ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Poor nutritional status in primary school children can lead to several health problems such as easy susceptibility to common childhood diseases. Personal hygiene status is an important predictor of nutritional status and morbidity in children as water- and sanitation-related diseases are the leading causes of early morbidity and mortality in children. The present study was conducted to assess the nutritional status as well as personal hygiene practices of primary school going children. METHOD: The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted in selected urban and rural areas of Shillong in children 6-12 years of age. Two schools each from the rural and urban area were selected using simple random sampling. The total sample size calculated was 510. Height, weight, and BMI were taken for all the children following the standard procedures. WHO growth standards were used for grading of nutritional status. A questionnaire with scores was used for grading of personal hygiene status. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of underweight in the children of 6-9 years was 74 (18.7%) and that of stunting was 68 (17.2%). The overall prevalence of thinness and stunting in children aged 10-12 was 38 (19.1%) and 46 (23.2%). The prevalence of nutritional deficiency syndromes was 192 (32.4%). Regarding the personal hygiene status, it was observed that 65 (11%) had very good personal hygiene, 292 (49.3%) were labeled as good, 200 (33.8%) were average, and 35 (5.9%) had poor personal hygiene. CONCLUSION: The primary school going children in Shillong had poor nutritional status but the majority of them had good personal hygiene practices. Mother's educational status played an important role in determining the nutritional and personal hygiene status of the children.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In Meghalaya, only 51.4% expectant mothers go for any institutional delivery with a wide rural-urban gap causing morbidity and mortality in the mothers and the neonates. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to find out the factors influencing the choice of the place of delivery in rural women. METHODOLOGY: The present qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2016 in Bhoirymbong community health center (CHC) and the area catered to by it. This CHC was selected by purposive sampling. Data collection methods included focused group discussions and in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed manually using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Most of the women in the study area opted for home delivery by traditional birth attendants (TBAs), on whose skills the community had strong faith. Financial constraints, fear of out-of-pocket expenditure, ignorance of available schemes, unavailability of transport, bad roads, and distant hospitals were found to be important causes of this choice. Home delivery apparently offered the women privacy and the opportunity to attend to their household chores and older children. Illiteracy, increasing age, and parity were risk factors for home delivery. Perceived need for institutional delivery was low. Staff attitudes and unnecessary referrals had an impact on the choice of place of delivery. CONCLUSION: In the rural areas of this study, home deliveries are the preferred norm. The wide range of factors identified in this study for the preference of TBA and home deliveries could help policy makers and program implementers to adopt socially and culturally appropriate community-based interventions that can contribute to the reduction of maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality and morbidity and increase service utilization.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: It has been perceived that there is a lack of community exposure and active learning in the community for the first-year undergraduates in Community Medicine. This study is designed to evaluate an early community exposure given to the students to help overcome these lacunae. METHODOLOGY: In this study, the first-year students (n = 44) were provided an early community exposure and evaluated to understand their perceptions by a prevalidated, pre- and post exposure questionnaire. The community exposure was given to the students by allocating them families in community with designated tasks A core group of mentors monitored the students and scored the students on every visit. Attendance of students, scores marked by the mentors, and pre- and postexposure responses were used to evaluate the impact of community exposure. RESULTS: A total of 44 students were evaluated in this study. A total of 22 h (36.6%) were dedicated to community-based learning in the 1st year. A positive response was observed in the postexposure responses with regard to the understanding of the subject and interest in the subject in comparison to preexposure responses (P < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed in the first and final visit scores by the mentors with respect to communication skills, elicitation of history, team spirit, and attitude toward community (P < 0.00001). CONCLUSIONS: Students were exposed to the concept of community service and inculcated an interest in public health. Early community exposure of medical undergraduate students is important in developing better working skills in the community.
