ABSTRACT
Background: Various strategies have been made to make vaccines universally available including to most hard-to-reach and vulnerable population. However, change in coverage level never reached upto expected level in spite of giving so much effort by the Govt. of India and World bodies. Therefore, there is the need to look beyond. Hence, the process evaluation of Universal Immunization Program (UIP) was conducted to evaluate the process of UIP using selected variables. Methods: A cross-sectional observation was done during the period from May 2017 to April 2020 among the 14 health?care facilities and 36 selected session sites, and interview was done to 48 health?care providers working at different levels, located in Imphal East district of Manipur. Both checklist and pretested semi-structured questioners were used for collection of data. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, proportion, and percentage were used. Results: Ice-lined refrigerator and Deep-freezer were found to be present in working condition in 11 (100%) centers. The use of vaccine carrier was found in all 36 (100%) centers. Way of vaccine administration was found to be correct in 26 (72.2%) centers. Availability of up?to?date microplan was found in 18 (78.3%) centers. Conclusions: Barriers in the UIP were not uniform throughout the villages and districts. Hence, area?specific measures need to be taken up for overcoming the barriers and challenges.
ABSTRACT
Background. The prevalence of overweight and obesity and their associated factors among schoolchildren in Manipur has not been studied. Methods. We did a cross-sectional study among 3356 schoolchildren of classes VIII to XII in Imphal West district, Manipur between September 2005 and August 2006. The characteristics of the respondents and related variables such as parental build, watching television, eating habits, playing of video/computer games and outdoor games, dietary pattern and knowledge of obesity were assessed using a questionnaire. Height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, fat percentage, fat mass and fat-free mass were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and waist–hip ratio for each student were calculated. Results. The BMI of the sampled students was lower than the corresponding WHO and International Obesity Task Force standards. Using the WHO standard, the prevalence of overweight was 4.2% and of obesity 0.8%. Using multivariate logistic regression, mother being reported to be obese (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–2.6), watching television for >2 hours a day (OR 2.052, 95% CI 1.191–3.536), higher family income (OR 5.844, 95% CI 2.135–15.99), not eating other type of vegetables in the past 1 week (OR 2.338, 95% CI 1.04–5.24) and waist–hip ratio (OR 7.737, 95% CI 4.429–13.51) were found to be independent predictors of a higher BMI. Mother’s literacy below class X (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.378–0.997) and eating between major meals (OR 0.447, 95% CI 0.293–0.681) were significant predictors of a lower BMI.Conclusion. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among schoolchildren in the Imphal West district of Manipur is low. The possible reasons for this include a more traditional low-fat diet, less exposure to sedentary past-times and a greater time spent playing outdoors.