scholarly journals Study of tobacco and alcohol consumption among students of a medical college in a city of Maharashtra

Author(s):  
Arvind V. Gaikwad ◽  
Rashmi Priya ◽  
Vishal S. Dhande ◽  
Mohan K. Doibale

Background: Over the years, substance use has increased drastically in every section of the society. Tobacco and alcohol consumption in medical fraternity is quite common. The objectives of the study were to find out the prevalence of tobacco and alcohol consumption in medical students and to find out various reasons to start these habits.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in Government Medical College, Aurangabad during September to November 2018. Study was conducted amongst undergraduate MBBS students. Taking prevalence as 47%, allowable error 10% and 10% non-respondents the sample size comes as 85. By lottery method, third year medical students were selected randomly for the study. Completed data from 120 students were included in the study. Pre-designed semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Trial version of SPSS software was used for statistical analysis.Results: In the present study, overall prevalence of substance use among undergraduate MBBS students was found to be 52.5% out of which 61.6% were males and 29.4% were females. Peer pressure was the main reason of continuing the habit (93.2%). 66% of these substance users showed willingness to quit the habit.Conclusions: High prevalence of tobacco and alcohol consumption was observed among undergraduate medical students.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1392-1395
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar Shah ◽  
Sidarth Timsinha ◽  
Sanjib Kumar Sah ◽  
Umesh Kumar Mehta ◽  
Raju Kumar Chaudhary

Introduction: Medical students encounter a constant pressure of academic and clinical activities, as well as easy access to drugs which could enable them to use different substances. Medical students who use substances can endanger others by losing sound judgment, failing to take responsibility, and causing harm to service recipients. Objective: The study was aimed to find out the prevalence and pattern of substance use among undergraduate medical students of Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Nepal. Methodology: This hospital based cross sectional study was carried out from January 2021 to February 2021 at Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Morang Nepal. A total of 207 subjects were included in the study, which was selected using convenience sampling. All participants were given a self-prepared semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire in order to gather information about their sociodemographic profile and pattern of substance use. Result: The overall prevalence of substance use among students of BMCTH was 59 (28.50%) (n=207). Males were significantly associated with substance use than females (P < 0.001). Prevalence of substance use were maximum among final year students 26(76.47%). The most common used substance was alcohol 49 (83.05%) followed by tobacco smoking 24 (40.67%) and cannabis 11 (18.64%).Curiosity of experience 39 (35.77%) and seeking pleasure 19 (17.43%) were the main reason of substance use among students. Conclusion: In this study students were found to be involved in some form of substance use, with many of them initiating after enrolling in medical school. Majority of students used for the sake of fun which they use as a source of entertainment to deviate their minds from the pressure of studies.


Author(s):  
Murali Lingala ◽  
Sneha Simon ◽  
Bhagath . ◽  
Kavitha .

Background: Tobacco kills approximately 1 million people annually in India and is responsible for almost half of all cancers in men and quarter of all cancers in women. Smokeless tobacco (SLT) is one such form that is culturally and socially acceptable by women especially in rural India. The study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption among women, prevalence of exposure to second hand smoke and to determine the factors associated with it.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was done among 190 women in the rural field practice area of department of community medicine of Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal during the period of October 2019 to December 2019. Data was collected using simple random sampling. A semi structured questionnaire was prepared with the help of global adult tobacco survey proforma. The data was analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) 20.00.Results: Prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption was 57% and the most common form of tobacco being consumed was tobacco with pan (40.3%). The prevalence of exposure to second hand smoke at home was 61%. The most common reason for initiation was peer pressure. High prevalence of consumption of smokeless tobacco was seen in unemployed and illiterate women.Conclusions: The prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption is higher among women in this study and this indicates the lack of awareness and the need for better strategies to reduce the burden.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Aparna Rizyal ◽  
JS Sunrait ◽  
A Mishal

 Refractive error is a defect in the optical system of the eye which prevents light from being brought to a single point focus on the retina, thus reducing normal vision. This optical defect is the second most common cause of visual impairment globally as well in Nepal. At present, there are 285 million visually impaired people in the world. An estimated 4 out of 5 visual impairment (80%) can be prevented or cured, uncorrected refractive errors are the leading cause (42%) followed by cataract (33%). A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to determine the proportion of undergraduate medical students with refractive errors in Nepal Medical College, and to identify factors associated with it. A total of 210 medical students volunteered for this study, with 100 males (47.6%) and 110 females (52.4%). The age of these students were between 18 to 26 years, with an average of 20.5 years. The proportion of medical students with refractive error was slightly more than half (51.4%), with simple myopia being the leading type (42.9%), followed by astigmatism (7.1%) and simple hypermetropia (1.4%). Parental history of refractive error was observed to be significantly associated with that of the medical students. There was also a significant association between refractive error and the daily use of mobile phones and laptops. However, years spent in medical education were not observed to be significant.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108
Author(s):  
Pratibha Manandhar ◽  
Naresh Manandhar ◽  
Sunil Kumar Joshi

Background and Objectives: Due to Covid-19 lockdown period undergraduate medical institutions across the country are moving towards e-learning for continuity of education. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions of students towards e-learning and to analyze medical students’ perception on e-learning vs. conventional learning. Materials and Method: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted by distributing an online semi-structured questionnaire consisting Likert scale to undergraduate medical students of Kathmandu Medical College. Data assembled from the survey were analyzed and Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 24 version software was used for data analysis. Result: A total of 273 students were enrolled in this study. Most of the students, 83.9% (229) had the perception that conventional teaching method was the best method for learning as compared to e-learning method 16.1% (44). The students mentioned that conventional method of learning is more effective to increase knowledge than e -learning (M= 3.87, M= 2.80) which was statistically significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: E-learning was the only option for students to study during lockdown period. But students preferred conventional method of learning as compared to e-learning. It might be due to some disadvantages of e-learning, eg. Technical difficulties, lack of interaction with teacher  and patients, etc. So, these measures have to be addressed for improving e-learning for betterment of teaching-learning activity during these types of circumstances in future.


Author(s):  
Kevin A. John ◽  
Poonam R. Naik

Background: Medical students have been reported to suffer from higher perceived stress compared to general population and students in the other academic fields. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of stress and to identify the potential stressors among undergraduate medical students using perceived stress scale (PSS).Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 301 undergraduate medical students at a private medical college in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. The extent of the stress was assessed using PSS-10 and a questionnaire was used to identify the potential academic, psychosocial and environmental stressors.Results: The mean PSS score was found to be 26.34±3 in this study. Moderate stress was observed in 68% of the study participants. The PSS score was higher among the 2nd year MBBS students. Stress was observed more among female medical students (74%). Inadequate study leave (92.4%), vastness of academic curriculum (84.1%), poor quality of food in mess or home (70.4%), accommodation away from home (60.1%) and high parental expectations (48.5%) were found to be the potential stressors in this study.Conclusions: The study results thereby highlight the need to plan tailored interventions to address the various stressors and prevent stress among the medical students. 


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