ABSTRACT
Background. The incidence of juvenile delinquency has increased in the past decade in India and juvenile crimes are increasingly being reported. This has been attributed to many biopsychosocial factors. It is essential to understand these issues in the context of India to determine the response of acts of children in conflict with the law. We aimed to assess the sociodemographic characteristics and the aggression quotient of children in conflict with the law (juvenile delinquents) in observation homes across India and compare them with those who were not. Methods. We did a case–control study in five juvenile homes in the cities of Hyderabad, Lucknow and Pune. Ninety inmates (74 boys, 16 girls) were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics and aggression quotient of children in conflict with the law were evaluated using two separate questionnaires, i.e. a sociodemographic questionnaire and the modified Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. These were compared with a control group of similar age, sex and income status. Results. All the children in conflict with the law surveyed belonged to the lower socioeconomic strata, had a significantly higher chance (p<0.05) of coming from broken homes, have addictions, jailed family members and suffered physical and sexual abuse than controls. They also scored higher on all domains of the aggression questionnaire than controls. Conclusion. A collection of sociodemographic attributes such as broken homes, addictions and abuse seem to have an
ABSTRACT
Background: India has rapidly scaled up its programme for antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is high potential for the emergence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR), with an increasing number of patients on ART. It is not feasible to perform testing for HIVDR using laboratory genotyping, owing to economic constraints. This study piloted World Health Organization (WHO) early-warning indicators (EWIs) for HIVDR, and quality-of-care indicators (QCIs), in four ART clinics in Pune city. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 2015, among four ART clinics in Pune city, India. The data on four standardized EWIs (EWI 1: On-time pill pickup, EWI 2: Retention of patients in ART care at 12 months after initiation, EWI 3: Pharmacy stock-out, EWI 4: Pharmacy dispensing practices) and three QCIs (QCI 1: Regularity in CD4 testing in patients taking ART, QCI 2: Percentage of patients initiating ART within 30 days of medical eligibility, QCI 3: Percentage of patients initiating ART within 30 days of initiation of anti-tuberculosis therapy) were abstracted into WHO Excel HIV data abstractor tools, from the patient records from April 2013 to March 2014. Results: All four ART clinics met the EWI 4 target (100%) for ART dispensing practices. The target for EWIs on-time pill-pick (EWI 1 >90%) and pharmacy stockouts (EWI 3: no stock-outs, 100%) were achieved in one clinic. None of the clinics met the EWI 2 target for retention in care at 12 months (>90%) and the overall retention was 76% (95% confidence interval: 73% to 79%). The targets for QCI 1 and QCI 2 (>90% each) were achieved in one and two clinics respectively. None of the clinics achieved the target for QCI 3 (>90%). Conclusion: ART dispensing practices (EWI 4) were excellent in all clinics. Efforts are required to strengthen retention in care and timely pill pick-up and ensure continuity of clinic-level drug supply among the programme clinics in Pune city. The clinics should focus on regularity in testing CD4 count and timely initiation of ART.