ABSTRACT
Background:Biomedical waste is any waste that is created during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunisationof human beings or animals, or in research activities pertaining thereto or in the manufacturing or testing of biologicals. India produces 500 tonnes of biomedical waste every day through numerous activities. It is projected that 10-25% of the total wasteis produced by the health care sector, which leads to severe health problems. If an appropriate measure is not incorporated into the current system, the negative effects of medical waste on the public and the environment will be hilarious. With this backdrop, a research study was carried out among medical students perusing under graduating in medicine, aiming to optimise their level of knowledge of biomedical waste segregation and disposal. Methods:A cross-sectional descriptive design was espoused to study among the 3rd year medical students. A random sampling method was chosen to select 150 students. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from them. Descriptive analysis was employed and the finding was presented intabular and pictorial forms.Results:Half of the students had good knowledge over BMW. Awareness of segregation wastes and colour coding among them was very poor.Conclusions:The study has unearthed the fact that half of the medical students haven’t had adequate knowledge of BMW management. Hands-on training at regular intervals with the updated information would enhance the students' knowledge and skills, and fill the lacuna in this area of research.
ABSTRACT
Background: To reduce the severity of the disease among COVID-19 patients with co-morbidities is the need of the hour. Obesity may contribute to adverse outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimedto find the association between the COVID-19 biomarker values and the underlying comorbid conditions and assess the severity of the disease according to the patients' body mass index (BMI).Methods: A single centre cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital among 184 COVID-19 patients admitted for one month (June-July 2021).Results: The results show a statistically significant association between the COVID-19 severity and co-morbidity status of the patients, with diabetes mellitus being the most prevalent co-morbidity among the patients, followed by diabetes with hypertension. A statistically significant association was also seen between age and co-morbidity and biomarkers and co-morbidity. Conclusions: Obesity and other comorbid conditions like diabetes mellitus and hypertension should be given utmost importance during treatment among COVID-19 patients. Biomarker screening should be routinely done in patients with co-morbidities and obesity. Awareness among the COVID-19 patients regarding the comorbid conditions and BMI is the need of the hour.
ABSTRACT
Background: Over the last few decades hazardous materials have become a common household item in many rural areas of the developing world. Due to their easy availability, commercialization, accessibility and lack of awareness it has become a significant health problem globally. The objective of the study is to estimate the prevalence of household hazardous material accidents and poisoning and the factors associated with household hazardous accidents and poisoning among the rural population.Methods: A cross sectional study was done among the households located in rural fields practice area tertiary care hospital, with the sample size of 244 households by probability proportion sampling method. House to house interview was conducted using a predesigned, pre-tested questionnaire and household hazardous accidents and poisoning was assessed.Results: The overall prevalence of household hazardous accidents was 2.1% among the population. Among them 70% were less than 10 years of age followed by 10 to 20 years. The prevalence of household hazardous accident and poisoning was found to be positively associated with the factors like age <10 years, easy accessibility and storage in the open self.Conclusions: Regular assessment for household hazardous accident and poisoning should be carried out at the community level to find the exact burden. Utilization of this information, especially by the stakeholders and policy makers in the regional health sectors, can avert the problematic health situation.