ABSTRACT
Human development is a direct function of human capability, understood through the different facets of the human development index. The impact of gender inequality, women empowerment, environmental and socioeconomic sustainability has also been described in this review. It brings forth and reinforces that national development is an assessment of not only per capita income but by other influential factors which affect development comprehensively, such as educational achievements and health. A thorough primary screening was done for articles on human development index using the data bases of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar using the key words human development, United Nations, measures, indicators and index, followed by a secondary screening, with due concern to avoid overlap of information. The articles were categorized based on the subject of Human Development with due prioritization. Human development index has evolved periodically taking into consideration the developments, limitations and criticisms. It has become an important indicator of human progress and serves as a guide to state, societal, community and individual developments. India currently holds a rank of 130 denoting medium human development.
ABSTRACT
Abstract Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of students and dental practitioners about dental and biomedical waste disposal and to impart emphasis on important aspects such as eco-friendly waste management. Material and Methods: This questionnaire-based study involved 186 participants which comprised of 5 domains, namely laws regarding biomedical waste, steps of waste management, categories of dental waste, general hazards of improper waste disposal and certain material/process specific questions Results: Assessment of the first domain showed that only 58.4% of participants were able to correctly identify the Pollution Control Board of India as the regulatory body for the transport of medical waste. The second domain assessment revealed that 55.9% of subjects were adequately aware of the knowledge handling hospital waste. Assessment of the third domain displayed that the majority of the respondents (91.9%) knew categories of dental waste generated. Evaluation of fourth domain exhibited that 89.8% students agreed that biomedical waste management (BWM) must be made a practical exercise in dental schools to reduce "Know-Do gap" between undergraduates and postgraduates and the last domain demonstrated that only 32.3% of the participants knew the environmentally friendly technique to convert organic waste into commercially useful byproducts Conclusion: It was found that postgraduates had a better awareness of the proper methods to dispose of healthcare waste when compared to students and interns. However, the overall level of awareness was less than adequate. The need for special training in BWM in the clinical set up was highlighted through this study.