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BACKGROUND: The main goals of preventive health care include the early detection of disease by screening, identifying and reducing disease risk factors, and improving the current disease processes. Moreover, early disease discovery in the latent stage facilitates prompt intervention, reducing morbidity and death. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of people who have availed preventive health check-ups in Perambalur and to determine the motivators and barriers to health check-ups among adults (age group: 18 years and above). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among the general population from September 2021 to November 2021. A total of 436 participants were included in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic characteristics and preventive health check-up details, along with the motivators and barriers. The data were entered in Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA), and analysis was done using SPSS version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). RESULT: The mean ± SD of the age of the general population was 52.27 ± 21.09. Out of 436 participants, only 130 (29.82%) had undergone preventive health check-ups in the past. The subjects with young age (p = 0.006), those who obtained COVID-19 vaccination (p = 0.001), subjects with stable occupation (p = 0.002), and those with higher education (p < 0.001) (chi-square test) had preventive health check-ups. A significant association was found between motivators and barriers for age, gender, education, occupation, marital status, the presence of comorbidities, and vaccination status against COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Preventive health check-up is still not up the ladder of health care for the general population. The health programmes should orient the public towards the concept of individual responsibility in health.
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Background COVID-19-appropriate behavior has been recommended by the Government of India to reduce the spread of the disease. However, a lack of awareness, inadequate knowledge, or improper practices regarding personal protective measures have contributed to the ongoing cases in India. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the pattern of behavioral surveillance related to COVID-19 and its preventive measures and also to study the impact of knowledge of COVID-19 on their behavior among the rural population in Tamil Nadu, India. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the rural adult population in Siruvachur Village, Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu, from June to December 2022. The study included adult participants aged 18 years and older who had no previous history of COVID-19 disease. The participants were selected using a systematic random sampling method. A pre-designed and semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess their awareness of COVID-19, knowledge of symptoms, preventive measures, and actual behavioral practices. The collected data were analyzed using IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. The chi-square test and linear regression were employed to assess the association and strength between behavior and knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results According to the results, 94.7% of the participants reported being aware of COVID-19, with fever being recognized as the most common symptom. Regarding specific preventive measures, 71.5% of participants demonstrated adequate knowledge of handwashing, while only 55.3% had sufficient knowledge of social distancing norms. In terms of mask usage, 62% reported having adequate knowledge of how to use masks to prevent COVID-19 transmission. However, despite having adequate knowledge, the study found that only 11.3% of participants consistently used masks in outdoor settings. This indicates a significant gap between knowledge and actual behavior in mask usage. Furthermore, a significant association was found between knowledge and behavioral practices related to COVID-19 preventive measures, such as mask usage and social distancing. In other words, participants who possessed greater knowledge of these measures were more likely to exhibit corresponding behaviors. On the other hand, the study did not find a significant impact of handwashing knowledge on actual handwashing behavior (p>0.05). Conclusion Despite a relatively high level of knowledge and awareness, there is a significant gap between knowledge and actual behavioral practices, particularly in terms of mask usage and hand hygiene. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to bridge the gap between knowledge and behavior in COVID-19 preventive measures, particularly in terms of consistent mask usage and adherence to social distancing norms. Efforts should focus not only on increasing knowledge but also on promoting behavior change through effective education, awareness campaigns, and practical demonstrations of proper preventive measures.
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BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that occurs resulting from tear and progressive loss of articular cartilage. It is one of the leading causes of disability in elderly people. This study aims to assess the risk of OA and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) independently among the geriatric population using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scale and Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL) scale, respectively. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the geriatric population in Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu from November 2022 to January 2023. Around 415 geriatric populations above 60 years of age were included by using a simple random sampling method. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic profiles, personal and medical details, OA risk (WOMAC), and ADL (Katz ADL scale). Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and the Katz ADL scale and the WOMAC index score for assessing OA risk. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 69.62 ± 6.86 years. The mean ± SD score for the WOMAC scale and the Katz ADL scale among the geriatric population was 20.997 ± 14.69 and 4.821 ± 2.37, respectively. The OA risk among the geriatric population using the WOMAC scale was low in 98 (23.6%), moderate in 216 (52%), and high risk in 101 (24.3%) participants. Using the Katz ADL scale, 332 (80%) participants were found to be independent and 83 (20%) were dependent. The high-risk factors for developing OA were age ≥ 70 years, female sex, living in a rural area, employment status, Muslim religion, the habit of betel nut chewing, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, thyroid diseases, family history of knee OA, history of previous surgery, and ADL, significantly associated with WOMAC (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: As per the WOMAC scale, approximately 24.3% of the geriatric population is at high risk of developing OA and 20% of them are dependent on performing ADL as assessed using the Katz ADL scale. The WOMAC and Katz ADL scales are simple questionnaire-based screening tools used to detect high-risk individuals for OA at an early stage in the geriatric population.
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Background The global COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly destructive, especially for mental health. The lockdown measures required people to stay in their homes. This lifestyle caused them to become sedentary, which could have an impact on both their physical and mental well-being. We used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) to measure the physical activity (PA) and mental health of adults in Perambalur, India, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods The researchers conducted a cross-sectional investigation among people ages 15-60 years old from September 2021 to February 2022. In this study, we included 400 individuals through the method of convenient sampling. We conducted a population-based survey in which a semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather information on the age, gender, weight, height, physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire {IPAQ}), and mental health (General Health Questionnaire-12 {GHQ-12}) of the participants. We conducted an analysis of the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY). Results Most of the participants (65.8%) were female, and 69.5% belonged to the age group of 20-24 years; their mean age was 23 years. Physical activity was scored using the IPAQ, and we divided the participants into three categories: 37%, insufficient; 58%, sufficient; and 5%, high activity. The GHQ-12 assessment revealed that around half of the participants (47.8%) had psychological distress. In a bivariate analysis, those in the 15-19 and 24-29 age groups reported more distress than those in the other age groups (p = 0.006). Those who engaged in sufficient physical activity (54.7%) reported more distress than those who engaged in high (25%) or insufficient activity (p = 0.002). Conclusion Nearly half of the participants experienced psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who were engaging in sufficient physical activity experienced higher levels of distress than those with high and insufficient activities.
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Background Professional drivers have a powerful impact on public safety. They are also at a higher risk of obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because of their lifestyle. Diabetes and its complications can affect driving and cause increased road traffic accidents. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of T2DM and determine the risk factors contributing to the development of T2DM among professional drivers in the Perambalur Municipality of Tamil Nadu, India. Methodology This cross-sectional study was carried out between September 2022 and December 2022 among 118 private bus drivers and full-time, professional, three-wheeler drivers in the Perambalur Municipality. A pre-tested semi-structured proforma was used to collect information on the driver's socio-demographic profile and to inquire about their diabetes history, which was verified with their records. We elicited the risk factors of T2DM among those drivers. We recorded the anthropometric measurements and blood pressure. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0 (Released 2012; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Results Out of 118 study participants, the majority were in the age group of 51-65 (37.3%). Seventy-seven of the participants have completed their secondary education, and 38 of them belong to the class 2 socioeconomic class. Three-fourths of the sample (83.1%) belonged to nuclear families. Around one-third were current smokers, one-fourth had the habit of chewing tobacco, and more than half of the participants consumed alcohol. Nearly 83.7% had moderate physical activity, followed by 11.9% who had heavy activity, and 5.1% who did not do any physical activity. The prevalence of T2DM among professional drivers was 11.9%. The risk factors that contributed to the development of T2DM among professional drivers were age, education, smoking, tobacco chewing, hypertension, elevated BMI, and elevated WC, which are statistically significant (pË0.05). Conclusion We found the proportion of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes to be higher among professional drivers than among the general population. This demands an urgent need for preventive and health-promotive interventions to address these chronic diseases.
