Perception of the Educational Environment and Its Impact on the Academic Performance of Medical School Students: a Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: To assess the perception of medical school students on their learning environment and to evaluate the association between their academic performance and perception. Material and methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in one public and one private medical school in Delhi and Tamil Nadu states of India, respectively, among 415 medical students using systematic random sampling. Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was used to assess the perception of the educational environment. Academic performance was analysed using the average percentage of marks scored from the recently passed final university examination scores. Results:The mean (SD) age of study participants was 21.9 (1.4) years. The mean (SD) overall score for public and private institutes was 134.5 (20.23) and 98.4 (25.14), respectively. There was no significant difference in the mean overall score between the academic year; however, there was a significant difference in students' perception of learning (SPoL), with higher scores being found among the fourth year and interns (p-value <0.001). Conclusions:The public institute had significantly higher total and subtotal scores when compared to private institutions. Evaluation of the ongoing educational program using the DREEM tool helps to identify the students' perception of the academic environment.

A Study on Prevalence and Factors Associated with Depression among Elderly Residing in Tenements Under Resettlement Scheme, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu.

BACKGROUND: Mental disorders have got high prevalence and low priority among the elderly in most of the countries worldwide, of which depression being the most common treatable condition. The causes for elderly depression are multifactorial and preventable. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of depression and to assess the factors associated with depression among the elderly age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among participants more than 60 years of age residing in tenements under resettlement scheme in Semmenchery, Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu with a sample size of 184. Systematic sampling method was adopted to collect data at participants door step. A predesigned, pretested questionnaire was used to assess the factors associated with depression, and the Geriatric depression scale-30 was used to assess depression. The data were analyzed using SPSS and Chi-square <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of depression was 35.3%. The factors such as female gender, educational status, occupation, type of family, financial dependency, history of depression, smoking and medical factors such as hypertension, cardiac disease, and chronic kidney disease and life events like conflict in family, unemployment, and financial problem were statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Loss of spouse, financial dependency, neglected care, lack of awareness about the disease were found to be barriers in reaching basic mental health care for the elderly. Depression remains one of the main causes of DALY, especially among elders. National Program for Health care of elderly provides doorstep services, so incorporation of depression screening into that can impart the effects of depression on quality of life and DALY.

An assessment of age-appropriate infant and young child feeding practices among children in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, India.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are a cornerstone to reduce child morbidity and mortality. Assessment of IYCF practices among the mother of young children is the need of the hour to find the breaches in their performance and to find out the influencing factors for these gaps. The study was undertaken with the objectives to assess the IYCF practices and the factors influencing among the children of age 7-24 months. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in the rural area of Kancheepuram district, Tamilnadu from June 2019 to December 2019. One hundred forty-three children of age less than 2 years were selected by two-stage random sampling method. Data was collected house-to-house using the pretested questionnaire and WHO Infant and Young Child feeding questionnaire. Proportions were calculated and Chi-square test was applied. RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 14 ± 5 months. Among the study participants, only 10.2% were exclusively breastfed for 6 months. 58.6% of children were introduced on soft/solid/semisolid food at the end of 6-8 months. The minimum acceptable diet of breastfeeding children was 31.5% and nonbreastfeeding children was 14%. Age of mother, educational qualification of mother, working status of mother, and mode of delivery were statistically associated with appropriate Infant and Young Children feeding practices. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that there is only improvement in early infant practices and there are indigent practices of complementary feeding among the mothers.

Double burden of malnutrition among women residing in tenements in a resettlement area, Kancheepuram district.

INTRODUCTION: The double burden of malnutrition is the co-existence of undernutrition along with overweight/obesity. The underweight can cause cognitive impairment, increase mortality, and over nutrition increases the chance of noncommunicable diseases like type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Women are vulnerable for early marriages, early conception, and so forth, which have an impact on their nutritional status. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of double burden of malnutrition among women residing in tenements in a resettlement area, Kancheepuram district. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among women aged above 18 years residing in a tenement in a resettlement area, Kancheepuram district using a semi-structured questionnaire. The sample size was 211. RESULTS: The median age of the participants was 44. 78; 2% were married; 30.8% belong to class III. Based on BMI 1.4% were underweight, 17.1% had normal BMI, 48.8% were pre-obese, and 19.9% were under obese stage 1. Based on the waist circumference, 23.7% were under high risk and according to the waist-hip ratio, 69.7% were under high risk. The prevalence of diabetes among the high-risk category for waist-hip ratio was higher (80.3%) with statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The national programs are concentrating more on the undernutrition. The importance of obesity as a risk factor for many noncommunicable diseases should be stressed in the nutritional programs thereby providing proper interventions to prevent them, which could be done by interlinking with NPCDCS.

Healthy nutrition for a healthy child: A review on infant feeding in India.

Appropriate infant feeding is crucial for the improvement of child survival worldwide. This review aimed to explore the recommended practices, advantages of breastfeeding, and age-appropriate complementary feeding practices. Colostrum, which serves as the first immunization for the newborn, is largely ignored owing to the various myths surrounding it in developing countries. The World Health Organization recommends an early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months to combat killer diseases such as diarrheal diseases, pneumonia, and obesity. On the other hand, complementary feeding is recommended with increase in the diversity, quantity, consistency and frequency as the child gets older along with continued breastfeeding for 12 months. Inappropriate complementary feeding is one of the major causes of malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years. Hence, appropriate guidance should be given to caregivers and health-care workers to help them promote the healthy growth of infants and young children.

Medical research: Perception and barriers to its practice among medical school students of Chennai.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of medical students about research has been little explored. Although there has been a practice of medical research among undergraduate level, the practice is not universal and there have been potential barriers and difficulties in carrying out the research. The present study was done to find the perception and attitude toward medical research and to assess the practices and potential barriers in carrying out medical research. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 344 medical school students of a medical college in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in 2018. Systematic random sampling was used. The study tool was self-administered questionnaire including questions on knowledge, barrier, and 5-point Likert scale for assessing attitude. Adequate knowledge (>70% correct answers) and positive attitude (>25 score) were considered. RESULTS: Among the 344 study participants, only 127 (36.9%) of students had adequate knowledge and 68 (19.8%) had positive attitude toward medical research. Regarding practice of research, only 34.3% had conducted a research and only 17.4% had published in journals. Difficulty in choosing topic, difficulty in collecting data, and allocation of time amidst academic activities were considered as a barrier by 41.6%, 40.7%, and 45.9%, respectively. Association of adequate knowledge and practice was statistically significant for age (P = 0.000), gender (P = 0.000), and academic year (P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: Adequate knowledge and positive attitude were lacking in majority of students. Barriers could be addressed by support programs and sensitization toward research.