RESUMO
CONTEXT: About 490 million cases of curable Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI) occur throughout the world, of which 79 million cases occur in India annually. Sexually Transmitted Infections/Reproductive Tract Infections (STI/RTI) confers a huge economic burden on the individual and the health system. Complications of RTI/STI are many, ranging from chronic pain syndrome to infertility. Most of these complications can be prevented by early diagnosis and treatment. AIMS: To assess knowledge, attitude and practices on STI/RTIs among married women aged 15-45 years in rural Haryana. SETTING AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, conducted in selected villages under the primary health centre Mandi, Sonepat, Haryana. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Systematic sampling was used to cover 10 villages. In each village, every tenth house was sampled, taking first house from the center of the village. Face-to-face interview was conducted using pretested questionnaire. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics and results were described in percentages. RESULTS: A total of 344 women were interviewed. About 44% women had never heard of STI/RTI. The prevalence of self-reported symptoms of STI/RTI was very high (60%). Only 40% of them opted for treatment and most common cause for not opting for treatment was that they considered it as a minor problem. Advice for use of condom during the treatment was received by only 20% of patients and only 26.5% of their husbands also received treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Overall knowledge, attitude and practices relating to STI/RTI among married women in rural Haryana was poor. The prevalence of self-reported STI/RTI was found to be high and treatment seeking behavior was poor.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There has been an increase in institutional delivery rates in India in the recent years. However, in areas with high institutional delivery rates, most deliveries (>50%) occur in private institutions rather than in government facilities where zero expense delivery services are being provided. AIM: This study aimed to understand, from the community health volunteers' viewpoint, the reasons for underutilization of zero expense delivery services provided in government health facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five Focused Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted among Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHAs) of a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Dayalpur village, Haryana in December 2012. Participants were asked to articulate the possible reasons that they thought were responsible for expectant mothers not choosing to deliver in government health facilities. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants. RESULT: The commonly stated reasons for underutilization of government health facilities for delivery services were lack of quality care, abominable behaviour of hospital staff, poor transportation facilities, and frequent referrals to higher centres. CONCLUSION: This study reflected the necessity for new policies to make government health facilities friendlier and more easily accessible to clients and to make all government hospitals follow a minimum set of standards for providing quality care.
RESUMO
Air pollution is responsible for many health problems in the urban areas. Of late, the air pollution status in Delhi has undergone many changes in terms of the levels of pollutants and the control measures taken to reduce them. This paper provides an evidence-based insight into the status of air pollution in Delhi and its effects on health and control measures instituted. The urban air database released by the World Health Organization in September 2011 reported that Delhi has exceeded the maximum PM10 limit by almost 10-times at 198 µg/m3. Vehicular emissions and industrial activities were found to be associated with indoor as well as outdoor air pollution in Delhi. Studies on air pollution and mortality from Delhi found that all-natural-cause mortality and morbidity increased with increased air pollution. Delhi has taken several steps to reduce the level of air pollution in the city during the last 10 years. However, more still needs to be done to further reduce the levels of air pollution.
