Traditional eye medicine associated keratitis- Current trends and practices

To study the prevalence, types and demographic profile of traditional eye medicine (TEM) use among corneal ulcer patients presenting to a tertiary eye care centre in South India.A cross-sectional study conducted on 432 new corneal ulcer patients at a tertiary eye care centre in South India from September 2018 to July 2019. Data collected included demographic profile such as name, age, sex, occupation, income, rural/urban residence, type of TEM use. Of the 432 new corneal ulcer cases, 32 used TEM. Most TEM users belonged to the age group 40- 60 years (n= 20; 62.5%). There was no difference in sex distribution. Majority of TEM users in our study resided in rural areas (n= 30; 93.75%), were involved in agriculture as occupation (n=28, 87.5%) and belonged to the lower socioeconomic status n=31(96.88%) as per Kuppuswamy classification. Profile of TEM used ranged from plant extract (n= 14; 43.75%), tongue cleaning (n= 5; 15.63%), oil (n= 7; 21.87%), breast milk (n= 4; 12.5%) and ash (n= 2; 6.25%). Use of traditional medicine is a prevalent practice in the study population. These findings offer a better understanding of health seeking behaviour of the study population which will lead to better planning, implementation and targeting of preventive and promotive eye services and awareness programmes.

Assessment of Palliative Care Needs among People Living with HIV/ AIDS Attending Antiretroviral Therapy Outpatient Department in an Urban Slum of Mumbai: A Mixed Method Study

Objectives: According to WHO, Palliative care is an essential component of a comprehensive package of care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Lack of palliative care results in untreated symptoms that hamper an individual’s ability to perform daily activities. The study aimed to explore the perceived Palliative care needs of People Living With HIV/AIDS and the association between socio- demographic profile with Palliative care needs. Materials and Methods: It was a mixed method study conducted over 2 months in November and December 2020 at Link ART OPD of Urban Health Training Centre in Mumbai. Out of 120 registered patients,15 patients were selected for in-depth interview by purposive sampling. The remaining 105 patients were selected for quantitative part of the study by complete enumeration method. For Qualitative part, Thematic analysis of the transcripts was done. Data were coded using Microsoft word comment feature. Themes and categories were drawn from it. For Quantitative part, Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22. Chi- square test was applied to find out the association between socio- demographic profile & palliative care needs. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The major themes identified were poor attitude towards the disease, lack of support and role of counselling. The common palliative care needs identified were need for financial assistance, family support and psychological support. Conclusions: Palliative care should be introduced early in the care process by a team of providers who is aware of the patient’s history and requirements.

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE AND FACTORS RELATED TO BLOOD DONOR RETENTION: THE CASE OF THE OMAR BONGO ONDIMBA REGIONAL HOSPITAL OF MAKOKOU (CHROBOM), IN THE NORTH-EAST, GABON

Objective: In order to implement a targeted strategy during communication campaigns, this study defines the socio-demographic profile of blood donors and the factors that can promote their loyalty to blood donation in the northeast region of Gabon. Material And Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from March to September 2021 and enrolled 252 blood donors with a mean age of 29.6 ± 7 years, ranging from 19 to 51 years. After an interview based on a pre-established pre-donation questionnaire, each donor deemed suitable underwent a sampling that was then analyzed through an infectious workup and a blood count (CBC). Data collected from the questionnaire were entered into a spreadsheet in Excel 2016 and processed with R software in its R Commander interface and results were considered significant if p < 0.05. Results: Using Pearsons Chi-square test of independence, this study indicated an association between blood donation and many sociodemographic parameters. Thus, being a former donor was statistically associated with firstly male gender, secondly being a parent, thirdly having a job, and finally being 30 years or older. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was able to establish that: Being a parent, Having a job and Being male, increased the probability of being a faithful blood donor. Conclusion:. The profile of the blood donor at the Omar Bongo Ondimba Regional Hospital of Makokou corresponds to A man of about 30 years old, single, unemployed, with at least one child coming for a family type donation and the factors of loyalty to blood donation are the male sex, the status of worker and that of being a family member.

Demographic Profile and Clinical Spectrum of Alcoholic Liver Disease among Males in Pakistan

Introduction: Alcohol is the most common substance abused in western world. Males tend to have more severe liver disease because of heavy and regular drinking. Methods: Adult patients, 16 years of age and older, diagnosed with ALD within 1 year, were included in the study. Liver disease from other causes was excluded. Demographic profiles, clinical features, laboratory and endoscopic findings of the patients, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP), Model End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) were recorded. Results: A total of 104 patients with ALD who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the patients enrolled in the study was 49.2 years (SD = 13.1). Most of the patients were in the 30-65 age group. The four most common clinical symptoms in patients were abdominal distension (n = 89, 85.6%), bilateral lower limb edema (n = 78, 75%), jaundice (n = 39, 37.5%) and anorexia (n = 41, 39.4%). Of 104 patients, 96 (92.3%) had cirrhosis, 9 (8.7%) had fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis. Of 94 patients with ALD, 49(52.1%) had CTP grade C and 83 (88.3%) had MELD score ≥ 16. Conclusions: ALD was mainly observed in young patients. The most common clinical symptoms were abdominal distension, bilateral oedema of the lower limbs, jaundice and anorexia. Among patients with cirrhosis of the liver, the majority of patients were CTP class C and obtained a MELD score ≥16. Keywords: Alcoholic liver disease, clinical profile, demographic profile

The socio-demographic profile of Spanish adult undergraduates: university-level compensatory policies vs life-course (dis)advantages

PurposeTo uncover age inequalities in participation in higher education (HE) in Spain, the socio-demographic profile of Spanish adult undergraduates is compared to that of the general population of the same age group (25–54). Specific attention is devoted to differentials between face-to-face and distance adult students.Design/methodology/approachThe study is mainly based on a comparative analysis of quantitative data generated by an online survey conducted by the authors among students over the age of 25 enrolled in Spanish public universities. Concurrent secondary sources have been considered as well.FindingsEmployment and family obligations appear as powerful conditioners of adults' access to HE, their choice of study mode (face-to-face or distance) and their area of study. The possession of previous HE qualifications also appears as an important factor differentiating adult undergraduates from the general population.Research limitations/implicationsThe online survey is intended to reveal the main socio-demographic barriers to adult access to HE in Spain, rather than to draw a statistically representative profile of the target universe. The standard methodological recommendations have been followed to control the expected low response rate for the online questionnaire.Practical implicationsThe study points to the need to deeply articulate current university-level compensatory mechanisms with macro-level age-sensitive social policies.Social implicationsLife course policies aimed at reducing age educational inequalities are advanced.Originality/valueThe social conditioners of adult participation in HE are addressed through a conceptual framework combining the life-course perspective with the prevalent research approach, centred on the notions of lifelong learning and non-traditional learners' unequal access.

Factors Influencing Participation of Farmer in Contract Farming in Narsingdi District of Bangladesh

Aims: Contract farming (CF) has been used extensively to integrate agricultural value chain both in the developed and developing countries. Participation in CF is associated with increased farm productivity and farmer income. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze socio-economic factors affecting farmer’s participation in contract farming. Study Design: The selected 15 socio-economic factors were used to determine the impact on farmer’s participation in contract farming. Besides, the socio-demographic profile of the farmers in the study area was discussed. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted upon contract and non-contract farmers of Shibpur upazila under Narsingdi district of Bangladesh. The duration of the study was from July, 2019 to December, 2020. Methodology: The study used nationally-representative data of smallholder vegetable farmers in Shibpur upazila of Narsingdi district. The data were collected from 75 contract farmer and 125 non-contract farmer of Shibpur upazila. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze fifteen factors that potentially affected farmers’ decision to participate in CF and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-demographic profile of the farmer. Results: The study found that farmers education, wife’s occupation, family size, labor, fertilizer use, training, savings and income were the significant factors in the model and farmers occupation, other family member's occupation, income source, land type, size of land, experience and storage place were non-significant predictors using P<0.01 and P<0.05 threshold. Conclusion: Farmer’s education, female head's occupation, family size, land type, size of land holdings, labor use, type of fertilizers being used, training or technical knowledge and average monthly income of the respondents had a positive influence on farmer’s decision.