ABSTRACT
India, the disaster preparedness has primarily been restricted to being response oriented that is mainlyconcentrated on the rescue operations. Insufficient community preparedness and lack of propercommunication leads to large scale causalities. The lack of proper communication is due to the fact thatthe relevant information among the community participants is not spread properly. One of the majorreasons for this is: the difference in the language of communication among the people and the language inwhich the information is officially shared. Due to this language gap it becomes very difficult for thenative people to understand the guidelines related to the disaster risks and disaster preparedness, therebymaking them more vulnerable to disaster risks. Five districts from Bihar have been identified for datacollection. The districts feature prominently from North to South on the map showing Multi HazardZones in Bihar issued by Bihar State Disaster Management Authority. Quantitative data analysis clearlyreflects that firstly, the official languages (English and Hindi) used by the government agencies forknowledge transfer are totally inadequate and secondly, translating the information in regional languageslike Magahi, Bhojpuri and Maithili considerably enhance the quality and the quantity of responses thatare generated during data collection. Community involvement can be promoted and made efficient onlywhen the regional languages are used as the desired media of communication.
ABSTRACT
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a rapidly growing health problem in India. Diet and physical activity are important modifiable risk factors affecting the incidence, severity and management of DM. The aim of the study was to assess diet of diabetes mellitus patients. 87 adults from a cohort of diabetic patients attending the Medical Clinics at the Hamidia Hospital Bhopal were invited for the study.Methods: Information about their nutritional status & food consumption pattern was taken by 24-hour dietary recall and food frequency questionnaire. Data was analysed using Epi Info and MS Excel. Frequency counts and percentages were used to describe the demographic characteristics of the participants while the significance difference in between male and female participants. The significance level was set at P <0.05 and 0.01. Statistical analysis used: MS Excel and Epi Info.Results: The study sample was 87 out of which 56 were females and 31 were males; mean age of DM patients was 48.21±12.98.The mean energy intake was 1386.52 kcal and 1125.79 kcal among male and female. The mean protein intake was 68.71 g and 50.50 among male and female diabetics. There was significant difference between male and female age. There were no significant difference in body mass index and waist hip ratio between male and female. 30 (34.5%) & 16 (18.4%) were overweight and obese respectively.Conclusions: Based on these findings, the dietary practices of diabetic patients are inadequate and require improvement. Education and counselling about diet of a diabetes patient is needed.