Awareness and Practices of Sanitary Latrine Usage and Environmental Cleanliness in Rural Etawah, Uttar Pradesh.

The Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to achieve adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation by 2030. Construction of household toilets does not always translate into its usage in rural areas, as open defecation has become a long-ingrained habit. The Swachta Status Report 2016 states that the majority of people in India (52.1%) practiced open defecation, 24.4% of households disposed of garbage in the nearby agricultural field, while 15.1% threw garbage around the house.METHODSIt was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in four villages of a selected block of the district. A total of 150 households were included in the study. Data was collected using a pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire and information was collected regarding their background characteristics, awareness, practices of sanitary latrine usage, and environmental cleanliness.RESULTSOut of a total of 150 participants, 54% practiced open-air defecation. The drainage system of most households was an open pucca type (73.3%), while garbage was disposed of at a common spot outside the homes in 48.7%. Most respondents were unaware that diseases can be caused by inadequate sanitation (55.3%). A higher age group was found to be significantly associated with the usage of sanitary latrines. (p=0.016). Sanitation practice was found to be significantly related to awareness of the mode of spread of disease (p<0.001).CONCLUSIONSBehavioural change communication is required to motivate people to break the habit of open defecation and remove the barriers which limit the use of sanitary latrines.

A cross sectional study to determine the reasons for non-utilization of reproductive and child health services in district Etawah

Background: The utilization of social services, including health services, has never been equitably distributed in the society. Cost, distance, attitude of health providers, and other factors put the secondary care and private sector facilities out of reach of most of the poor residents. The socioeconomic factors also have a complex relationship with some of the supply factors, and often in the scarcity of good data, it is very difficult to explain the poor utilization of reproductive and child health (RCH) services.Methods: A cross sectional study conducted on 80 recently delivered women at home in the villages covered under the selected subcentre to interview all recently delivered women to find out the reasons for non-utilization of RCH services. The data was collected by using pre designed semi-structured questionnaire.Results: Most of the participants belong to age group of 20 to 24 (55%) and joint family (51.3%). Main reason for not having institutional delivery was found to be long waiting time in hospital/lack of proper facilities (50%) followed by non-cooperative hospital staff (36.2%). The study showed that most common reason for not getting money under JSY was found to be non-issuance of JSY card (33.3%) and non-cooperative hospital staff (33.3%). It was found that non utilisation of contraceptive services was mainly due to objection by husband (45.5%).Conclusions: This study revealed lack of knowledge, no felt need and financial constraints as the most common reason for not utilizing the different RCH services.

Comparative study to determine self-medication practice and pattern in urban and rural areas of Etawah district

Background: According to William Osler, a great feature which distinguishes man from animals is the desire to take medicine. Self-medication is an age old practice. According to World Health Organization guidelines “self-medication is defined as use of medicinal products by the individuals to treat self-recognized disorders or symptoms, or the intermittent or continuous use of a medication prescribed by a physician for chronic or recurring diseases or symptoms.Methods: It was a cross sectional study, which was conducted among residents of urban and rural areas of Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh by using 40×5 cluster sampling. The data was collected by using pre designed, semi-structured questionnaire. Proforma included socio- demographic profile, practice of self- medication and pattern of self-medication.Results: Most of the participants who indulged in self-medication in urban areas 69.5% and rural areas 65% belong to the age group 20-39 years. Majority of the participants (51.0%) in urban areas belonged to the nuclear family while most of the participants (50%) belonged to joint family followed by nuclear family (40%) in rural areas. most common reason for self-medication in urban area was the availability of old prescription which is present in 30.0% (60) of subjects but in rural area most common reason for self-medication was high fee of doctor which was 29.0% (58).Conclusions: Most common age group indulged in self-medication was 20-39 years. Most common reason for self-medication was availability of old prescription at home while in rural area, high fees of doctor was the common reason for self-medicatio

Whatsapp addiction: assessing pattern of Whatsapp usage and its impact on medical students at U.P.U.M.S., Saifai, Etawah, India

Background: Mobile phone addiction is the compulsive use of a mobile phone by youth across the world. A new kind of health disorder in this category among smartphone users is “Whatsapp addiction”. Medical students are also affected by this high smartphone engagement.Methods: It was a cross sectional study, which was conducted among M.B.B.S. students of Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Science, Saifai, Etawah, India. All the M.B.S.S. students willing to participate and present at the time of the study included. The data was collected by using pre designed semi-structured questionnaire. Proforma included socio demographic profile, usage pattern and its impact.Results: This study revealed that most of the participants are males (60.75%). Approximately 54% participants felt that their concentration has been reduced due to Whatsapp use, 43.6% participants experienced strain/diminution of vision and 38.4% participants perceived that their physical activity has been reduced due to Whatsapp use.Conclusions: Whatsapp overuse affects the study duration, concentration, physical activity and sleep.

Darier's Disease Of Moderate Severity With Mucosaland Nail Involvement

Darier's disease, also known as keratosis follicularis, dyskeratosis follicularis or Darier-White disease, is a rare, inherited, acantholytic disorder caused by mutation in ATP2A2 gene, which manifests with hyperkeratotic lesions of variable severity. It typically occurs in young age and presents with itching and greasy appearance. The lesions are persistent and disease follows a chronic course with protean prognosis. Extracutaneous involvement may occur in mucosa, nail, eye and salivary gland.We report a case of Darier's disease of teenage onset, and moderate severity with palmoplantar, mucosal and nail involvement.

Evaluation and comparison of stress distribution around periodontally compromised mobile teeth splinted with different materials: Three-dimensional finite element analysis

Background: Progressive attachment loss around the teeth because of periodontal disease can result in increased tooth mobility. This adversely affects patient's comfort, function, and esthetics. Periodontal splinting helps in accomplishing stability by redistributing the functional and parafunctional forces. There are various materials that have been used for periodontal splinting. Fiber-reinforced composite, composite resin, and metal-reinforced composite are often used as splinting materials for periodontally compromised teeth. In our study, a comparison was done among these materials for their ability to distribute the stresses at different bone levels in mobile lower incisors splinted together with canines. Materials and Methods: Five patients of age group 25–50 years with Grade 2 and 3 mobile incisors having 40% or more bone loss and firm canines with optimal bone support were selected. From the computed tomography scan of each patient, three models were developed demonstrating splinting of mandibular incisors and canines with metal-reinforced composite, fiber-reinforced composite, and composite resin. So in total, 15 models were developed and each one of them was subjected to vertical and transverse loads of 150 N. Pattern of stress distribution was observed in these models using three-dimensional finite element analysis. Results: After splinting, the stress on the canine increased when bone levels around incisors decreased while stress on incisors reduced. Conclusion: Tested splinting materials were successful in stress distribution, and metal-reinforced composite was found to be better than the other splinting materials.

Role of Family Milieu in Tobacco Addiction: A Study in a Tertiary-care Institution in India.

Use of tobacco is singularly responsible for most cases of cancer and coronary artery disease (CAD). Efforts to stop tobacco-use need to be guided by social circumstances. It is believed that family milieu may play a role in tobacco addiction. We studied the prevalence and pattern of tobacco-use in families of 50 consecutive tobacco-user patients who presented to a tobacco-cessation clinic and compared with age- and gendermatched controls (non-users of tobacco). The tobacco-use rates were significantly higher in the family of patients with tobacco-use compared to the control group. We conclude that problems of tobacco-use are not related to individual phenomenon, and efforts for control of tobacco addiction must be focused on entire family.