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Papers by Bhavna Langer

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Three or more waves of COVID 19 pandemic have hit the different parts of world includ... more Background: Three or more waves of COVID 19 pandemic have hit the different parts of world including India very hard, taking toll on the lives of people both in terms of morbidity and mortality. Keeping this in mind, the present study was conducted with an aim to determine the socio-demographic and clinical profile of laboratory confirmed COVID 19 cases and to determine their association with oxygen requirement and outcome of disease at the time of discharge. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on lab confirmed COVID 19 cases admitted in tertiary care hospital in Jammu from June-July 2021.Data was collected using convenient sampling method. The self-designed questionnaire used for data collection obtained information regarding socio-demographic characteristics of patients as well as clinical features of the disease. Results: Out of total 161 patients studied, 60.8% were males and 39.2% were females. Mean age was 51.2 ± 17.5 years. Comorbid conditions were prese...

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Migration, whether voluntary or forced, entails major adaptations. An elaborate insig... more Background: Migration, whether voluntary or forced, entails major adaptations. An elaborate insight into the circumstances helps to induce various interventions in migrants. Aims and Objectives: To elicit the psychological health, lifestyle variables, religiosity, spirituality and coping among migrants and compare it with non migrants in a rural locality. Material and Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was undertaken among 404 adults aged 20 years and above. The General Health Questionnaire–12, Religiosity scale by Wilkes, The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale and COPE scale were used as psychometric tools for data collection. Data was analysed using SPSS (ver. 20.0). Results: A sample of 137 migrants and 267 non migrants were analysed. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups for occupation and education (p=0.002 & 0.000 resp). The mean scores of the psychological health of migrants (10.58± 6.32) were slightly better than that of non migr...

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Dietary practices among infants and children are predictor of their growth and develo... more Background: Dietary practices among infants and children are predictor of their growth and development. India being a huge of diverse cultures, diversity in beliefs and practices regarding diet during childhood illnesses is expected. Harmful beliefs and practices can contribute to malnutrition among children. These beliefs can have adverse consequences in already sick children. Aims and Objectives: To assess the dietary knowledge, beliefs and practices of rural care givers during childhood illnesses. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 271 rural informal (parent / family member) caregivers in one of the sub-health centres which was selected using simple random sampling technique. In the context of this study, the word informal care-giver was used for parent/family member of the child, preferably a mother with a child / children aged less than five years. The survey tool was an open ended and pretested questionnaire which was developed by pu...

Indian Journal of Community Health, 2021

Background-Male preference is deeply entrenched in the society. Gender disadvantage predisposes t... more Background-Male preference is deeply entrenched in the society. Gender disadvantage predisposes to limited education, employment opportunities and healthcare. Aims and objectives: To assess the Gender disadvantage in rural married females and its impact on their psychological morbidity. Methodology: Analytical Cross sectional study was conducted in a randomly selected village of a rural health block. All the eligible women were interviewed using Door Knock Procedure. Psychological morbidity was assessed using 20 items Self Rating Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Statistical Analysis: Data was analysed using SPSS ver 20.0. Tests of significance applied were Chi square test and ANOVA. P value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of Female gender disadvantage was 59.89%. Parental male predisposition and socioeconomic status were found to be statistically associated (p<0.05). The women’s own preference for a male child was strongly predicted by thei...

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2022

Background: With ever-increasing digitization, the internet has intertwined into the daily lives ... more Background: With ever-increasing digitization, the internet has intertwined into the daily lives of users to a large extent. It holds tremendous educational benefits to college students; however, its excessive usage can lead to addiction and even psychological morbidities. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with various factors including depression, anxiety, and stress. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of two professional colleges, i.e., medical and engineering colleges in the Jammu region. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit the information regarding socio-demographic and personal details of students. Young's internet addiction scale was used to assess internet addiction, whereas the DASS 42 scale was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. Data thus collected were analyzed using the PSPP software. Results: A total of 480 students constituted the study population. The prevalence of internet addiction was found to be 78.7%, with a significantly higher prevalence seen among the male students in comparison to females (P < 0.005). A significantly positive correlation of internet addiction was found with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Internet addiction is significantly associated with psychopathology among the respondents. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop effective strategies for the prevention of internet addiction by promoting awareness among the students.

Indian Journal of Community Health, 2016

Background : Swine flu is an emerging public health problem in various countries including India ... more Background : Swine flu is an emerging public health problem in various countries including India and was declared a “Phase 6 Pandemic” by WHO in 2009. India ranks as 3rd most affected country for cases and deaths of swine flu globally. Objectives : To assess the level of knowledge and practices regarding Swine flu among rural housewives of Jammu and to find out the association between the two. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted during the month of April 2015 using a pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire among 310 housewives from two villages of Jammu district. Results : Adequate knowledge was seen in 61.9% of the respondents and 53.5% had followed good practices. Mean (SD) for knowledge and practices score was 11.4(2.37) & 10.3(2.58) respectively. Literacy levels were identified as a positive predictor for adequate knowledge and good practice score. A linear relationship was evident both between knowledge / practices as well as age upto 40 years after which there...

Indian Journal of Community Health, 2015

Background: Socio-cultural factors have a bearing on women's attitude towards menstruation. H... more Background: Socio-cultural factors have a bearing on women's attitude towards menstruation. Health care providers should be aware of how women react to menstruation while providing health care. Aims & Objectives: To elicit menstrual awareness and knowledge of the rural adolescent girls and assess how this awareness, knowledge and demographics influence their menstrual attitude. Methodology: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken among 245 adolescent school going girls in a rural area. Adolescent Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (AMAQ) was used as a data collection device. Data were compared by using SPSS (ver. 20.0) at the level of 0.05. Results: At menarche, 59.9% adolescents were aware of menstruation and in 3/4th of them, mothers were the source of information. There was a statistically significant effect of menstrual awareness (yes or no) and menstrual knowledge (nil, partial and complete) on the combined dependent variables (F(6,238)=9.0, p= 0.00...

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2018

In the late 19 th century, the first academic revolution took place which made research a univers... more In the late 19 th century, the first academic revolution took place which made research a university function in addition to the traditional task of teaching. Research is a process comprised data collection, analysis, interpretation, and assessment procedures which are conducted in a phased

International Surgery Journal, 2019

Background: Normal sexual desire coupled with physical inability to act is a major source of ment... more Background: Normal sexual desire coupled with physical inability to act is a major source of mental stress in interpersonal relationships which subsequently affects the quality of life of patients.Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted among patients of erectile dysfunction visiting the Urology OPD of tertiary care hospital. Study instruments used were international index of erectile function (IIEF) to assess sexual functions and version of the WHO QOL scale (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess quality of life.Results: 168 patients were interviewed and 62.5% of them were less than 45 years of age. Age, income and presence of co-morbidity were found to be statistically significantly associated with ED (p<0.05). Overall QOL scores were lower in severe grades of ED as compared to milder grades and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: Erectile dysfunction has a significant impact on the quality of life of the patients which reemphasi...

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 2019

Background: Cervical cancer is known for its late detection due to a variety of reasons chiefly l... more Background: Cervical cancer is known for its late detection due to a variety of reasons chiefly lack of knowledge, undesirable attitudes and poor practices. Early screening and adequate knowledge about the disease remains the important safe guards against this disease. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the women aged 18 years and above regarding cervical cancer visiting a tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: The present cross sectional hospital based study was conducted in Jammu city, Jammu and Kashmir, India. All the women aged 18 years and above visiting OPD of gynaecology-obstetrics department of Government Medical College Jammu and willing to participate were administered a pretested questionnaire to collect the relevant data.Results: It was found that 91.56% of the respondents had heard of cervical cancer with 83% reporting that it was both preventable as well as curable. Multiple sex partners were the most important risk factor identified....

International Surgery Journal, 2019

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED), though an important complication of T2DM is grossly under ... more Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED), though an important complication of T2DM is grossly under reported in this part of the world. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of ED in T2DM men in northern India.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to August 2018 among male patients with T2DM in the medical OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Jammu. IIEF- international index of erectile function was the tool used in the present study.Results: ED prevalence was 62.08%. Among socio-demographic variables, age was significantly associated with ED (p<0.05) while no association was found with education, occupation and family income. Smoking as a life style and hypertension as a co-morbid condition were significantly associated with ED (p<0.05). Duration of diabetes and type of diabetic complications were also found to be statistically significant.Conclusions: Prevalence of ED in T2DM men was quiet high in this regio...

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2018

Background: Insomnia is one of the common but most neglected issues which may have many serious l... more Background: Insomnia is one of the common but most neglected issues which may have many serious long-term ill-health effects, thus affecting quality of life. Its incidence is showing an upward trend in ever-increasing present stressful life. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of insomnia in rural adults and to find out various associated risk factors and comorbidities. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 405 adults residing in rural area of Jammu. A 13-item self-reported insomnia symptom questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of insomnia. Chi-square test was used to find out the association of various factors. Results: The prevalence of insomnia was found to be 12.8%. Occupation, type of family, and socioeconomic status emerged to be significant determinants of insomnia. The presence of diabetes, chronic respiratory disorders, thyroid disorders, and any form of stress was significantly associated with higher prevalence of insomnia (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Insomnia is a common sleep disorder which is many times missed by a primary care physician until/unless asked for. Health-care professionals should assess the sleep pattern of every patient and give adequate counseling or treatment for the same.

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 2017

Background: Artificial sweeteners have skyrocketed the market in the last decade and there are un... more Background: Artificial sweeteners have skyrocketed the market in the last decade and there are unlimited products available today that contain them. They are often projected as one of the easy and effortless method of cutting down calories and have gained importance in the community. They are being used as one of the dietary tools to control or prevent weight gain not only in diabetic adults but also in young healthy adults and children. There is a need to examine any possible contribution of these substances on body weight and BMI of an individual.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among randomly selected healthy non-diabetic subjects of both sexes in the age group 18-35 years. Those with history of intake of artificial sweeteners in the last one year (in the form of pellets or diet soda) were considered as study group and equal no of non-users were taken as comparison group for study purpose. A pretested semi structured questionnaire prepared in English language was us...

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2017

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2017

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2016

Introduction: Iodine deficiency disorder remains one of the major public health problems, despite... more Introduction: Iodine deficiency disorder remains one of the major public health problems, despite it being easily preventable. Initially thought as the disorder of Himalayan goiter belt, the disorder has been found to have a pan-India presence. The study was planned with the aim to assess the prevalence of goiter among 6-12 years school-going children and to identify levels of iodine in salt consumed at the household level in the study area. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among 3955 school-going (2162 children from Rajouri and 1793 children from Poonch) children age 6-12 years in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu Province. The children were examined clinically to detect and grade the goiter. Salt samples were collected from subsample (n = 400) to estimate iodine content in the salt. Results: The prevalence of goiter in the study population was found to be 18.87% and 9.70% in Rajouri and Poonch districts, respectively. Goiter prevalence was higher in 9-12 years age group as compared to 6-9 years age group and the difference in goiter prevalence in males of these two age groups was statistically significant (P = 0.02). Estimation of iodine content of the salt samples revealed that all of them (100%) had adequate iodine content. Conclusion: Despite the implementation of Universal Iodization Program and adequate content of iodine in salt consumed by the families, the goiter prevalence in both the districts is high. The future research should focus on identifying the reasons for this high prevalence.

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Three or more waves of COVID 19 pandemic have hit the different parts of world includ... more Background: Three or more waves of COVID 19 pandemic have hit the different parts of world including India very hard, taking toll on the lives of people both in terms of morbidity and mortality. Keeping this in mind, the present study was conducted with an aim to determine the socio-demographic and clinical profile of laboratory confirmed COVID 19 cases and to determine their association with oxygen requirement and outcome of disease at the time of discharge. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on lab confirmed COVID 19 cases admitted in tertiary care hospital in Jammu from June-July 2021.Data was collected using convenient sampling method. The self-designed questionnaire used for data collection obtained information regarding socio-demographic characteristics of patients as well as clinical features of the disease. Results: Out of total 161 patients studied, 60.8% were males and 39.2% were females. Mean age was 51.2 ± 17.5 years. Comorbid conditions were prese...

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Migration, whether voluntary or forced, entails major adaptations. An elaborate insig... more Background: Migration, whether voluntary or forced, entails major adaptations. An elaborate insight into the circumstances helps to induce various interventions in migrants. Aims and Objectives: To elicit the psychological health, lifestyle variables, religiosity, spirituality and coping among migrants and compare it with non migrants in a rural locality. Material and Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was undertaken among 404 adults aged 20 years and above. The General Health Questionnaire–12, Religiosity scale by Wilkes, The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale and COPE scale were used as psychometric tools for data collection. Data was analysed using SPSS (ver. 20.0). Results: A sample of 137 migrants and 267 non migrants were analysed. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups for occupation and education (p=0.002 & 0.000 resp). The mean scores of the psychological health of migrants (10.58± 6.32) were slightly better than that of non migr...

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Dietary practices among infants and children are predictor of their growth and develo... more Background: Dietary practices among infants and children are predictor of their growth and development. India being a huge of diverse cultures, diversity in beliefs and practices regarding diet during childhood illnesses is expected. Harmful beliefs and practices can contribute to malnutrition among children. These beliefs can have adverse consequences in already sick children. Aims and Objectives: To assess the dietary knowledge, beliefs and practices of rural care givers during childhood illnesses. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 271 rural informal (parent / family member) caregivers in one of the sub-health centres which was selected using simple random sampling technique. In the context of this study, the word informal care-giver was used for parent/family member of the child, preferably a mother with a child / children aged less than five years. The survey tool was an open ended and pretested questionnaire which was developed by pu...

Indian Journal of Community Health, 2021

Background-Male preference is deeply entrenched in the society. Gender disadvantage predisposes t... more Background-Male preference is deeply entrenched in the society. Gender disadvantage predisposes to limited education, employment opportunities and healthcare. Aims and objectives: To assess the Gender disadvantage in rural married females and its impact on their psychological morbidity. Methodology: Analytical Cross sectional study was conducted in a randomly selected village of a rural health block. All the eligible women were interviewed using Door Knock Procedure. Psychological morbidity was assessed using 20 items Self Rating Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Statistical Analysis: Data was analysed using SPSS ver 20.0. Tests of significance applied were Chi square test and ANOVA. P value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of Female gender disadvantage was 59.89%. Parental male predisposition and socioeconomic status were found to be statistically associated (p<0.05). The women’s own preference for a male child was strongly predicted by thei...

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2022

Background: With ever-increasing digitization, the internet has intertwined into the daily lives ... more Background: With ever-increasing digitization, the internet has intertwined into the daily lives of users to a large extent. It holds tremendous educational benefits to college students; however, its excessive usage can lead to addiction and even psychological morbidities. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with various factors including depression, anxiety, and stress. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of two professional colleges, i.e., medical and engineering colleges in the Jammu region. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit the information regarding socio-demographic and personal details of students. Young's internet addiction scale was used to assess internet addiction, whereas the DASS 42 scale was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. Data thus collected were analyzed using the PSPP software. Results: A total of 480 students constituted the study population. The prevalence of internet addiction was found to be 78.7%, with a significantly higher prevalence seen among the male students in comparison to females (P < 0.005). A significantly positive correlation of internet addiction was found with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Internet addiction is significantly associated with psychopathology among the respondents. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop effective strategies for the prevention of internet addiction by promoting awareness among the students.

Indian Journal of Community Health, 2016

Background : Swine flu is an emerging public health problem in various countries including India ... more Background : Swine flu is an emerging public health problem in various countries including India and was declared a “Phase 6 Pandemic” by WHO in 2009. India ranks as 3rd most affected country for cases and deaths of swine flu globally. Objectives : To assess the level of knowledge and practices regarding Swine flu among rural housewives of Jammu and to find out the association between the two. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted during the month of April 2015 using a pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire among 310 housewives from two villages of Jammu district. Results : Adequate knowledge was seen in 61.9% of the respondents and 53.5% had followed good practices. Mean (SD) for knowledge and practices score was 11.4(2.37) & 10.3(2.58) respectively. Literacy levels were identified as a positive predictor for adequate knowledge and good practice score. A linear relationship was evident both between knowledge / practices as well as age upto 40 years after which there...

Indian Journal of Community Health, 2015

Background: Socio-cultural factors have a bearing on women's attitude towards menstruation. H... more Background: Socio-cultural factors have a bearing on women's attitude towards menstruation. Health care providers should be aware of how women react to menstruation while providing health care. Aims & Objectives: To elicit menstrual awareness and knowledge of the rural adolescent girls and assess how this awareness, knowledge and demographics influence their menstrual attitude. Methodology: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken among 245 adolescent school going girls in a rural area. Adolescent Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (AMAQ) was used as a data collection device. Data were compared by using SPSS (ver. 20.0) at the level of 0.05. Results: At menarche, 59.9% adolescents were aware of menstruation and in 3/4th of them, mothers were the source of information. There was a statistically significant effect of menstrual awareness (yes or no) and menstrual knowledge (nil, partial and complete) on the combined dependent variables (F(6,238)=9.0, p= 0.00...

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2018

In the late 19 th century, the first academic revolution took place which made research a univers... more In the late 19 th century, the first academic revolution took place which made research a university function in addition to the traditional task of teaching. Research is a process comprised data collection, analysis, interpretation, and assessment procedures which are conducted in a phased

International Surgery Journal, 2019

Background: Normal sexual desire coupled with physical inability to act is a major source of ment... more Background: Normal sexual desire coupled with physical inability to act is a major source of mental stress in interpersonal relationships which subsequently affects the quality of life of patients.Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted among patients of erectile dysfunction visiting the Urology OPD of tertiary care hospital. Study instruments used were international index of erectile function (IIEF) to assess sexual functions and version of the WHO QOL scale (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess quality of life.Results: 168 patients were interviewed and 62.5% of them were less than 45 years of age. Age, income and presence of co-morbidity were found to be statistically significantly associated with ED (p<0.05). Overall QOL scores were lower in severe grades of ED as compared to milder grades and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: Erectile dysfunction has a significant impact on the quality of life of the patients which reemphasi...

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 2019

Background: Cervical cancer is known for its late detection due to a variety of reasons chiefly l... more Background: Cervical cancer is known for its late detection due to a variety of reasons chiefly lack of knowledge, undesirable attitudes and poor practices. Early screening and adequate knowledge about the disease remains the important safe guards against this disease. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the women aged 18 years and above regarding cervical cancer visiting a tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: The present cross sectional hospital based study was conducted in Jammu city, Jammu and Kashmir, India. All the women aged 18 years and above visiting OPD of gynaecology-obstetrics department of Government Medical College Jammu and willing to participate were administered a pretested questionnaire to collect the relevant data.Results: It was found that 91.56% of the respondents had heard of cervical cancer with 83% reporting that it was both preventable as well as curable. Multiple sex partners were the most important risk factor identified....

International Surgery Journal, 2019

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED), though an important complication of T2DM is grossly under ... more Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED), though an important complication of T2DM is grossly under reported in this part of the world. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of ED in T2DM men in northern India.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to August 2018 among male patients with T2DM in the medical OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Jammu. IIEF- international index of erectile function was the tool used in the present study.Results: ED prevalence was 62.08%. Among socio-demographic variables, age was significantly associated with ED (p<0.05) while no association was found with education, occupation and family income. Smoking as a life style and hypertension as a co-morbid condition were significantly associated with ED (p<0.05). Duration of diabetes and type of diabetic complications were also found to be statistically significant.Conclusions: Prevalence of ED in T2DM men was quiet high in this regio...

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2018

Background: Insomnia is one of the common but most neglected issues which may have many serious l... more Background: Insomnia is one of the common but most neglected issues which may have many serious long-term ill-health effects, thus affecting quality of life. Its incidence is showing an upward trend in ever-increasing present stressful life. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of insomnia in rural adults and to find out various associated risk factors and comorbidities. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 405 adults residing in rural area of Jammu. A 13-item self-reported insomnia symptom questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of insomnia. Chi-square test was used to find out the association of various factors. Results: The prevalence of insomnia was found to be 12.8%. Occupation, type of family, and socioeconomic status emerged to be significant determinants of insomnia. The presence of diabetes, chronic respiratory disorders, thyroid disorders, and any form of stress was significantly associated with higher prevalence of insomnia (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Insomnia is a common sleep disorder which is many times missed by a primary care physician until/unless asked for. Health-care professionals should assess the sleep pattern of every patient and give adequate counseling or treatment for the same.

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 2017

Background: Artificial sweeteners have skyrocketed the market in the last decade and there are un... more Background: Artificial sweeteners have skyrocketed the market in the last decade and there are unlimited products available today that contain them. They are often projected as one of the easy and effortless method of cutting down calories and have gained importance in the community. They are being used as one of the dietary tools to control or prevent weight gain not only in diabetic adults but also in young healthy adults and children. There is a need to examine any possible contribution of these substances on body weight and BMI of an individual.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among randomly selected healthy non-diabetic subjects of both sexes in the age group 18-35 years. Those with history of intake of artificial sweeteners in the last one year (in the form of pellets or diet soda) were considered as study group and equal no of non-users were taken as comparison group for study purpose. A pretested semi structured questionnaire prepared in English language was us...

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2017

International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2017

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2016

Introduction: Iodine deficiency disorder remains one of the major public health problems, despite... more Introduction: Iodine deficiency disorder remains one of the major public health problems, despite it being easily preventable. Initially thought as the disorder of Himalayan goiter belt, the disorder has been found to have a pan-India presence. The study was planned with the aim to assess the prevalence of goiter among 6-12 years school-going children and to identify levels of iodine in salt consumed at the household level in the study area. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among 3955 school-going (2162 children from Rajouri and 1793 children from Poonch) children age 6-12 years in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu Province. The children were examined clinically to detect and grade the goiter. Salt samples were collected from subsample (n = 400) to estimate iodine content in the salt. Results: The prevalence of goiter in the study population was found to be 18.87% and 9.70% in Rajouri and Poonch districts, respectively. Goiter prevalence was higher in 9-12 years age group as compared to 6-9 years age group and the difference in goiter prevalence in males of these two age groups was statistically significant (P = 0.02). Estimation of iodine content of the salt samples revealed that all of them (100%) had adequate iodine content. Conclusion: Despite the implementation of Universal Iodization Program and adequate content of iodine in salt consumed by the families, the goiter prevalence in both the districts is high. The future research should focus on identifying the reasons for this high prevalence.