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Introduction: WHO recommends that pregnant women should receive a vaccine against COVID-19 as it has been observed that the clinical course of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women is worse than in non-pregnant women. Vaccines are effective intervention to reduce the burden of the disease, however, public hesitancy is a problem for public health authorities. Aim(s): To determine Knowledge Attitude and Practice Related to COVID Appropriate Behaviour and COVID-19 Vaccine acceptance among pregnant women attending the Antenatal care Clinic at District Hospital Shopian. Material(s) and Method(s): A Hospital-based mixed-method approach comprising both quantitative part (Cross-Sectional method) and qualitative part (In depth interviews). Study participants were all pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic at District Hospital Shopian during the study period (1st January-31st March 2022). Result(s): All of the 262 study participants (100%) reported that they had heard about the corona virus pandemic. Attitude and practice related to COVID-19 preventive behaviour was average. The COVID- 19 vaccine acceptance was found to be 77.4%. The highest number (40.3%) of COVID-19 vaccine hesitance found was because the respondents believed that the COVID-19 vaccine would harm their fetus. Conclusion(s): Health care providers should pay extensive attention to the dissemination of accurate vaccination information and address misinformation to boost vaccine acceptance among pregnant women.
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Background: Emergence of Covid-19 pandemic resulted in stressful living conditions throughout the world leading to an alteration of habits and detrimental effects on overall health particularly oral health and hygiene of people throughout the world. The aim was to access perceived stress and its impact on periodontium and oral health in Covid-19 positive patients. Material & Methods: An online health questionnaire was submitted by Covid-19 positive patients over a period of six months with answers regarding their systemic health, perceived stress, existing habits and their alteration, oral hygiene maintenance and symptoms of oral and periodontal diseases during covid positivity. Results: Results showed that there was increase in stress levels of Covid-19 positive patients with alteration of habits and increased incidence of negative effects on oral and periodontal health. Conclusions: Although Covid-19 positive patients experienced more stress and higher incidence of oral and periodontal diseases but no direct relation could be established.
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Background: Three or more waves of COVID 19 pandemic have hit the different parts of world including India very hard, taking toll on the lives of people both in terms of morbidity and mortality. Keeping this in mind, the present study was conducted with an aim to determine the socio-demographic and clinical profile of laboratory confirmed COVID 19 cases and to determine their association with oxygen requirement and outcome of disease at the time of discharge. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on lab confirmed COVID 19 cases admitted in tertiary care hospital in Jammu from June-July 2021. Data was collected using convenient sampling method. The self-designed questionnaire used for data collection obtained information regarding socio-demographic characteristics of patients as well as clinical features of the disease. Results: Out of total 161 patients studied, 60.8% were males and 39.2% were females. Mean age was 51.2 .. 17.5 years. Comorbid conditions were present in 37.8% patients, with hypertension being the most common (36%). Cough, Fever, breathlessness and myalgia were the main presenting symptoms (90%, 81%, 57.7% and 56% respectively). The variables which were found to have statistically significant association with oxygen requirement and the outcome of disease at the time of discharge were age, gender and presence of co-morbidity (p <0.05). Conclusions: Advancing age, male gender and presence of underlying co-morbidity were found to be significant risk factors for the requirement of oxygen and poor outcome of the disease.
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Background: The demographic profile and fatality varied across different waves with the appearance of new variants. Further the trends varied from country to country and within the country. We have analyzed the trends from a selected geographic area. Aims and Objectives: To assess the trends in COVID-19 cases and deaths and to compare the characteristics of three different COVID-19 waves in Kashmir Division. Materials and Methods: It is a cross sectional study based on secondary data. Results: The mean age of deaths increased from 64.53 years in first wave to 65.02 years in the second wave and further to 69.23 years in the third wave (p-value = 0.006). An overall CFR of 0.85% was observed in our population with a maximum case fatality of 1.67% in first wave followed by 0.79% in second wave and only 0.13% in third wave (p < 0.0001). Lowest CFR of 0.04% was observed in the age group of <20 years and maximum CFR of 6.12% was observed in the subjects with age more than 60 years. It was also observed that the CFR increased with the increase of age across all the three waves (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Our study suggests that the Case Fatality Ratio declined with time despite new variants appearing which spread at very fast rate. The mortality remained higher in elderly and in males in all the three waves.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously influenced all over the world and affectedthe health of people. In COVID-19 patients, physiological disorders develop like stress, anxiety, and insomnia. This study aimed to investigate sleep quality in COVID-19hospitalized patients of Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir. Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality. PSQI was a self-rated questionnaire scale that contained seven components generated by the combination of 19 individual items. The components included were subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleep medication and, daytime dysfunction. All components score from "0" to "3". The score "0" indicates no problem and the sum of the score 3 indicates severe difficulty. The seven components score was added to yield one global score. A score of 0 to 5 indicated no sleep disturbance and a score of more than 5 indicated sleep disturbance. The mean global score was 8.88+/-4.716 (Mean+/-SD). Current research revealed that 72.2% (n=73) ofpatients who had a global score of 5 or more than 5 had poor sleep quality and 27.8% (n=31) who had a score of less than 5 had good sleep quality (n=31) 13 male patients hada good quality of sleep and 36 male patients experienced a bad quality of sleep. In females, 18 female patients had a good quality of sleep and 37 female patients had a bad quality of sleep current study revealed that there was no association between gender and global PSQI, so sleep quality is independent of gender (chi2 =6.497, P =0.090, df = 3). Thisstudy also showed association between PSQI global score and age group. The 1st age group 15-32 year had a total of 48 patients. The study revealed that 54.16% (n=26) patients had bad sleep quality and 45.83% (n=22) patients had good sleep quality. The second age group from 33 to 55 years in which 76% (n=19) patients had bad sleep quality and 24% (n=06) patients had good sleep quality (r=0.342, P=0.001, df=6) showed that there is high relationship difference between increase group and sleep quality which showed that increase in age group, sleep quality become bad. The 3rd age group was over. Copyright © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.
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Introduction: Self medication may be defined as the practice of use of medication for the treatment of any disease on their own without consulting concerned health care professional. If the practice is not correctly done due to lack of knowledge in students pursuing medical studies without evaluation by the trained medical professionals it can lead to ineffective treatment which can result in unnecessary expenses and drug dependence over a period of time. AIM: This study was conducted to find out self medication behaviour and its associated factors amongst dental students of Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar. Materials and methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted on 100 dental students and interns from Government Dental College And Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir between the month of September 2021 to November 2021 after ethical clearance was taken from said institution under order no GDC/Pedo/1677. A convenience sampling technique was used and survey consisting of 11 questions was be distributed amongst the dental students which included the questions of demographic variables and information related self medication with painkillers during the COVID times of 2020-2021 for any painful ailment and to evaluate awareness about side effects and loop holes of self medication. Data was collected and was statistically analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.
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The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has wreaked havoc on people’s life, requiring citizens, businesses, and governments to adapt their responses. The crisis has highlighted the need for governments to respond swiftly, honestly, and effectively while ensuring accountability, retaining faith in public policies and actions, and engaging and partnering with communities and stakeholders in several ways.The crisis affected all states and Union Territories of India. District Pulwama is located in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. More than two hundred doctors are working in the district.According to the 2011 census, the Pulwama District has 327 census villages, with 08 of them being uninhabited, and the district’s total population is 5.60 lac. This paper used a hybrid approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative research techniques. The publicly accessible government figures were used to examine socioeconomic and demographic factors. The offices of the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir and the Pulwama-based Chief Medical Officer provided information about the district’s healthcare system. One hundred respondents participated in this research.A dynamic management approach required for the healthcare industry is presented. This approach is built on scientific, administrative, and geographic variables to providethe district’s population with immediate and efficient diagnoses at the nearest healthcare establishments in the future.
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Introduction: The latest global pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. 6% of patients are admitted to the hospital, with 20% of those admitted to the intensive care unit due to acute respiratory distress syndrome.
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Telehealth facility was launched to extend veterinary services throughout Kashmir valley. It was also desired for continuation of veterinary internship during the COVID-19 lock-down period. A total of 714 response forms were received from the participating veterinary faculty of clinical disciplines in six months. The majority (n=504, 70.6%) of the cases pertained to the dairy cattle. Thirty per cent (n=9/30) of the designated specialists participated. The tele-health facility was availed by interns (44.25%), farmers/animal owners (36.51%), field veterinarians (15.28%) and the para-veterinarians (3.97%) in significantly decreasing order. Telephone mobile calls, WhatsApp messages (text, photos and videos), and the SMS text messages were the platforms used. The animals with medical problems (67.66%) were significantly more than those showing gynaecological (18.25%) and surgical (14.09%) ailments. More than half (52.58%) of the cases were reported from the nearby three districts. The remaining (47.42%) animal owners resided in rest of the seven districts. Most of the complaints pertained to skin and appendages (27.18%), alimentary (25.79%) and reproductive tract (18.25%) in the affected cattle respectively. Udder and teat affections, metabolic diseases, and repeat breeding were tentatively diagnosed in majority of the cows. From this preliminary study, it is concluded that the veterinary telehealth service can reach far-off places and education can be continued amidst lockdown period. Short duration and lack of the follow up details are the weakness of this study. Additionally, more veterinary specialists need be persuaded to participate in telehealth modality.
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Today, the promotion of tourism destinations is evident through social media as tourists have become content creators and influencers. Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) promote destinations through various social media platforms of which Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are common. Of these platforms, Facebook is widely used for promotion, consumer research, and customer service, which makes it the foremost choice of DMOs for destination promotion. In India, the State and Union Territory tourism departments act as DMOs. The study explores how Indian DMOs strategically employ Facebook to promote their destinations. Six months' data were collected from the Facebook pages of 32 DMOs for content analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven managers of tourism departments. The Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala DMOs have shown high user engagement through firm-generated content (visual content and informative posts). The findings conclude that DMOs are using Facebook as a supplement to traditional marketing tools and rarely for customer service and research. DMOs benefit from the contents of scenic beauty, culture, and cuisine which appeal more to engage users on Facebook pages. Further, implications for management and managerial actions have been suggested.
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With 1st case being reported in Wuhan city of China in December 2019, COVID-19 infection cases made their way to every corner of the world. Then, on January 07, 2020, laboratory results led to pneumonia being named as COVID-19. Scant data is available from Northern India, thus to reveal the trend of COVID-19 infection since last year of COVID-19 pandemic onset, this study took shape. The unit of analysis of our study was District Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir. Till February 05, 2021, a total of 4625 cases of COVID-19 virus were reported in District Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir. Negative history of close contact with COVID-19 patient (66.1%) constituted the most common exposure, majority (84.4%) were asymptomatic and comorbidities were present in 68 (1.5%). COVID-19 infection was more prevalent among younger age group, with higher male predominance, with comorbid being at higher risk, hence most stringent measures must be adopted.
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COVID-19 , China , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
The exponential emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, with such an intensity on a global scale, created fear, paranoia, and insecurity among populations across the world. The Worldometer Website operated by Dadax, which provides live statistics of Covid-19, showed a daily increase in the number of people infected by this “strange” virus that shackled even the most powerful governments of the world. Nationwide lockdowns imposed by all the giant economic powers and administrations of various countries completely ceased any mobility of the people. However, despite all this, one of the most vulnerable groups was the nomads, whose mobility is the essence as well as a prerequisite for their existence. The Bakkarwals of Jammu and Kashmir (India), a nomadic community, showed exemplary courage amid all the chaos by undertaking their transhumant movement, walking 300 kilometers with their livestock and children to reach the pastures. The pandemic-era story of this marginalized and neglected population is worth telling.
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Awareness and comprehension of disease origin, transmission, and control in a health crisis are mainly affected by the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the general public. We conducted the current study to assess KAP among the general population of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India, based on an online cross-sectional survey. Participants completed a questionnaire we developed consisting of KAP questions. We also collected sociodemographic information and source of information about disease awareness. The main source of information regarding COVID-19 was Internet social media (66.3%) followed by TV (17.4%). We conducted nonparametric analyses on KAP scores using a Mann-Whitney U and Kruskall-Wallis H tests (P < .05) to find out the association with sociodemographic characteristics. The overall knowledge score (correct answer) was 88.9%, which was significantly associated with gender, age, qualification, and occupation. The positive attitude score was 73.3%, which was significantly associated with gender, age, qualification, marital status, and geographic area. Overall, 93.0% positive practices were observed in the general population based on asked questions. These scores were significantly associated with gender, age, qualification, marital status, area, and occupation. On the basis of the Spearmen correlation test (P < .01), a significant correlation was observed between scores of knowledge and attitude, with rs = +0.28, P = .000, knowledge and practices scores as rs = +0.24, P = .000, and attitude and practices scores as rs = +0.24, P = .000. However, due to the limited sample presentation in the survey, the study is unable to generalize to lower socioeconomic communities.
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Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Pandemics/prevention & control , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Adolescent , Adult , Awareness , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 pandemic in Kashmir along with lockdown measures-ordered to prevent the spread of the disease-has added further trauma to the fragile mental health system in Kashmir. There may be unquantifiable repercussions of the current epidemic on the emotional status of women during the perinatal period. There are numerous challenges in the perinatal period arising out of COVID-19 directly or indirectly because of lockdown measures that has been put in place to prevent the spread of disease.