Knowledge of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) Workers Regarding Maternal Health Services: A Comparative Study between Rural and Urban Areas of a Block of Haryana

Introduction: All people, everywhere, deserve the right care, right in their community. In any community, maternal mortality ratio strongly reflects the overall effectiveness of health systems. To increase utilization of existing health services, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) is the key component of the National Rural Health Mission. o assess compare the level of knowledgeO : bjective T any of ASHA workers regarding maternal health services in between rural and urban areas of a block of Haryana. Method: The present cross-sectional, community-based study was conducted in block Barwala, district Hisar of Haryana. The assessment of knowledge of ASHA workers was done on the basis of scoring. Appropriate statistical tests like percentages and chi-square (?2) test were applied. RegardingResult :s maternal health services majority of ASHA workers had good knowledge, assessed by score gained by them and none of them was having poor knowledge about maternal health services. However in rural area score, gained was better than urban area & the observed difference was found to be statistically significant. Knowledge of identification & treatment of anaemia and identification of danger signs during pregnancy were inadequate among ASHA workers of both areas. Knowledge of ASHA workers wasConclusion: inadequate as far as anaemia and danger signs during pregnancy were concerned. Frequent and regular refresher training should be organized in their working area.

Socio Demographic Profile Of Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic At Three Urban Health Centres Of Belagavi - A Cross Sectional Study

Background and Objective: Pregnancy is a unique, exciting and often joyous time in a woman's life, as it highlights the woman's amazing creative and nurturing powers while providing a bridge to the future. Proper antenatal care is one of the important ways in reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality. Pregnancy comes with some cost, however, for a pregnant woman needs also to be a responsible woman so as to best support the health of her future child. This present study was conducted to assess the socio demographic profile of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic. Methodology: This one year cross sectional study was done in three UHCs Ram Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Rukmini Nagar which are urban field practice area of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belagavi. Data was collected from 360 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of three UHCs. Information on socio demographic details was obtained. Results: Out of total 360 participants, In the present study mean age of study participants was 24.3±3.92 years, 54.7% were Muslim by religion. A large number of study participants had studied up to high school 37.8%. As many 95.3% pregnant women were housewives. Most of participants belonged to class III socio-economic status as per modified B G Prasad classification. 15.2% were having previous history of abortion Conclusion: There is a need for universal screening to pick up risk factor such as age ≥30 years and various other factors to prevent maternal and fetal morbidity. Risk factors such as age ≥30 years can lead to gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant woman. To improve community awareness on Antenatal care, information, education and communication activities should be increased on Antenatal care through community campaign and mass media like local television channel, radio and local newspapers. There is a need to motivate women to utilize maternal care services which are freely available in all the government health set ups. Based on these results it concluded that, plan for preventive strategies and to improve maternal outcomes

Comparison of School Health Services among Private and Government Owned Schools of Belgaum.

Introduction: Children are the creators and the shapers of tomorrow and school marks an important early milestone in the child’s life long journey of intellectual and psychological development. Objective: To assess the school health services in government and private schools of Belgaum. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted at 3 Primary Health Centres and 3 Urban Health Centres in Belgaum. All the government and private schools were selected and necessary data of child school health services was collected based on criteria recommended by Indian Academy of Pediatrics. Results: Of the total schools, 53.76% of schools provided hygienic drinking water, 64% of the schools did not have adequate toilet facilities, 30% of schools did not have adequate ventilation and lighting, 34.40% of schools did not have playground and 90% of schools did not have safe and proper transportation facility. When private and government schools were compared private schools were better in providing services like safe and proper transportation, properly ventilated and illuminated class rooms ,where as kitchen facility was available more in government schools (p<0.05). Conclusion: We found that none of the schools met all the 10 criteria. Although 50% of them followed 4 to 5 criteria.