Perceptions and knowledge toward mobile-health among the college going students in Coastal South India.

BACKGROUND: Among the manifold uses of mobile phones, mobile-health (mHealth) has been an important one, which is the practice of public health initiatives by awareness raising and communication campaigns. Optimum utilization of mHealth is possible only through adequate awareness. Hence, we aimed to study the perceptions and knowledge about mHealth among college going students in Mangalore, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2014 among 627 students in selected engineering (302 students) and medical colleges (325 students) in Mangalore, India. Colleges were selected using convenience sampling (nonrandom) method. Data were collected using semi-structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed. RESULTS: Overall, 48.9% were males, 61.4% belonged to 18-20 years age group. The awareness about mobile phone health utilities among medical and engineering students was found to be similar. Among those who were aware of the concept of mHealth (74 [11.2%]), 40 (54.1%) were medical students. Marginally higher proportion of medical students felt mHealth could be helpful in protecting the patients' confidentiality and would help in better communication with the patients. CONCLUSION: There was high level of general awareness about mHealth among the subjects. However, many specific areas had limited knowledge among both the streams of students, hence highlighting the need for increasing awareness and sensitization.

Prevalence and Correlates of Prehypertension Among Adults in Urban South India.

Prehypertension is one of the most common conditions affecting human beings worldwide. It is associated with several complications including hypertension. The blood pressure between normal and hypertension is prehypertension as per the Seventh Report Joint National Committee (JNC-7) classification. The current study was done to measure the magnitude of prehypertension and to study their sociodemographic correlates in the urban field practice area of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India, among 624 people aged ≥20 years. The measurements of blood pressure were done (JNC 7 criteria) with the anthropometric measurements and lifestyle factors. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated. Overall, 55% subjects had prehypertension and 30% had hypertension. Prehypertension was higher among males. Those from the higher age groups, those from upper socioeconomic status, obese individuals, and those with lesser physical activity had significantly higher association with prehypertension, and it was least among those who never used tobacco and alcohol.

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India.

BACKGROUND: A balanced sex ratio is essential for a stable society. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the present research was to study the perceptions of women attending the antenatal care (ANC) facility regarding their gender preferences and family composition. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study 132 antenatal women were interviewed in their preferred language using a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire. The collected information was analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants was 27.2 ± 4.1 years. The majority of the antenatal women (60.6%, n=80) did not have any gender preferences. Among those who had a gender preference (39.4%, n=52), male and female preference was reported by 55.7% (n=29) and 44.3% (n=23) of the participants respectively. The overall son preference index was observed to be 1.3. No consistent relationship could be established between the socio-demographic factors and the preference for gender. The mean preferred family size in our study was 1.85±0.531 and more than half of the participants had a balanced gender preference. The majority of the participants were aware that the adverse sex ratio can lead to fall in the number of brides and that it would bring about a social imbalance. CONCLUSION: As a developed society we need to ensure that both the genders get equal respect and are free from any sort of preferences and prejudices. To achieve this, more and more people need to be made aware of the consequences of gender imbalance and adverse sex ratio in a society.

Developing a fully integrated tobacco curriculum in medical colleges in India.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes a pioneering effort to introduce tobacco cessation into India's undergraduate medical college curriculum. This is the first ever attempt to fully integrate tobacco control across all years of medical college in any low and middle income country. The development, pretesting, and piloting of an innovative modular tobacco curriculum are discussed as well as challenges that face implementation and steps taken to address them and to advocate for adoption by the Medical Council of India. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with administrators and faculty in five medical colleges to determine interest in and willingness to fully integrate smoking cessation into the college curriculum. Current curriculum was reviewed for present exposure to information about tobacco and cessation skill training. A modular tobacco curriculum was developed, pretested, modified, piloted, and evaluated by faculty and students. Qualitative research was conducted to identify challenges to future curriculum implementation. RESULTS: Fifteen modules were successfully developed focusing on the public health importance of tobacco control, the relationship between tobacco and specific organ systems, diseases related to smoking and chewing tobacco, and the impact of tobacco on medication effectiveness. Culturally sensitive illness specific cessation training videos were developed. Faculty and students positively evaluated the curriculum as increasing their competency to support cessation during illness as a teachable moment. Students conducted illness centered cessation interviews with patients as a mandated part of their coursework. Systemic challenges to implementing the curriculum were identified and addressed. CONCLUSIONS: A fully integrated tobacco curriculum for medical colleges was piloted in 5 colleges and is now freely available online. The curriculum has been adopted by the state of Kerala as a first step to gaining Medical Council of India review and possible recognition.

Awareness of medical students in a medical college in Mangalore, Karnataka, India concerning infection prevention practices.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are an important public health problem. It is estimated that approximately 1 out of every 20 hospitalized patients will contract an HCAI. The risk is substantial not only to patients but also to healthcare workers, who may contract deadly blood-borne infectious diseases. Hence, it is essential for healthcare professionals to have adequate knowledge regarding infection prevention practices (IPPs) to reduce the burden of these illnesses among patients seeking care. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 268 medical students at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. Information regarding important IPPs such as hand hygiene (HH), needle-stick injuries (NSIs), and standard precautions (SPs) was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The collected information was analyzed using SPSS v.11. Fisher's exact test was used to test the association between variables of interest. RESULTS: Overall, knowledge levels regarding HH were low in aspects such as healthcare workers' hands as sources of infection (40%) and the minimum time needed to apply hand rubs (45.7%), whereas knowledge levels were high in aspects such as indications for using HH. Regarding NSI prevention, knowledge levels were low in aspects such as activities with the highest NSI risk (56%). However, knowledge levels were high in relation to SPs. CONCLUSION: The knowledge levels regarding infection practices were not adequate among the participants, particularly in the case of hand hygiene methods. Other important aspects, such as needle-stick injuries and use of standard precautions, were better understood, although many aspects still require improvement. These findings suggest the need to consider strengthening the training related to IPPs as a separate entity in the existing curriculum.

Sputum collection and disposal among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in coastal South India.

BACKGROUND: Safe sputum disposal practices minimise the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). OBJECTIVES: To study the perceptions and practices of sputum disposal among PTB patients. METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted among 206 diagnosed sputum-positive TB patients registered in selected DOTS centres in Mangalore. RESULTS: Safe sputum disposal practice was followed by 50% of the subjects: it was higher among females (62%), patients of middle socio-economic status (75.5%) and those with a family history of TB (70%). Furthermore, 75% patients believed that TB was caused by several factors. CONCLUSIONS: High proportions of subjects were unaware about the causes of TB and did not practise safe disposal of sputum.

Perceptions about training and knowledge of HIV/AIDS ethics among health care providers at teaching hospitals of a medical college in Karnataka, India.

A cross sectional study was conducted to evaluate perceptions of HIV/AIDS ethics among health care professionals at three associate hospitals of Kasturba Medical College Mangalore. A total of 144 health care professionals were included, of which 106 (73.6%) were doctors and 38 (26.4%) were nurses.Only 52.8% of doctors and 56.6% of nurses agreed that they had received adequate training related to HIV data confidentiality. 85.8% of doctors and 76.3% of nurses perceived that they need additional training in HIV policies & procedures. With respect to rights of HIV-positive clients 92.5% of doctors and 84.2% of nurses felt the need for further training. 69% of doctors and 52.6% of nurses agreed that confidentiality could be breached in case of subpoena or other judicial processes. Only 68.4% nurses agreed that it is an offence to intentionally disclose HIV/AIDS confidential information to anyone who is not legally authorised.