ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: COVID-19 pandemic has triggered social stigma towards individuals affected and their families. This study describes the process undertaken for the development and validation of scales to assess stigmatizing attitudes and experiences among COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 participants from the community. Methods: COVID-19 Stigma Scale and Community COVID-19 Stigma Scale constituting 13 and six items, respectively, were developed based on review of literature and news reports, expert committee evaluation and participants’ interviews through telephone for a multicentric study in India. For content validity, 61 (30 COVID-19-recovered and 31 non-COVID-19 participants from the community) were recruited. Test–retest reliability of the scales was assessed among 99 participants (41 COVID-19 recovered and 58 non-COVID-19). Participants were administered the scale at two-time points after a gap of 7-12 days. Cronbach’s alpha, overall percentage agreement and kappa statistics were used to assess internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Results: Items in the scales were relevant and comprehensible. Both the scales had Cronbach’s ? above 0.6 indicating moderate-to-good internal consistency. Test–retest reliability assessed using kappa statistics indicated that for the COVID-19 Stigma Scale, seven items had a moderate agreement (0.4-0.6). For the Community COVID-19 Stigma Scale, four items had a moderate agreement. Interpretation & conclusions: Validity and reliability of the two stigma scales indicated that the scales were comprehensible and had moderate internal consistency. These scales could be used to assess COVID-19 stigma and help in the development of appropriate stigma reduction interventions for COVID-19 infected, and mitigation of stigmatizing attitudes in the community.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Evaluation of height from multiple long bones is done by several researchers with variable degreeof success. Limited literature exists on establishing the correlation between foot length (FL) and height (Ht). Thepresent study was implemented to find out percentage ratio of FL to Ht and to assess the relationship betweenfoot length and height through regression analysis method.Materials and Methods: An observational anthropometric study was done on healthy 500 male and femalestudents with age bracket of 18 to 23 years. Foot length and height measurements were done by appropriateinstruments and same expert to avoid observer bias. SPSS (Version 12) software was used for data analysis andcorrelation coefficients. Multiple regression correlation analysis methods were used to evaluate statisticaldifferences.Results: The mean FL was significantly higher in all age groups of males than that of females (p < 0.001). Thecorrelation coefficient ‘r’ was statistically significant for majority of age groups (p < 0.01). There was positivecorrelation between foot length and height and in the study reliable regressive equation was derived.Conclusions: The study reported statistically significant correlation between foot length and height of individuals.The regression equation derived in the study can be utilized effectively for estimation of height in a diversepopulation group and it would be very useful for personal identification in forensic medicine field andanthropology.
ABSTRACT
Renal scintigraphy is a useful tool in diagnosis and management of various nephro-urological conditions. Tc-99m dimercaptosuccinicacid renal scintigraphy (Tc-99m-DMSA), Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine (Tc-99m-MAG3) or Tc-99m diethylenetriaminepentaaceticacid (Tc-99m-DTPA) dynamic renal scintigraphy, and Radionuclide micturating cystography are the common scans used in children withkidney diseases. These studies are minimally invasive, easily available, and offer both anatomic details and functional informationrequired for thorough evaluation. At the same time, it is essential to have appropriate knowledge to interpret these studies and be awareof their limitations and pitfalls. The advent of Positron emission tomography-computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET-CT/MRI) has broadened the scope of nuclear medicine. This article focuses on the technique, interpretation, indication and recentpractice guidelines of renal scintigraphy in children with kidney diseases.