety eight (66%) males reported ever having sexual intercourse, of these 17% were single. Fifty three (17.7%) males reported intercourse with a non-regular partner in the past 12 months, of these 90.6% had intercourse with strangers, 92.5% had paid for sex and only 43.4% had used a condom for the last sexual encounter with a non-regular partner. Less educated males (<10th class), single and those employed have higher sexual indulgence with non-regular sexual partners. The level of knowledge about HIV/ AIDS was very high in all areas of causation and prevention. Althou...

The Journal of communicable diseases, 2005

To evaluate the Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) strategy undertaken during the Anti Malaria ... more To evaluate the Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) strategy undertaken during the Anti Malaria Month (AMM) campaigns in terms of knowledge, attitudes and practices about malaria in the population. Cross sectional study design was used. The study areas were selected based on the selection criteria provided in Anti Malaria Month Operational Guide. Both the districts in Goa were selected for the study. From each of the districts two PHC areas and one UHC area were identified by random selection. In each PHC area two sub centre areas with one village from each sub centre area was selected and from each UHC area one urban ward was randomly selected with a total of 400 participants covering ten sites from the entire state. Participants were aged 19 years and above with almost equal number of males and females. Data was collected by house to house visits by trained researchers through interviews using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire for the purpose of these evaluations. Data ...

Journal of Food Science and Technology -Mysore-

Ribonucleotides have shown many promising applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. The... more Ribonucleotides have shown many promising applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of the present study was to produce ribonucleotides (RNA) by Kluyveromyces marxianus ATCC 8,554 utilizing cheese whey, a dairy industry waste, as a main substrate under batch fermentation conditions. The effects of temperature, pH, aeration rate, agitation and initial cellular concentration were studied simultaneously through factorial design for RNA, biomass production and lactose consumption. The maximum RNA production (28.66 mg/g of dry biomass) was observed at temperature 30°C, pH 5.0 and 1 g/l of initial cellular concentration after 2 h of fermentation. Agitation and aeration rate did not influence on RNA concentration (p >0.05). Maximum lactose consumption (98.7%) and bio-mass production (6.0 g/l) was observed after 12 h of incubation. This study proves that cheese whey can be used as an adequate medium for RNA production by K. marx-ianus under the optimized conditions at i...

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology

... They would also like to thank Augusto Vieira and Noêmia Rodrigues for technical assistance an... more ... They would also like to thank Augusto Vieira and Noêmia Rodrigues for technical assistance and Fundação André Tosello for standard E. coli ... Brassart, D., Woltz, A., Golliard, M. and Neeser,JR (1991), In vitro inhibition of adhesion of Candida albicans clinical isolates to human ...

The alarming increase of antibiotic resistant to bacterial pathogens makes it imperative to inten... more The alarming increase of antibiotic resistant to bacterial pathogens makes it imperative to intensify the search for new means of combating such bacteria. Few works report carbohydrates action against pathogens. Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, can be appropriate for that combat, due to its effectiveness, safety and non-immunogenicity (his work was to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-adherent properties of chemically and biotechnologically obtained xylitol against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. The tested xylitol concentrations varied from 1.0% to 10.0% (w/v) for both assays. S. aureus Was incubated in TSB medium containing xylitol at 37 degrees C for 24h. A new and simple method was developed to evaluate its ability of inhibition of S. aureus adherence. Oil antimicrobial assays, xylitol did not show bactericidal or bacteriostatic activities against S. aureus and xylitol inhibited S. aureus adherence to a glass surface tester, both for at all tested concentrations. These results i...

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of xylitol on J774A.1 macrophage adhesion. Adhesi... more The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of xylitol on J774A.1 macrophage adhesion. Adhesion consisted of a three-hour interval, at room temperature, followed by washing and cell incubation at 37ºC/5% CO2/ 48h. Xylitol was used to treat the cells either before (for 24h) or after the cell incubation (for 48h) at 5% as final concentration in both the situations. It was found that xylitol was effective in preventing the adhesion in both the conditions in spite of the former being 100-fold greater and significant (p < 0.001). The results pointed to an important xylitol action on macrophage adhesion, which should be further investigated as an inflammatory control.

Objectives: To study the prevalence of reproductive tract infections in rural Goa. To assess the ... more Objectives: To study the prevalence of reproductive tract infections in rural Goa. To assess the efficacy of syndromic approach in the management of reproductive tract infections and the compliance to treatment. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community based. Participants: Six hundred individuals aged 15-49 years selected by stratified random sampling. Study instruments: Study participants were interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. Syndromic approach was used to diagnose and manage reproductive tract infections. Statistical analysis: SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of reproductive tract infections (RTI’s) was 5.4%. It was 2% among males and 8.7% among females. Positive treatment seeking behavior was seen among 87.5% of those diagnosed with RTI’s. Complete treatment was taken by 96.4% of the individuals who came for treatment while 88.9% reported complete relief of symptoms of RTI’s on 15 days follow-...

The Journal of family welfare

The Indian practitioner

Objective: To study various bed utilization rates in surgical and gynaecological wards at a terti... more Objective: To study various bed utilization rates in surgical and gynaecological wards at a tertiary care hospital. Design: Retrospective data analysis of records from Medical Records Department. Settings: 845 bedded Goa Medical College Hospital. Statistical analysis: Average length of stay, bed occupancy rates, turnover interval and bed turnover ratio were calculated. Results: The average length of stay for the entire hospital was 5.5 days, bed occupancy rate was 83.1%, turnover interval was 1.1 days and the turnover ratio was 55.1 for the year 2006. The average length of stay was highest for the orthopaedic ward (9.4 days). The bed occupancy rate was also highest for orthopaedic wards (100.5%) followed by surgery wards (99.9%). The turn over interval was lowest for orthopaedic wards (-0.05 day) closely followed by surgery (0.01 day). Conclusion: Bed utilization indices are an objective measure of the efficiency of the hospital management system. Their consistent use will help the ...

The Journal of family welfare

Objective: To study the use and level of awareness of condoms in a rural community in Goa. Study ... more Objective: To study the use and level of awareness of condoms in a rural community in Goa. Study Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: A rural community in Goa. Participants: Persons aged 15-49 years. Statistical Analysis: Proportions, chi-square test, odds ratios. SPSS Software package was used for the analysis. Results: Around 24.8% respondents reported using condoms. The usage was higher among males (38.4%) compared to females (12.67%). Only 59.1% had ever seen a condom. Around ninety two percent respondents had ever heard of a condom, while 23.5% respondents had no knowledge about the source of condoms. Unmarried individuals were more likely to use condoms compared to married individuals (OR=7.54) and condom use increased with increase in socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Although awareness regarding condoms was appreciably very high in the community, their use was quite low. There is a pressing need to develop and implement innovative educational and marketing strategies to promot...

To study the health seeking behaviour among medical students studying at a Medical College.A cros... more To study the health seeking behaviour among medical students studying at a Medical College.A cross sectional study was conducted among medical students of Goa Medical College, Goa. Data collection was done with the help of a structured pretested questionnaire. Various aspects of health seeking behaviour were studied. Data was analysed using SPSS statistical software package.A total of 281 students were studied across three semesters/clinical years. Some form of illness in the preceding twelve months was reported by 80.4% of the student population. Students reported an average of 2.2 doctor visits over twelve months period. It was found that 31.3% had self investigated and 66.3% had taken self treatment. Around 38.4% of the students felt that it was alright to self investigate while 35.9% felt it was alright to take self treatment.There is a need to have a formal health program for the medical students, set guidelines for students to follow if they fall ill, provision of medicines. S...

Objective: To assess the impact of Behaviour Change Communication strategy on the knowledge, atti... more Objective: To assess the impact of Behaviour Change Communication strategy on the knowledge, attitude and practices of Malaria in Goa from 2006 to 2012. Methods: Cross sectional study design was used. The study areas and sample size were chosen based on the selection criteria provided in Anti Malaria Month Operational Guide. During each of the evaluations in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, six villages and two urban wards were randomly selected, and from each village and urban ward 50 adult residents (a total of 400 participants) with equal proportion of males and females were interviewed by house to house visits by trained researchers using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire for the purpose of these evaluations. Results: Study subjects were familiar with the symptoms of malaria with majority (81% to 96.25%) of the study participants correctly identifying fever as the main symptom of Malaria. Over the years an increasing trend of awareness is being observed regarding mosquito bi...

The determinants of prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction at a tertiary care hos... more The determinants of prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction at a tertiary care hospital were studied. Demographic and risk variables were explored in the outcome (survived or died) of AMI patients during hospital treatment. Bivariate analysis was performed and unadjusted odds ratios were calculated for each of the variables. Binary logistic regression analysis (forward Wald method) was carried out to obtain adjusted or standardized odds ratios. For group comparisons Pearson  2 test,  2 for trend and student's t-test were used. Mortality was 21.2% during treatment among the AMI inpatients. Mortality was higher among females compared to males (28% v/s 19.4%). On binary logistic regression analysis, time elapsed before reporting for treatment, length of hospital stay and systolic blood pressure at admission were found to be the significant variables determining outcome. The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 62.7% and 97.9% respectively at cut-off probab...

Objective: To study the prevalence and some correlates of psychiatric morbidities among geriatric... more Objective: To study the prevalence and some correlates of psychiatric morbidities among geriatric population in a rural area of Goa, India. Methods:A community based cross sectional study was carried out in a rural area of Goa, India. In all, 336 participants aged 60 years and above were selected by systematic random sampling. The participants were interviewed using a structured interview schedule. Scales such as Mini Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and relative's assessment of elderly were used. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Statistical tests of significance and multiple logistic regression were applied. Results: The prevalence of psychiatric morbidities in geriatric population was 33.3%. The commonest morbidity was depression with a prevalence of 22.6% followed by dementia (14%), anxiety disorder (2.4%) and psychotic disorder (1.8%). Age, gender, education, socioeconomic status...

Journal of Health Management, 2008

This article analyses the annual drug expenditure at Goa Medical College Hospital using ABC-VED a... more This article analyses the annual drug expenditure at Goa Medical College Hospital using ABC-VED analysis in order to identify drug categories requiring greater supervisory monitoring. Inventory control techniques ABC, VED and ABC-VED matrix analysis were utilised to study the drug expenditure at the hospital. The data was collected for the financial year 2005-6. Out of the 348 drugs, around 12.93 per cent of the drugs were found to account for 69.45 per cent of the annual drug expenditure (45 drugs) and were classified as category A drugs. Another 19.54 per cent of the drugs (68 drugs) consumed 20.48 per cent of the budget (B category), while the remaining 67.53 per cent (235 drugs) accounted for only 10.07 per cent of the annual drug expenditure (C category). Forty-three drugs (12.36 per cent) were classified as vital drugs, and 164 (47.12 per cent) and 141 (40.52 per cent) were considered essential and desirable drugs respectively. Based on ABC-VED matrix analysis, around 22.99 per cent of drugs were classified as category I, accounting for 74.80 per cent of the total drug expenditure. Category II drugs (41.67 per cent) consumed 21.68 per cent of the total drugs budget, while the remaining 35.34 per cent drugs (category III) accounted for only 3.52 per cent of the total drug expenditure.

The Journal of communicable diseases, 2008

A cross sectional study among 450 individuals selected by strafified random sampling was carried ... more A cross sectional study among 450 individuals selected by strafified random sampling was carried out in rural Goa to find out the prevalence of cysticercosis and taeniasis, as well as to study the role of various factors associated with this diseases. The study participants were administered a pre-tested structured questionnaire and subsequently blood and stool samples were examined. SPSS software was used to analyze the data statistically. The sero-prevalence of cysterosis was 22.4%, which increased with age. Prevalence of taeniasis was 9.7% by stool examination. Individuals with taeniasis were thrice more likely to have cysticercosis; however no association between sero-positivity for cysterosis and pork consumption as well as religion could be established. The study confirmed a high sero-prevalence of cysticercosis in Goa underscoring the need to general awareness about good cooking habits and sanitation.

Indian journal of public health

A retrospective data analysis of records from medical records department of Goa Medical College H... more A retrospective data analysis of records from medical records department of Goa Medical College Hospital was done to analyse the trends of various bed utilisation indices from 1999 - 2006. Average length of stay, bed occupancy rate, turnover interval and bed turnover ratio were the indices calculated. During the eight year period from 1999 to 2006, the average length of stay for the entire hospital registered a small decline from 6.23 to 5.51 days, the overall bed occupancy rate increased from 72.13% to 83.12% and the bed turnover interval declined from 2.41 days to 1.12 days. The Orthopaedics ward had the highest increase in bed occupancy and also fastest decline in turnover interval in 2006. Bed utilization indices are an objective measure of the efficiency of the hospital management system.

The Journal of communicable diseases, 2006

To study the heterosexual risk behaviors and to study the level of HIV/ AIDS awareness among male... more To study the heterosexual risk behaviors and to study the level of HIV/ AIDS awareness among males in a rural community in Goa. Survey was cross-sectional and community based. A sample of 300 males aged 15-49 years selected by stratified random sampling. An "UNAIDS protocol for measurement of HIV/STD prevention indicators" was used. SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. One hundred and ninety eight (66%) males reported ever having sexual intercourse, of these 17% were single. Fifty three (17.7%) males reported intercourse with a non-regular partner in the past 12 months, of these 90.6% had intercourse with strangers, 92.5% had paid for sex and only 43.4% had used a condom for the last sexual encounter with a non-regular partner. Less educated males (<10th class), single and those employed have higher sexual indulgence with non-regular sexual partners. The level of knowledge about HIV/ AIDS was very high in all areas of causation and prevention. Althou...

The Journal of communicable diseases, 2005