RESUMO
PURPOSE/AIM: To evaluate adherence to medication in chronic illnesses during pregnancy and to identify factors responsible for non-adherence. METHODS: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, questionnaire based study initiated after approval of the institutional ethics committee. Pregnant women suffering from any chronic illness (except HIV) were questioned to evaluate adherence to medication in chronic illnesses during pregnancy and to detect factors responsible for non-adherence using a semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire. Adherence to medication was also assessed using 4-item Morisky's medication adherence scale. RESULTS: Rate of high adherence was significantly more (58.77%) with medications for chronic illness compared to medications for normal pregnancy (15.78%). Majority of women were more concerned about the chronic illness and believed that keeping the chronic illness under control is more important for normal growth of the baby. Unawareness about usefulness of each medicine and forgetfulness were the most common reasons for non-adherence to medications. Not taking prescribed dose was the most common type of non-adherence. Level of adherence positively correlated with level of education while it was inversely related to number of tablets per day. CONCLUSION: Higher adherence to medications for chronic illnesses during pregnancy is an encouraging finding but at the same time poor adherence to medications for normal pregnancy is a matter of concern. Most of the issues responsible for non-adherence to medication as reported in this study can be resolved to a significant extent by planning and implementing interventions aimed at improving adherence to treatment during pregnancy in which health professionals play a major role.
RESUMO
One of the important functions of soil is exchange of cations, whereby essential trace metals are made available to plants as nutrients. Both minerals and organics fractions of soil exchange the cations. Clay minerals exchange cation because of the presence of negatively charged sites on the mineral while organic materials exchange cations by means of their carboxylate groups and other basic functional groups. Cation exchange in soil provides trace metal nutrients to plant. The metal ions are taken up by the roots while H+ is exchanged for the metal ions. Therefore, the measurement of Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of soil is important and this becomes more significant when the mining activity is carried out in the surrounding environment as mining activity may adversely impact the soil texture and organic matter content and sometimes changes the pH which is the main regulator of CEC in soil. The studies related to the assessment of CEC of soil were carried out. 14 soil samples, including one sample of mine site, were collected during summer season from different villages within 10 km radius from the mine site. These samples were then analyzed. The efforts were made to establish the CEC of soil quality of Kadipani, Distt. Vadodara, Gujarat, India. This study is useful for making the decisions regarding the environmental measures required for mining activity.
