ABSTRACT
Introduction: According to the WHO, non-communicable diseases cause 71% of all deaths globally. Despite many studies showing a significant association between non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and cognitive decline, it is not researched in Tamil Nadu. Hence, this study was conducted to screen for psychiatric morbidity and cognitive impairment (CI) among NCD patients in Southern Chennai. Aims: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and CI and their associated factors among NCD patients attending NCD clinics of tertiary care hospitals. Methods and Material: A cross-sectional study was carried out in NCD patients (n = 343) attending an NCD clinic in a tertiary care hospital. Basic sociodemographic and clinical details were obtained by a semi-structured questionnaire. Cognition function and psychiatric morbidity were assessed using mini-mental state examination, patient health questionnaire 9 and generalised anxiety disorder 7 tools, respectively. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 58 years. Of 343 participants, 19.2% had severe CI, 26.8% had severe depression, and 29.7% had severe anxiety. Among 180 participants aged 59-86 years, 25.5% participants had osteoarthritis; of these, 41.3% had severe CI (P < 0.0001), 82.6% had severe depression (P < 0.0001) and 63% had severe anxiety (P < 0.027), and their association was statistically significant. Conclusions: This study concludes that about one-fourth of the NCD patients suffered from CI and psychiatric morbidity, which are of rising concern. Musculoskeletal diseases are neglected to be assessed under NCDs, and in this study, osteoarthritis was found to be significantly associated with depression, anxiety and CI.
ABSTRACT
Background: Rheumatic heart disease/Rheumatic fever is a non - communicable disease being a major neglected health problem. Recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever can have catastrophic outcomes, therefore regular administration of antibiotics is recommended. During COVID 19 pandemic, people were afraid to approach hospitals hence the compliance and follow up of patients were affected. This study had planned to assess the treatment adherence of patients diagnosed with rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease during COVID 19 pandemic and to describe the socio demographic factors, clinical characteristics. This study also determines the factors associated with the treatment adherence. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart Disease patients, attending Outpatient department at tertiary care hospital during COVID 19 pandemic. Mean score with confidence interval was calculated for quantitative data. P value less than 0.05 is significant. Results: The Mean (SD) age of the study participants was 41 ± 14.17 years. Treatment adherence was found to be 94.5 percent among Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart Disease patients during COVID 19 pandemic. 89.5% of injection benzathine penicillin users had an adherence rate above 80 percent. It was found that the presence of comorbidities (Diabetes/Hypertension/both Diabetes and Hypertension) had a statistically significant association with treatment adherence. Conclusions: Rheumatic Heart Disease is a disease of young and middle -age population affecting predominantly females. The overall adherence rate among Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart Disease patients was high. High time to maintain hospital-based registry to have follow up of patients.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The study assessed the community preparedness to manage the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and access to health-care services during the lockdown of 2020 in a rural health block of northern India. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted during June-July, 2020, in 25 villages and 5 wards of a rural administrative block of Haryana. A pretested, semi-structured investigator-administered checklist was used to assess the community preparedness and practices for COVID-19 prevention/control and health-care access through direct observations and interviewing community health workers and beneficiaries. RESULTS: Active surveillance for influenza-like illness was carried out in 86.7% of the study units, although the frequency was once a month. There was poor adherence (adherence: 0-3%) to COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) measures such as physical distancing and use of face masks. Rural beneficiaries reported difficulty in accessing essential health-care services than their urban counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: A qualitative study to understand the facilitators and barriers for the non-adherence to IPC measures by the study population and formulating behavior change communication strategies for improving the IPC measures is needed. Repeat, cross-sectional surveys at regular intervals may be planned to gauge the change and effect of the interventions on the community preparedness and practices.
