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Background: Measles continues to be a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in India. Measles is considered one of the leading vaccine-preventable causes of child mortality worldwide. Major reasons for low vaccine coverage exist within the health care system itself, which creates barriers to obtaining immunization. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, epidemiological study that aimed to examine the coverage of measles vaccination among under-five children of Asudgaon village. All under-five children residing in every 5th household of the village were included(n = 445). After obtaining consent from the mother, data was collected from her using a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. The data was entered and analyzed in SPSS 23. Results: There was a total of 100 children eligible for the study. Overall, 41% of children were fully immunized against measles, 37% were partially immunized, 5% were immunized to date and 17% were not immunized. The most reasons for partial or non-immunization for measles were inadequate knowledge about immunization (19%), unawareness of days of vaccination(n = 14%), the child being ill at the time of vaccination, husband or mother-in-law against vaccination, fear of effects, and others. The Chi-square test indicates a significant association between mothers’ education and measles vaccination. Conclusion: Immunization status needs to be improved through education, increasing awareness, and counseling of parents regarding immunization and associated misconceptions as observed in the study.
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Introduction: At end of 2019, a novel coronavirus caused severe acute respiratory syndrome, which emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. Health professionals have always used conventional mapping (in recent times geographic information systems [GIS] mapping) as a useful tool for better tracking which further facilitated better management of deadly contagions such as SARS-CoV 2. This study aimed to map geographically the positive patients admitted in a dedicated COVID-19 hospital which is a tertiary care hospital from April to June 2020 to gain insight into the local viral transmission and pattern of geographical spread because of ongoing cluster transmission. Objectives: The aims of this study were (1) to locate geographically the COVID-19 cases admitted from April to June 2020 at a tertiary health-care facility, (2) to study trends and patterns of geographical spread, and (3) to identify geographical clustering of cases, if any. Materials and Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional, secondary data-based study. The study was conducted at MGM Medical College Hospital, Kamothe. The data were collected from existing surveillance and lab data records. The data were analyzed in Excel and Epi info. Specialized GIS software was used for mapping to Taluka level based on patients’ addresses using standard “.shp” files for the local area. Results: There were a total of 968 cases. The majority of which were from Raigad district (839, 87%). The Panvel taluka in Raigad District having Panvel as a major city and the thickly populated urban area has shown clustering of cases extending to neighboring Uran taluka. Conclusion: For better preparedness, we need to keep tracking new outbreaks through GIS and promote further advances in mapping technologies.
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Introduction: Immunization is a cost-effective public health intervention to decrease childhood morbidity and mortality. According to the 3rd National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 43.5% children aged 12 to 23 months were fully vaccinated. The 3rd District Level Household & Facility Survey (DLHS-3) showed 69% full-immunization coverage in Maharashtra with major regional variations. Rural Hospital, Panvel (Raigad), is in a peri-urban area providing health services to a mix of urban, rural, and migrant population. The study was conducted in this hospital with the aim to understand why people seeking health services for secondary prevention refrain from complying with routine immunization services. Objectives: To assess the reasons for partial and nonimmunization of the children and the knowledge regarding routine immunization. Materials and methods: All children who completed 1 year but below 5 years of age, attending the Rural Hospital, Panvel, during a period of 1 month from October 16 to November 15, 2014, were screened and those who were not fully immunized for the age were included in the study. Sociodemographic background, immunization status, reasons for partial and nonimmunization, and knowledge about routine immunization data were collected by personal interview using a prestructured, pretested questionnaire after obtaining informed consent. Results: Out of 303 children, 57 (18.8%) were found to be either partially immunized (47; 15.5%) or nonimmunized (10; 3.3%). The lack of knowledge (36%), lack of priority for immunization (33%), and poor communication by the health worker (21%) were the major reasons. 42% of the mothers were aware about the severity of the vaccine preventable diseases. However, 80% did not have the correct knowledge regarding the immunization schedule. Conclusion: The opportunities to vaccinate are still being missed and consolidated efforts to improve the active involvement of mother in the immunization activity are required.
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Background: Poisoning is a global health problem and one of the major causes of hospitalization through emergency department. In several studies, preponderance of males in younger age group and pesticide consumption has been reported. Method: The present study was undertaken at MGM Hospital and Research Centre, Central Business District (CBD) Belapur, Navi Mumbai, India to study the epidemiological profile of acute poisoning cases; following a chance observation of female preponderance among poisoning cases attending the hospital. Acute poisoning cases, who visited the hospital during the period of five years from 1st July 2007 to 30th June 2012, were included in the study. The data were pooled into pre-designed variable structure for the analysis. Results A total of 234 poisoning cases have been reported, majority of which, reside in neighboring areas of Belapur and Kharghar inhabited by middle to high income population group. Out of them, 172 (69.51%) patients were in the age group of 16 to 35 years and mean age was 26 years. The female to male ratio was 1.75:1 and contrary to other comparative studies, this reverse gender trend was found statistically significant (p < 0.001). A total of 137 (58.55%) poisoning cases were married. However, the proportion of married women?92/149 (61.74%), was statistically significant, placing young married women at higher risk of poisoning (p < 0.0001). In 32 (13.68%) cases, poisoning was accidental, while in remaining 202 (86.32%) deliberate self-harm (DSH) was the reason. Among the poisons consumed, psychotropic drugs (24.79%), insecticides (11.54%) and disinfectants (11.11%) constituted the bulk. Conclusion: This is the first study, in Maharashtra and one among few in the country, which has reported high preponderance of young married women among poisoning cases. Adverse male to female ratio (1000:893) in Thane district where Navi Mumbai is located, coupled with findings of high incidence of acute poisoning in females, is a clear indication of social distress among women in this part of the country.
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Background: Due to the diverse background of medical students in India and the different levels of knowledge and usage of computer, a prior assessment is necessary for improving use of computers in training tomorrow’s health professionals. Objectives: To assess computer literacy and computer use among medical students of a private medical institution. Methodology: In a cross-sectional study conducted in 2012, students of MBBS course participated. A prestructured questionnaire in paper format collecting detail information about background, resources and a computer use scoring system based on frequency of use of computer applications was administered. Measures of central tendency and dispersion were used along with analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze the data with the help of Epi Info and statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Results: A total of 524 students were surveyed of which 375 (71.5%) were local, from Mumbai, while 149 (28.5%) were from different states of India. Total 425 (81%) students gave history of having computer as a subject during schooling. Out of 149 nonlocal students, 42 (28.2%) were not exposed to computer during schooling. All 524 students had some or other time used either desktop or laptop; however, 39 (7.5%) of were not confident of using basic computer applications. One hundred and eighty-seven (35.7%) students regularly visited cyber café while 135 (25.8%) students were found visiting e-library of the college. There was significant difference in computer usage score in the students who had computer as a subject during schooling (p < 0.001). There was no significant gender or age difference in computer usage. Also, there was no significant difference in usage among students from Mumbai and rest of country. Conclusion: In view of improving the skills of future health professionals, the use of computers should be an integral part of medical curriculum in India. The database handling, an important skill for tomorrow’s health professionals, needs special attention. The medical colleges in India should have e-libraries with easy access to students.