A study of the reproductive health status and its related factors among women living in the post tsunami intermediate shelters of Andaman islands, India.

Objectives: 1. To assess knowledge and practices of selected reproductive health factors among women liv-ing in the post tsunami intermediate shelters of Andaman Islands. 2. To estimate the prevalence of reproduc-tive morbidity and their associated factors among these women. Material and methods: Descriptive cross sectional study of 166 women in the reproductive age group (15 - 49 years) living in the post tsunami inter-mediate shelters at Hurt bay, Port Blair, Andaman islands. Results and Conclusions: The knowledge of women regarding specific aspects of reproductive health and morbidity was found to be deficient. Several wrong practices about menstrual hygiene were prevalent. Various food and social taboos during menstrua-tion were found and treatment seeking behaviour for various reproductive illnesses was also lacking. The prevalence of reproductive morbidity, particularly Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) was found to be 56% - 58%, with several factors such as high-risk behaviour and contraceptive type contributing to the same. Un-reported morbidities such as polyps, cervical erosion, and uterine prolapse were detected during clinical examination. It is necessary to take care of reproductive health in post disaster situations in order to prevent related chronic reproductive morbidity in women.

Prevalence of malnutrition in rural Karnataka, South India: a comparison of anthropometric indicators.

Malnutrition is a problem at varying proportions in developing countries, and anthropometry is a simple tool to assess its magnitude in children. This study was aimed at identifying the prevalence of malnutrition among 256 children of rural areas of Karnataka in South India, who attended the aanganwadis. The value of using various field-based formulae and of various anthropometric indicators used for classification of malnutrition was also studied. The children, aged 12-60 months, came from villages located at the outskirts of Bangalore city. The prevalence of wasting, stunting, and wasting and stunting was 31.2%, 9.4%, and 29.2% respectively. Wasting was more predominant among the younger age groups (p<0.01). To detect wasting (acute malnutrition), the best indicator was a comparison with the reference weight calculated using Weech's formula. However, the age of child had to be rounded off to the nearest quarter of a year. Results of the study showed that indicators, such as mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), needed to be used with caution since they are not sensitive enough to detect all cases of malnutrition. However, the MUAC-for-height (quac stick) method could be used since it was more sensitive. For detection of stunting, if reference tables are not available, Weech's formula can be used for calculation of expected height taking care to account for age to the nearest quarter, although the sensitivity of this indicator is not very high.