ABSTRACT
Introduction: Aging is a natural process that usually results in physiological, biological, emotional, and financial decline. As a result, a robust health system is required to meet their escalating health needs. Through this study, we got an opportunity to study the morbidity profile of the elderly and to assess their health-seeking behavior and its determinants in urban areas of Chandigarh. Material and Methods: The sample consisted of 360 participants. Multistage and proportionate sampling techniques were used to recruit study subjects. A structured interview was carried out to get information on the different parameters of health-seeking behavior of the elderly population. Results: The most pervasive determinant of health-seeking behavior was perceiving health issues related to age, no family support, and health-care expenditure. Conclusion: The elderly had a positive behavior toward seeking help with regard to health care. Multiple morbidities were evident among the elderly, and modern medication was the greatest choice. Improved perspective toward health, easy accessibility, and awareness regarding the disease may contribute to the willingness of seeking help for the health-care needs.
ABSTRACT
Aging is a Complex Physiological Process which involves remodeling of cellular components and processes, decline of functional reserve, adaptation of the body to these changes and finally senescence. An important concept in ageing physiology is Frailty which is a physiological, age-related condition characterized by a decrease in functional reserve across multiple organ systems. The phenotype of physical frailty has five components, that is, slowness, weakness, low physical activity level, unintentional weight loss and exhaustion It is crucial to mention “Inflammaging”, a term that signifies the development of an age-related inflammation in the body wherein there is an increase in acute phase reactants and pro-inflammatory cytokines contributing independently to the pathogenesis of frailty. Inflammaging has been proposed to be associated with frailty and many studies suggest the existence of a relationship between age-related Frailty and inflammatory Biomarkers. The aim of this review is to study the evolution of our understanding of the role of inflammatory markers in development of Frailty in the older population.
ABSTRACT
Introduction : Acute Undifferentiated Fever (AUF) has a myriad of etiologies most common of which are Vector Borne Diseases in a country like India. The etiology and diagnosis of AUF is driven by the regional disease burden, seasonality of infectious diseases, spectrum and severity of disease, availability of diagnostics and access to health care facilities. Methods : A twelve-month prospective study was conducted at our centre to determine the commonly occurring causes of AUF. Monthly incidence of each of the common etiologies was noted and a graph was plotted to understand the seasonal distribution of each disease. Other parameters including age, gender, occupation and regional distribution were also studied. Results : The mean age (±SD) of the population in the present study was 33.16 (±15.88) years. Our study established that Scrub Typhus, Dengue fever and malaria were the most common reasons for AUF. The maximum incidence of AUF was between the months of June to October, peaking in the month of August. Urban population, younger age and males were more affected by AUF. Haryana followed by Punjab and Chandigarh had the highest regional burden of disease. Conclusion : It is imperative that we understand the seasonal and regional trends of AUF so that we can plan the resource allocation. Identifying the population at risk and timely intervention at Community level may help to reduce disease transmission.
ABSTRACT
Background: The Competency-based medical education (CBME) has been introduced for MBBS programme in India from 2019. Reorganization of the assessment system is required to meet the challenges imposed by this new framework. Objectives: An evaluation of the university summative assessments held prior to the introduction of CBME-based curriculum was carried out to analyze the pattern, relevance and distribution of questions. Methods: Five sets of annual and supplementary summative examination papers from three universities, State (SU), Private (PU) and Medical (MU) were evaluated. The analysis included format i.e. Structured and Modified Essay questions, Short notes, other formats; marks distribution; terminology-based level of cognitive domain; subject-based relevance and topic-based distribution of questions. Results: A total of 352 questions were analyzed. The maximum number of questions were from the state university (140, 39.7%).The contribution of short notes in the theory papers was 65.8% (PU), 87.1% (SU) and 88.9% (MU).Only the PU had Modified-Essay Questions (10.5%) and Modified short notes(4.7%). Terminology addressing higher cognitive domains was low as the questions assessed mainly the knowledge level (80-96.8%), comprehension 3.1%-6.4%. Only the PU had problem solving questions comprising 11.7% of total questions. Majority of questions had moderate or high relevance and only 2.1%-8.2% were of low-relevance. Inter-university differences in the topics were observed for dermatology, psychiatry, and infections. Conclusions: The present evaluation of high-stakes assessment in three universities indicates minor differences in the format of questions. Questions were predominantly in the form of short notes, structured essays and modified essays were a rarity; few questions targeted higher cognitive levels although majority had high-moderate relevance.