Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Maintaining healthy eating habits among children is challenging due to industrial tactics. There is little research on the effect of nutritional labels and tv ads on the eating habits of children. So the primary aim of the study was to explore the noticeability of the food packaging labels by the children, the information retrieved from the food nutrition labels, and their role in increased frequency of eating out in addition to the perceptions of their parents about the television ads. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at schools in Punjab, India. Using multi-stage stratified random sampling, we included 722 school-going children aged 14–18 and their parents. A structured predefined questionnaire collected data using a four-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to draw our inferences. Results About 46% of children were eating out > 3 times a week. Nearly 49% said they never looked at the expiry dates on the food packet, and 40% have yet to notice the quality certification. Nearly half do not understand the components of the food label, and 59% said they never changed their buying behavior because of the label. Only 37% of parents expressed their concerns about the timing of the ads when children watch television, while only 25.5% were concerned about the accuracy of the information. Concerns of the parents regarding the timing of the ads, and celebrity endorsements, were potential predictors for the increased frequency of eating out by the children. Conclusions Low awareness regarding the utility of nutrition labels and minimal concerns of the parents increase the frequency of eating out. Unification of our existing policies regarding food labels and tv advertisements to develop family-centric interventions will bring us one step closer to improving the enabling environment to curb the growing menace of childhood obesity.

Objectives The primary objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence and patterns of second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the home, workplace, public places, and at all three places amongst the non-smoker respondents between the two rounds of Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in India. The secondary objectives were to assess the differences in various factors associated with SHS exposure among non-smokers. Study design This secondary data analysis incorporated data generated from the previous two rounds of the cross-sectional, nationally representative GATS India, which covered 69,296 and 74,037 individuals aged 15 years and above. Exposure to the SHS at home, workplace, and public places amongst the non-smokers were the primary outcome variables. Standard definitions of the surveys were used. Results The overall weighted prevalence of exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers inside the home and public places reduced. In contrast, the prevalence in the workplace increased marginally in round II compared to I. The proportion of adults who were exposed to SHS at all three places did not change much in two rounds of surveys. A decrease in the knowledge of the respondents exposed to SHS at home and public places was observed about the harmful effects of smoking in round II. Age, gender, occupation, place, and region of respondents were found to be significant determinants of SHS exposure at all the three places on multinomial logistic regression analysis. Conclusions The study calls for focused interventions in India and stringent implementation of anti-tobacco legislation, especially in the workplaces for reducing the exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers and to produce encouraging and motivating results by next round of the survey.

Background The medical education system periodically revises the teaching-learning strategies. Medical students find it difficult to cope with pre-clinical subjects due to limited patient exposure and traditional didactic lectures. This study introduced a jigsaw method for revising biochemistry topics and assessed first-year medical students' perceptions and feedback on its effectiveness and implementation in medical education. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study enrolled 80 students for a jigsaw exercise on the topic \"carbohydrate chemistry.\" Students were divided into four groups guided by a moderator. Further subgroups were created in each group, and each student was assigned a subtopic in \"carbohydrate chemistry.\" Students with common subtopics were regrouped to self-study the provided study material. Students then reassembled in their original subgroups to teach their respective subtopics to their peers. Thus, it enables all students of a subgroup to learn all subtopics of the main topic in a short time as an interactive team. In the end, students filled out a feedback form providing their opinion about the effectiveness of the exercise. Results Out of 80 students, 71 responded to the survey, yielding an 88.75% response rate. Most students opined that the jigsaw exercise enhanced their understanding (N = 59, 83.1%), clarified concepts (N = 54, 76.1%), improved retention (N = 55, 77.5%), and communication skills (N = 59, 83.1%) and that it is a good method to revise topics (N = 58, 81.7%). Most supported its inclusion in the medical curriculum (N = 56, 78.9%) and recommended frequent use (N = 49, 69%). Conclusion The jigsaw exercise seems promising for improving students' understanding, clearing doubts, enhancing retention and communication skills, and fast revision. The authors recommend its inclusion in the curriculum to facilitate self-directed active learning.

Recent studies have documented high variation in epidemiologic transition levels among Indian states with noncommunicable disease epidemic rising swiftly. However, the estimates suffer from non-availability of reliable data for NCDs from sub populations. In order to fill the knowledge gap, the distribution and determinants of NCD risk factors were studied along with awareness, treatment and control of NCDs among the adult population in Haryana, India. NCD risk factors survey was conducted among 5078 residents, aged 18-69 years during 2016-17. Behavioural risk factors were assessed using STEPS instrument, administered through an android software (mSTEPS). This was followed by physical measurements using standard protocols. Finally, biological risk factors were determined through the analysis of serum and urine samples. Males were found to be consuming tobacco and alcohol at higher rates of 38.9% (95% CI: 35.3-42.4) and 18.8% (95% CI: 15.8-21.8). One- tenth (11%) (95% CI: 8.6-13.4) of the respondents did not meet the specified WHO recommendations for physical activity for health. Around 35.2% (95%CI: 32.6-37.7) were overweight or obese. Hypertension and diabetes were prevalent at 26.2% (95% CI: 24.6-27.8) and 15.5% (95% CI: 11.0-20.0). 91.3% (95% CI: 89.3-93.3) of the population had higher salt intake than recommended 5gms per day. The documentation of strikingly high and uniform distribution of different NCDs and their risk factors in state warrants urgent need for evidence based interventions and advocacy of policy measures.

Background Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is defined as feeding infants only breast milk of the mother or a wet nurse for the first six months, without additional food or liquids except the oral rehydration solution or drops/syrups of vitamins, minerals or medicines. The working status of women in developed countries adversely affects the EBF rates, which calls for an assessment in rapidly developing countries like India. Therefore, the primary aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of EBF using the data from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS 3, 4, 5) conducted between 2005 and 06, 2015-16 and 2019-21 to estimate the likelihood EBF according to mothers’ employment status. Methods We did a secondary data analysis of the cross-sectional surveys. Exclusive breastfeeding was the primary dependent variable and defined as the percentage of youngest children under six months exclusively breastfed per last 24 h. The employment status of the mother was the primary independent variable and was coded dichotomously (yes/no). Chi-square analysis assessed the association of EBF with the outcome variable of interest. A multi-level modelling approach has been used for portioning variation in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at different geographical levels. Results From NFHS rounds 3 to 5, the overall prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 47.45%, 54.85%, and 64.01% respectively. On segregating the women as per their employment status, the prevalence among employed women was 51.1%, 51.1%, and 60.3%, while in unemployed women the prevalence was 45.9%, 54.8%, and 67.3% respectively. The odds of practising EBF in NFHS-5 doubled since NFHS-3 (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 2; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.08, 3.67). Employed mothers had a significantly lower odds ratio (0.94, 0.91, 0.98) of practising exclusive breastfeeding. The likelihood increased when mothers were exposed to media, had normal BMI, and visited health centres > 4 times during pregnancy. The likelihood decreased in older mothers, birth of infant in a health facility, female gender of the child, and late initiation of breastfeeding. Conclusions The lower prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among working mothers calls for an urgent need to improve policies around maternity benefits at workplaces.

Background: Patient satisfaction is pertinent for measuring the performance of health-care service delivery, which is a multidimensional construct that depends on many factors. The main objective of this study was to assess the satisfaction of patients visiting a tertiary care hospital in Haryana. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients visiting the outpatient department (OPD) and inpatient department (IPD) of the hospital from January to March 2019. Exit interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire among patients visiting the OPD or IPD. The patient satisfaction was assessed based on four domains, namely registration process and experience before meeting the doctor, interaction with the doctor, hospital infrastructure, and medicine availability. The responses were captured on a Likert scale from one to five, and the scores were used to calculate the overall satisfaction. Results: Overall 84% of the patients were satisfied with the OPD services, whereas 77% of the patients were satisfied with the inpatient services. Male (odds ratio [OR] = 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-4.14) and literate patients (OR = 2.77; 95% CI: 1.4-4.14) had higher chances of being satisfied with the OPD services. Whereas students, retired and unemployed patients (OR = 4.67; 95% CI: 1.46-14.6), and those from a reserved social caste (OR = 3.38; 95% CI: 1.58-7.21) were more satisfied with the IPD services. Conclusion: This study suggests that patients were satisfied to a larger extent with both OPD and IPD services. Therefore, effective strategies should be in place to maintain high satisfaction among patients, and the institutes should strive to provide 100% satisfaction.

The primary objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence and patterns of second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the home, workplace, public places, and at all three places amongst the non-smoker respondents between the two rounds of Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in India. The secondary objectives were to assess the differences in various factors associated with SHS exposure among non-smokers. This secondary data analysis incorporated data generated from the previous two rounds of the cross-sectional, nationally representative GATS India, which covered 69,296 and 74,037 individuals aged 15 years and above. Exposure to the SHS at home, workplace, and public places amongst the non-smokers were the primary outcome variables. Standard definitions of the surveys were used. The overall weighted prevalence of exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers inside the home and public places reduced. In contrast, the prevalence in the workplace increased marginally in round II compared to I. The proportion of adults who were exposed to SHS at all three places did not change much in two rounds of surveys. A decrease in the knowledge of the respondents exposed to SHS at home and public places was observed about the harmful effects of smoking in round II. Age, gender, occupation, place, and region of respondents were found to be significant determinants of SHS exposure at all the three places on multinomial logistic regression analysis. The study calls for focused interventions in India and stringent implementation of anti-tobacco legislation, especially in the workplaces for reducing the exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers and to produce encouraging and motivating results by next round of the survey.

Biomedical research collaborations are to be contextualized in the larger global health agenda which also opens up new information pathways, expands research networks, and brings additional resources. A qualitative inquiry was employed to understand the perceived benefits and challenges of research collaborations by biomedical scientists from India (Global South [GS] country) and the Global North (GN). In-depth interviews were conducted with 47 biomedical scientists from India and 06 from the GN. The data was analyzed using the grounded theory approach. Complementarity of skills and resources, access to funds, improved quality of work, an opportunity to conduct multi-centric studies, development of collaborative networks, better and larger number of publications, mutual learning, opportunity to work with credible researchers, address common interests, leverage interpersonal and trusted relationships and larger societal good were some of the critical factors for eagerness of participants in joint scientific endeavors. However, the challenging aspects of dissent and disagreements were the power imbalance between the collaborators, the development of a trust deficit, and local administrative issues. The challenges reported in the current publication, also echoed in several previous publications can be surmounted and negotiated amicably when the rules of the game, law of the land, sharing of the credits, and interest of the collaborating parties are addressed and agreed up in a fair and just manner before the start of the collaboration. Overall biomedical partnerships are complex collaborations with its challenges, the processes are dynamic and outcomes are emergent. This requires constant and proactive evolution of the preparation, implementation and sustainability of the collaborative efforts be it national or international.

Timely donation of organs has helped many get a new life. But in India, the pace of Organ Donation and Transplant (ODT) has been disturbingly sluggish. There is a wide gap between patients who need transplants and the organs that are available in India. Doctors can play a pertinent role in decreasing this gap. Therefore, the present study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude, and perception of the medical students in India regarding Organ Donation (OD).A cross-sectional study was carried out among the undergraduate students (n=1463) in 10 different medical colleges across the country. Data were collected electronically through Google forms by using a pre-designed, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire.About 65% of students had a positive attitude regarding ODT. Most of the students acknowledged that Internet sources (57.7%) and print media (46.5%) played a significant role in their awareness. 83% of the students felt that there is a need for effective laws to regulate the process of ODT. It was encouraging that most of the students (69.6%) were not biased for the type of recipients for the organ.In the face of acute shortage of donated organs in India, the medical students can be the torchbearers of a positive change. Topics on ODT should be stressed in the initial years and during the early clinical exposure through rapid implementation of the revised Medical curriculum. They can motivate the general public and patients during their routine interactions to make this idea more accessible and acceptable.

Background: Palliative care is a relatively new field of medicine. The goal of palliative care is to provide comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains. However, there is a paucity of studies on knowledge about palliative care among medical students. The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge about palliative care amongst intern students of a medical college hospital. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 98 intern students of a Medical College in Malwa region of Punjab. Data was analyzed in the form of percentage and proportions. Z-test of proportions was applied wherever necessary. Results: The present study questionnaire was answered by81 out of 98 intern students yielding a response rate of 82.6%. 87.6% interns correctly defined palliative care. The average knowledge score for all 12 statements was 33.2%. 83.9% thought incorrectly that palliative care can be given only in a hospital set-up. A significant number (67.9%) favoured to prescribe pethidine more than morphine. Others thought that parenteral route (54.3%) is more effective for pain relief. Most (66.6%) respondents agreed that they would prescribe less dose of opioids to avoid tolerance and addiction. Conclusion: The study revealed inadequate knowledge about palliative care among medical interns. There is need to introduce palliative care teaching in the medical curriculum so that doctors are able to provide better life support to terminal disease patients