ABSTRACT
Background. Diabetes-related health education promotes patient efficacy for diabetes self-management. However, sub-optimal knowledge of diabetes in people with diabetes is recognized as a challenge in overcrowded public health facilities in India. We aimed to determine the effect of health education through mobile phone text messages (short messaging service [SMS]) on diabetes-related knowledge of patients with diabetes. Methods. From February 2016 to February 2017, we recruited adult patients with diabetes for this quasi-experimental study done in the outpatient setting of a major tertiary care government hospital in Delhi, India. Participants in the intervention group received a text message on diabetes self-care practices every alternate day for 90 days. We evaluated the patients’ knowledge of diabetes using the Spoken Knowledge in Low Literacy in Diabetes (SKILL-D) questionnaire and a self-designed diabetes knowledge questionnaire. Results. We enrolled 190 men and 160 women, of whom 52 (13.7%) were lost to follow-up. At baseline, mean diabetes knowledge scores were higher in the intervention group compared to the control group. After the intervention period of 3 months, the diabetes knowledge scores for SKILL-D and the patient diabetes knowledge questionnaire showed a statistically significant increase in the intervention group (mean difference 0.7 and 0.5, respectively; p<0.001, but there was no increase in the control group). Conclusion. The use of mobile phone technology for diabetes-related health education through mobile text-message (SMS) technology is an effective method for health promotion.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine the seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in two urban communities in Delhi and to correlate the presence of HSV-2 seroprevalence with sociodemographic profile, risk factors and presence of other reproductive tract infections (RTIs). METHODS: Men and women aged between 15-49 years from an urban slum and an urban middle class colony were invited to participate in the study. They provided interview information; blood for HSV-2, HIV and syphilis serology; first void urine specimens for diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infection; and genital specimens for diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis, vaginal candidiasis and trichomoniasis. RESULTS: The prevalence of HSV-2 seropositivity was found to be 7 and 8.6% in men and women, respectively. HSV-2 seropositivity was found to be significantly associated with urban middle class community and older age. No statistically significant correlation was found between HSV-2 seropositivity and other laboratory-confirmed RTIs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our study indicate a relatively low prevalence of HSV-2 seropositivity and other sexually transmitted infections in the two communities that were studied.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Comorbidity , Female , Herpes Genitalis/epidemiology , Herpesvirus 2, Human/immunology , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 208 adults (114 males and 94 females) aged 16-70 years, selected by systematic random sampling method in Lok Nayak Colony, Delhi to assess the knowledge and attitude towards tuberculosis (TB). Literacy rate was 28.4%. Only 174 (83.6%) heard of tuberculosis mainly from neighbours (64.9%) and friends (62.1%). Only 2.3% knew that TB was caused by a germ. Literates were more aware than illiterates regarding some signs and symptoms of TB i.e breathlessness (p=0.002), low grade fever (p=0.02), loss of appetite (p<0.001) and factors favouring TB e.g. overcrowding (56.4%) and poor diet (45.4%). Only 12.6% knew about the duration of treatment for 6-8 months and 1.7% knew about preventive role of BCG. Tendency to discriminate TB patients was evident from the findings e.g 71% respondents agreed upon isolating TB patients from the family, 74.1% on avoiding the patient in food sharing, on quitting job by the patient (33%), prohibiting marriage of the patient (27.6%), shunning him from attending social functions (18%), etc. Extensive health education directing towards attitudinal change by community involvement is needed to create awareness and remove myths about TB in such colonies.