Prabha Shrivastava - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Prabha Shrivastava

Indian Journal of Public Health, 2014

Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to m... more Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to monitor the prevalence among apparently healthy adult population. The present study was conducted to determine the profile of blood donors and seroprevalence of TTI among them. Retrospective analysis of the donors of a blood bank attached with a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata in 2011 was carried out. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 17. Majority (85%) of the donors were male, two-third in the age group of 21-40 years. Among the donors 2.79% were positive for any of the screened TTIs. Seroprevalence was highest for hepatitis B (1.41%) followed by human immunodeficiency virus (0.60%) and hepatitis C (0.59%) and least for syphilis (0.23%). Seropositivity increased with age up to 50 years. There was no significant difference in seropositivity between male and female. Highly sensitive donor screening and public awareness program can make transfusion of blood products safe.

Background: while breastfeeding is a natural act, it is also a learned behavior. The right techni... more Background: while breastfeeding is a natural act, it is also a learned behavior. The right technique of feeding in the right position is the key to success of breastfeeding. MeThods: to assess the feeding practice including positioning, attachment and suckling of infants under 6 months of age, a cross-sectional study was undertaken at r. g. kar Medical college and hospital, India, among 99 mothers in 2010. resulTs: 59.8% mothers completed feeding from one breast before going to the next breast. 77.3% mothers alternated their breasts during subsequent feeds. 41.2% babies were well attached, 47.4% babies were correctly positioned. conclusIons: there is a need to teach the mothers the techniques of correct positioning and attachment, especially, in the post natal period before discharge from the hospital after delivery.

Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 2008

Indian Journal of Public Health, 2014

Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to m... more Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to monitor the prevalence among apparently healthy adult population. The present study was conducted to determine the profile of blood donors and seroprevalence of TTI among them. Retrospective analysis of the donors of a blood bank attached with a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata in 2011 was carried out. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 17. Majority (85%) of the donors were male, two-third in the age group of 21-40 years. Among the donors 2.79% were positive for any of the screened TTIs. Seroprevalence was highest for hepatitis B (1.41%) followed by human immunodeficiency virus (0.60%) and hepatitis C (0.59%) and least for syphilis (0.23%). Seropositivity increased with age up to 50 years. There was no significant difference in seropositivity between male and female. Highly sensitive donor screening and public awareness program can make transfusion of blood products safe.

Background: Leprosy, a public health problem, and its elimination in terms of prevalence of less ... more Background: Leprosy, a public health problem, and its elimination in terms of prevalence of less than one case per 10,000 population was achieved at global level in 2001 and by India in 2005 at the national level. In order to achieve elimination of leprosy in all districts of the country leprosy activities were integrated through general health care system.Objectives: The present study was conducted to assess the basic knowledge of health workers on leprosy, its control and their ability to screen leprosy and nerve function impairment using the simplified tool developed by National Leprosy Elimination Program.Methods: An observational crosssectional study was carried in two randomly selected blocks of PurbaBardhamandistrict Bhatar and Mongolkote between April and September 2015. Results: The study revealed that majority of health workers had satisfactory knowledge regarding various aspect of leprosy including implementation of leprosy elimination programme. However, the health worke...

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2021

Context: Development is an ongoing process through which an individual acquires competence to fun... more Context: Development is an ongoing process through which an individual acquires competence to function adequately. Developmental delay is said to occur when a child fails to reach the age-appropriate anticipated milestones. This imparts long-term direct as well as indirect effects on the health of a community obviating routine measurement of its prevalence especially in high-risk populations. Aim: To find out the prevalence and correlates of developmental delay among children under two years of age in slums of Burdwan Municipality, West Bengal. Settings and Design: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods and Materials: This study was conducted between September-November 2019 among 240 study subjects selected by multistage simple random sampling. Data were collected by interviewing the respondents using a predesigned, pretested schedule. Developmental status was assessed by applying Trivandrum Developmental Screening Chart (TDSC). Chi-square test and logistic reg...

Background: Depression is a leading cause of disability and the most common psychiatric disorder.... more Background: Depression is a leading cause of disability and the most common psychiatric disorder. This is a serious condition that can impact every area of women's life.Objectives: To assess the prevalence of depression and to find out its association with different socio-demographic characteristics amongst adult women in an urban slum of Purba Barddhaman district, West Bengal.Methods: It was a community based observational, descriptive study; cross-sectional in design; conducted in a slum area in Burdwan Municipality during April to October 2017. Females aged 18 years and above residing in the study area during the study period constituted the study population. Subjects were selected to participate in the study applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. House to house visits were conducted and data was collected using a predesigned, pretested interview schedule along with validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ 9) in Bengali. Collected data was compiled and analyzed in SPSS...

This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immuni... more This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immunisation clinic of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar. The objective was to identify the validity characteristics of mid arm circumference to detect protein energy malnutrition among 8-11 months infants and to find out a suitable cut-off value if any. Study variables were age, sex, body weight and mid arm circumference. Mid arm circumference was validated against weight for age criteria (gold standard) of malnutrition. The mean mid arm circumference of the infants was found to be almost constant with only about 2.22% change over 4 months, signifying that single cut-off point can be used to detect protein energy malnutrition. Mid arm circumference values from 13.0 to 12.5 cm were found to have the highest accuracy to detect protein energy malnutrition (about 86%). The cut-off values of 12.5 and 12.6 cm were noted to have a sensitivity and specificity of about 52% and 9...

A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the for... more A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the forensic medicine and toxicology department of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from March 2008 to February 2009 comprising 1900 cases was conducted to determine the sociodemographic profile and to assess the nature and cause of such deaths. Bodies of 5 foetuses were decomposed which were excluded from the study. Out of a total of 1895 postmortems analysed, 23 autopsies were performed of limbs where the subjects were alive. Out of 1872 cases in 325 (17.4%) the manner of death was natural, whereas in 1547 cases (82.6%) it was unnatural. Accidents, suicides, homicides and undetermined deaths were 63.1%, 29.8%, 2.8% and 4.3% respectively. Among the natural deaths, evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and coronary heart disease was found in 141 (43.4%) and 124 (38.2%) cases respectively. Burn injuries (22.6%) were the most common cause of unnatural deaths and occurred in 77.4% females. Rail tr...

An unexpected clustering of mumps cases were reported in a slum of Kolkata during early part of 2... more An unexpected clustering of mumps cases were reported in a slum of Kolkata during early part of 2009. An epidemiological investigation was initiated with a view to assess the characteristics and determinants of the disease, and implications of such clustering of cases in a slum of Kolkata. Data were collected through house to house visit using predesigned schedule and epidemiological case sheet. The propagated outbreak existed for fifteen weeks yielding 104 clinical cases. On the whole, attack rate was 4.7%, the highest and lowest being in 6-10 years (11.68%) and above 15 years (0.94%), respectively. The parotid swelling was bilateral in 92.3% of cases; fever was the most common general symptom, reportedly present in 92.3% of study subjects. The overall mean duration of parotid swelling was 6.85 +/- 1.89 days. Morbidity from mumps far exceeds the mortality rate. Improved ventilation of living rooms, personal & oral hygiene; isolation of cases, upgradation of routine immunization, be...

331 primary school students studying from Nursery classes to Class IV in 2 randomly selected scho... more 331 primary school students studying from Nursery classes to Class IV in 2 randomly selected schools in Naxalbari Village in Darjeeling district of West Bengal were tested for visual acuity (VA) Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and Bitot’s spot. 329 students could be tested for visual acuity whereas all 331 students were tested for VAD and Bitot’s spot. The prevalence of abnormal Visual Acuity (VA) (VA .05). Students of Class-I and Class-II contributed 25% and 50% respectively and together accounted for 75% of abnormal VA. Prevalence of VAD was 8.16%. Among sufferers of VAD Hindus (81.48%) and ST (51.85%) were the main contributors; the differences between presence and absence of VAD in 2 sexes among 3 religious groups were not statistically significant (p > .05); however differences among ST and NonSCST groups and again SC ST and Non-SCST groups were statistically significant (p .05). 83.33% each of Hindus and STs had Bitot’s spot. No SC and no Muslim student had this spot; the differ...

Objectives: The present study was carried out to find out the type (maternal i.e. pregnancy relat... more Objectives: The present study was carried out to find out the type (maternal i.e. pregnancy related / nonmaternal) of deaths occurring amongst women in the reproductive age group in the Gynecology and Obstetrics department of a tertiary care hospital in a year and to identify the cause of such deaths. Methods: A record based descriptive cross-sectional study of all reproductive aged deaths which took place in the year 2009 in Gynecology and Obstetrics department of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India was conducted in February 2010; a total of 40 such deaths were recorded. Data were analyzed by standard statistical technique. Results: Majority of the deaths (17) occurred in the age group of 20 – 24 years, followed by 8 each in the age group 15 – 19 and 25 – 34 years. Maternal deaths were 33 and the rest 7 deaths were non-maternal. Out of the 33 maternal deaths, majority (22) died in the post partum period; around 5 deaths occurred during pregnancy before onset ...

Indian Journal of Community Medicine

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Nutritional status of a Tuberculosis (TB) patient plays a role in disease manifestati... more Background: Nutritional status of a Tuberculosis (TB) patient plays a role in disease manifestation. Aims & Objective: To assess the nutritional status of adult tuberculosis patients under intensive phase of treatment. Settings and Design: A descriptive study with cross-sectional design was conducted at Burdwan Municipality of West Bengal. Methods and Material: In this study, TB patients aged 18 years and above receiving intensive phase of treatment, registered in the Tuberculosis units in the months of October-December, 2018 and residing in the municipality were approached. Nutritional status was evaluated through two approaches - dietary intake by twenty-four hours recall method and anthropometric status by measuring weight, height, BMI and MUAC. Data were analysed using SPSS v20. Results: Out of 113 study subjects, under-nutrition was present in 61.9% and inappropriate MUAC was observed in 68.1%. Interestingly, intake of Cereals and Millets among food groups was found to be defi...

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health

Background: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) refer to chronic diseases of long duration and gener... more Background: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) refer to chronic diseases of long duration and generally with slow progression. NCDs are affecting Indian population, both in urban and rural areas. Cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of the major NCDs is the leading cause of death worldwide. The rising prevalence of behavioral and anthropometric risk factors for these lifestyle diseases is postulated to be the cause for the alarming increase of NCDs including CVD. Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is also increasing in tribal population. Objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases among the tribal population aged 18 years and above.Methods: A community based, observational, descriptive study was conducted at Kharagpur-II block of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal from August 2013 to July 2014 among 540 tribal population aged 18 years and above selected by cluster random sampling method.Results: About 64% individual...

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health

Background: Due to their occupation, health workers are always at-risk of developing life-threate... more Background: Due to their occupation, health workers are always at-risk of developing life-threatening infections. “Standard precautions” acts as a protective barrier against this. There is a lack of information about awareness on standard precaution among auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), the frontline health personnel working at Sub-centres. The aim of the study was to assess the current awareness on Standard precautions among ANMs.Methods: This descriptive study with cross-sectional design was conducted at sub centre level of Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision, Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal. In this study, conducted between September-November 2017, three blocks were chosen from the seven blocks in the subdivision through simple random sampling. All ANMs working in these blocks were approached and data were collected on background characteristics and knowledge on key elements of Standard precautions using a pre-tested and pre-designed self-administered questionnaire. Items as...

International Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 2015

Introduction: Maternal health issues continue to be a forefront of national and global health pol... more Introduction: Maternal health issues continue to be a forefront of national and global health policies. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) was launched under the umbrella of National Rural Health Mission to increase the number of institutional deliveries and decrease the maternal and neonatal mortality. Objective: The aim was to assess the utilization of maternal health care services including JSY among the mothers of underfi ve children in a slum at Baghbazar, Kolkata. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at Baghbazar slum, which is under the Urban Training Centre of R.G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata from 1 st to 28 th February, 2014. A total of 72 mothers of under-fi ve children were interviewed using a predesigned, pretested and semi-structured schedule. Results: About 74% mothers were in the age group of 20-30 years and 56.8% mothers were from class IV socioeconomic status (Modifi ed Prasad scale, 2013). Illiterate mothers were 4.2%. Three-fourth of the mothers heard about JSY. Around 47% mothers got cash benefi t. Lack of eligibility document (42.1%) and ignorance (34.2%) were main causes of nonreceiving of the benefi t. About 76% mothers had antenatal registration within the fi rst trimester. About 99% were institutional deliveries. At least one postnatal checkup was received by 77% mothers. Only 33.3% mothers initiated breast feeding within 1 hr of delivery. Natural method (30.6%) and condom (30.6%) were main contraceptive methods accepted by them at the time of conducting study. Conclusion: Information, Education and Communication activities should be carried out to increase awareness regarding JSY utilization.

Journal of the Indian Medical Association, 2010

A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the for... more A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the forensic medicine and toxicology department of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from March 2008 to February 2009 comprising 1900 cases was conducted to determine the sociodemographic profile and to assess the nature and cause of such deaths. Bodies of 5 foetuses were decomposed which were excluded from the study. Out of a total of 1895 postmortems analysed, 23 autopsies were performed of limbs where the subjects were alive. Out of 1872 cases in 325 (17.4%) the manner of death was natural, whereas in 1547 cases (82.6%) it was unnatural. Accidents, suicides, homicides and undetermined deaths were 63.1%, 29.8%, 2.8% and 4.3% respectively. Among the natural deaths, evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and coronary heart disease was found in 141 (43.4%) and 124 (38.2%) cases respectively. Burn injuries (22.6%) were the most common cause of unnatural deaths and occurred in 77.4% females. Rail tr...

Journal of the Indian Medical Association, 2010

This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immuni... more This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immunisation clinic of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar. The objective was to identify the validity characteristics of mid arm circumference to detect protein energy malnutrition among 8-11 months infants and to find out a suitable cut-off value if any. Study variables were age, sex, body weight and mid arm circumference. Mid arm circumference was validated against weight for age criteria (gold standard) of malnutrition. The mean mid arm circumference of the infants was found to be almost constant with only about 2.22% change over 4 months, signifying that single cut-off point can be used to detect protein energy malnutrition. Mid arm circumference values from 13.0 to 12.5 cm were found to have the highest accuracy to detect protein energy malnutrition (about 86%). The cut-off values of 12.5 and 12.6 cm were noted to have a sensitivity and specificity of about 52% and 9...

Indian Journal of Public Health, 2014

Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to m... more Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to monitor the prevalence among apparently healthy adult population. The present study was conducted to determine the profile of blood donors and seroprevalence of TTI among them. Retrospective analysis of the donors of a blood bank attached with a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata in 2011 was carried out. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 17. Majority (85%) of the donors were male, two-third in the age group of 21-40 years. Among the donors 2.79% were positive for any of the screened TTIs. Seroprevalence was highest for hepatitis B (1.41%) followed by human immunodeficiency virus (0.60%) and hepatitis C (0.59%) and least for syphilis (0.23%). Seropositivity increased with age up to 50 years. There was no significant difference in seropositivity between male and female. Highly sensitive donor screening and public awareness program can make transfusion of blood products safe.

Background: while breastfeeding is a natural act, it is also a learned behavior. The right techni... more Background: while breastfeeding is a natural act, it is also a learned behavior. The right technique of feeding in the right position is the key to success of breastfeeding. MeThods: to assess the feeding practice including positioning, attachment and suckling of infants under 6 months of age, a cross-sectional study was undertaken at r. g. kar Medical college and hospital, India, among 99 mothers in 2010. resulTs: 59.8% mothers completed feeding from one breast before going to the next breast. 77.3% mothers alternated their breasts during subsequent feeds. 41.2% babies were well attached, 47.4% babies were correctly positioned. conclusIons: there is a need to teach the mothers the techniques of correct positioning and attachment, especially, in the post natal period before discharge from the hospital after delivery.

Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 2008

Indian Journal of Public Health, 2014

Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to m... more Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be used to monitor the prevalence among apparently healthy adult population. The present study was conducted to determine the profile of blood donors and seroprevalence of TTI among them. Retrospective analysis of the donors of a blood bank attached with a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata in 2011 was carried out. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 17. Majority (85%) of the donors were male, two-third in the age group of 21-40 years. Among the donors 2.79% were positive for any of the screened TTIs. Seroprevalence was highest for hepatitis B (1.41%) followed by human immunodeficiency virus (0.60%) and hepatitis C (0.59%) and least for syphilis (0.23%). Seropositivity increased with age up to 50 years. There was no significant difference in seropositivity between male and female. Highly sensitive donor screening and public awareness program can make transfusion of blood products safe.

Background: Leprosy, a public health problem, and its elimination in terms of prevalence of less ... more Background: Leprosy, a public health problem, and its elimination in terms of prevalence of less than one case per 10,000 population was achieved at global level in 2001 and by India in 2005 at the national level. In order to achieve elimination of leprosy in all districts of the country leprosy activities were integrated through general health care system.Objectives: The present study was conducted to assess the basic knowledge of health workers on leprosy, its control and their ability to screen leprosy and nerve function impairment using the simplified tool developed by National Leprosy Elimination Program.Methods: An observational crosssectional study was carried in two randomly selected blocks of PurbaBardhamandistrict Bhatar and Mongolkote between April and September 2015. Results: The study revealed that majority of health workers had satisfactory knowledge regarding various aspect of leprosy including implementation of leprosy elimination programme. However, the health worke...

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2021

Context: Development is an ongoing process through which an individual acquires competence to fun... more Context: Development is an ongoing process through which an individual acquires competence to function adequately. Developmental delay is said to occur when a child fails to reach the age-appropriate anticipated milestones. This imparts long-term direct as well as indirect effects on the health of a community obviating routine measurement of its prevalence especially in high-risk populations. Aim: To find out the prevalence and correlates of developmental delay among children under two years of age in slums of Burdwan Municipality, West Bengal. Settings and Design: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods and Materials: This study was conducted between September-November 2019 among 240 study subjects selected by multistage simple random sampling. Data were collected by interviewing the respondents using a predesigned, pretested schedule. Developmental status was assessed by applying Trivandrum Developmental Screening Chart (TDSC). Chi-square test and logistic reg...

Background: Depression is a leading cause of disability and the most common psychiatric disorder.... more Background: Depression is a leading cause of disability and the most common psychiatric disorder. This is a serious condition that can impact every area of women's life.Objectives: To assess the prevalence of depression and to find out its association with different socio-demographic characteristics amongst adult women in an urban slum of Purba Barddhaman district, West Bengal.Methods: It was a community based observational, descriptive study; cross-sectional in design; conducted in a slum area in Burdwan Municipality during April to October 2017. Females aged 18 years and above residing in the study area during the study period constituted the study population. Subjects were selected to participate in the study applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. House to house visits were conducted and data was collected using a predesigned, pretested interview schedule along with validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ 9) in Bengali. Collected data was compiled and analyzed in SPSS...

This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immuni... more This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immunisation clinic of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar. The objective was to identify the validity characteristics of mid arm circumference to detect protein energy malnutrition among 8-11 months infants and to find out a suitable cut-off value if any. Study variables were age, sex, body weight and mid arm circumference. Mid arm circumference was validated against weight for age criteria (gold standard) of malnutrition. The mean mid arm circumference of the infants was found to be almost constant with only about 2.22% change over 4 months, signifying that single cut-off point can be used to detect protein energy malnutrition. Mid arm circumference values from 13.0 to 12.5 cm were found to have the highest accuracy to detect protein energy malnutrition (about 86%). The cut-off values of 12.5 and 12.6 cm were noted to have a sensitivity and specificity of about 52% and 9...

A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the for... more A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the forensic medicine and toxicology department of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from March 2008 to February 2009 comprising 1900 cases was conducted to determine the sociodemographic profile and to assess the nature and cause of such deaths. Bodies of 5 foetuses were decomposed which were excluded from the study. Out of a total of 1895 postmortems analysed, 23 autopsies were performed of limbs where the subjects were alive. Out of 1872 cases in 325 (17.4%) the manner of death was natural, whereas in 1547 cases (82.6%) it was unnatural. Accidents, suicides, homicides and undetermined deaths were 63.1%, 29.8%, 2.8% and 4.3% respectively. Among the natural deaths, evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and coronary heart disease was found in 141 (43.4%) and 124 (38.2%) cases respectively. Burn injuries (22.6%) were the most common cause of unnatural deaths and occurred in 77.4% females. Rail tr...

An unexpected clustering of mumps cases were reported in a slum of Kolkata during early part of 2... more An unexpected clustering of mumps cases were reported in a slum of Kolkata during early part of 2009. An epidemiological investigation was initiated with a view to assess the characteristics and determinants of the disease, and implications of such clustering of cases in a slum of Kolkata. Data were collected through house to house visit using predesigned schedule and epidemiological case sheet. The propagated outbreak existed for fifteen weeks yielding 104 clinical cases. On the whole, attack rate was 4.7%, the highest and lowest being in 6-10 years (11.68%) and above 15 years (0.94%), respectively. The parotid swelling was bilateral in 92.3% of cases; fever was the most common general symptom, reportedly present in 92.3% of study subjects. The overall mean duration of parotid swelling was 6.85 +/- 1.89 days. Morbidity from mumps far exceeds the mortality rate. Improved ventilation of living rooms, personal & oral hygiene; isolation of cases, upgradation of routine immunization, be...

331 primary school students studying from Nursery classes to Class IV in 2 randomly selected scho... more 331 primary school students studying from Nursery classes to Class IV in 2 randomly selected schools in Naxalbari Village in Darjeeling district of West Bengal were tested for visual acuity (VA) Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and Bitot’s spot. 329 students could be tested for visual acuity whereas all 331 students were tested for VAD and Bitot’s spot. The prevalence of abnormal Visual Acuity (VA) (VA .05). Students of Class-I and Class-II contributed 25% and 50% respectively and together accounted for 75% of abnormal VA. Prevalence of VAD was 8.16%. Among sufferers of VAD Hindus (81.48%) and ST (51.85%) were the main contributors; the differences between presence and absence of VAD in 2 sexes among 3 religious groups were not statistically significant (p > .05); however differences among ST and NonSCST groups and again SC ST and Non-SCST groups were statistically significant (p .05). 83.33% each of Hindus and STs had Bitot’s spot. No SC and no Muslim student had this spot; the differ...

Objectives: The present study was carried out to find out the type (maternal i.e. pregnancy relat... more Objectives: The present study was carried out to find out the type (maternal i.e. pregnancy related / nonmaternal) of deaths occurring amongst women in the reproductive age group in the Gynecology and Obstetrics department of a tertiary care hospital in a year and to identify the cause of such deaths. Methods: A record based descriptive cross-sectional study of all reproductive aged deaths which took place in the year 2009 in Gynecology and Obstetrics department of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India was conducted in February 2010; a total of 40 such deaths were recorded. Data were analyzed by standard statistical technique. Results: Majority of the deaths (17) occurred in the age group of 20 – 24 years, followed by 8 each in the age group 15 – 19 and 25 – 34 years. Maternal deaths were 33 and the rest 7 deaths were non-maternal. Out of the 33 maternal deaths, majority (22) died in the post partum period; around 5 deaths occurred during pregnancy before onset ...

Indian Journal of Community Medicine

Indian Journal of Community Health

Background: Nutritional status of a Tuberculosis (TB) patient plays a role in disease manifestati... more Background: Nutritional status of a Tuberculosis (TB) patient plays a role in disease manifestation. Aims & Objective: To assess the nutritional status of adult tuberculosis patients under intensive phase of treatment. Settings and Design: A descriptive study with cross-sectional design was conducted at Burdwan Municipality of West Bengal. Methods and Material: In this study, TB patients aged 18 years and above receiving intensive phase of treatment, registered in the Tuberculosis units in the months of October-December, 2018 and residing in the municipality were approached. Nutritional status was evaluated through two approaches - dietary intake by twenty-four hours recall method and anthropometric status by measuring weight, height, BMI and MUAC. Data were analysed using SPSS v20. Results: Out of 113 study subjects, under-nutrition was present in 61.9% and inappropriate MUAC was observed in 68.1%. Interestingly, intake of Cereals and Millets among food groups was found to be defi...

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health

Background: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) refer to chronic diseases of long duration and gener... more Background: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) refer to chronic diseases of long duration and generally with slow progression. NCDs are affecting Indian population, both in urban and rural areas. Cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of the major NCDs is the leading cause of death worldwide. The rising prevalence of behavioral and anthropometric risk factors for these lifestyle diseases is postulated to be the cause for the alarming increase of NCDs including CVD. Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is also increasing in tribal population. Objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases among the tribal population aged 18 years and above.Methods: A community based, observational, descriptive study was conducted at Kharagpur-II block of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal from August 2013 to July 2014 among 540 tribal population aged 18 years and above selected by cluster random sampling method.Results: About 64% individual...

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health

Background: Due to their occupation, health workers are always at-risk of developing life-threate... more Background: Due to their occupation, health workers are always at-risk of developing life-threatening infections. “Standard precautions” acts as a protective barrier against this. There is a lack of information about awareness on standard precaution among auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), the frontline health personnel working at Sub-centres. The aim of the study was to assess the current awareness on Standard precautions among ANMs.Methods: This descriptive study with cross-sectional design was conducted at sub centre level of Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision, Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal. In this study, conducted between September-November 2017, three blocks were chosen from the seven blocks in the subdivision through simple random sampling. All ANMs working in these blocks were approached and data were collected on background characteristics and knowledge on key elements of Standard precautions using a pre-tested and pre-designed self-administered questionnaire. Items as...

International Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 2015

Introduction: Maternal health issues continue to be a forefront of national and global health pol... more Introduction: Maternal health issues continue to be a forefront of national and global health policies. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) was launched under the umbrella of National Rural Health Mission to increase the number of institutional deliveries and decrease the maternal and neonatal mortality. Objective: The aim was to assess the utilization of maternal health care services including JSY among the mothers of underfi ve children in a slum at Baghbazar, Kolkata. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at Baghbazar slum, which is under the Urban Training Centre of R.G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata from 1 st to 28 th February, 2014. A total of 72 mothers of under-fi ve children were interviewed using a predesigned, pretested and semi-structured schedule. Results: About 74% mothers were in the age group of 20-30 years and 56.8% mothers were from class IV socioeconomic status (Modifi ed Prasad scale, 2013). Illiterate mothers were 4.2%. Three-fourth of the mothers heard about JSY. Around 47% mothers got cash benefi t. Lack of eligibility document (42.1%) and ignorance (34.2%) were main causes of nonreceiving of the benefi t. About 76% mothers had antenatal registration within the fi rst trimester. About 99% were institutional deliveries. At least one postnatal checkup was received by 77% mothers. Only 33.3% mothers initiated breast feeding within 1 hr of delivery. Natural method (30.6%) and condom (30.6%) were main contraceptive methods accepted by them at the time of conducting study. Conclusion: Information, Education and Communication activities should be carried out to increase awareness regarding JSY utilization.

Journal of the Indian Medical Association, 2010

A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the for... more A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the forensic medicine and toxicology department of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from March 2008 to February 2009 comprising 1900 cases was conducted to determine the sociodemographic profile and to assess the nature and cause of such deaths. Bodies of 5 foetuses were decomposed which were excluded from the study. Out of a total of 1895 postmortems analysed, 23 autopsies were performed of limbs where the subjects were alive. Out of 1872 cases in 325 (17.4%) the manner of death was natural, whereas in 1547 cases (82.6%) it was unnatural. Accidents, suicides, homicides and undetermined deaths were 63.1%, 29.8%, 2.8% and 4.3% respectively. Among the natural deaths, evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and coronary heart disease was found in 141 (43.4%) and 124 (38.2%) cases respectively. Burn injuries (22.6%) were the most common cause of unnatural deaths and occurred in 77.4% females. Rail tr...

Journal of the Indian Medical Association, 2010

This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immuni... more This institution-based cross-sectional observational validation study was conducted in the immunisation clinic of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar. The objective was to identify the validity characteristics of mid arm circumference to detect protein energy malnutrition among 8-11 months infants and to find out a suitable cut-off value if any. Study variables were age, sex, body weight and mid arm circumference. Mid arm circumference was validated against weight for age criteria (gold standard) of malnutrition. The mean mid arm circumference of the infants was found to be almost constant with only about 2.22% change over 4 months, signifying that single cut-off point can be used to detect protein energy malnutrition. Mid arm circumference values from 13.0 to 12.5 cm were found to have the highest accuracy to detect protein energy malnutrition (about 86%). The cut-off values of 12.5 and 12.6 cm were noted to have a sensitivity and specificity of about 52% and 9...