scholarly journals Burden of Teenage Pregnancies in Hilly Area of Eastern Region of Nepal

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Ram Bilakshan Sah ◽  
Kumar Gaurav ◽  
Dharani Dhar Baral ◽  
Nilambar Jha ◽  
Paras Kumar Pokharel

Teenage pregnancy, which is detrimental to the health of mother and child, is a common public health problem worldwide. It is a problem that affects nearly every society- developed and developing alike. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and its impact on birth outcome. The cross-sectional study was conducted among the residents of Dhankuta municipality where 246 households were taken as subjects. Chi-square test was applied to find out the significant difference between socio demographic characteristics and outcome variable i.e. birth outcome & age of 1st pregnancy. About 34.6% of respondents were pregnant at below 20 years of age. The teenage pregnancies decreases as education level increases (p<0.001). Furthermore, economic variable shows stronger association with teenage pregnancies (p<0.001). Fetal complication was significantly higher among below 20 years of age (81%) than women with 20 years and above (19%). The proportion of low birth weight (<2.5 kg) babies was also significantly higher in women with teenage pregnancy (78.3%) than women with 20 years and above (21.7%). We conclude that the problem of teenage pregnancy is common and has become a key public health concern for all. The teenage pregnancy was not favorable condition for baby outcome.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jonmc.v3i1.12231Journal of Nobel Medical College Vol. 3, No.1 Issue 6, 2014, Page: 13-19

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mesay Lema Geleta ◽  
Fithamlak Bisetegn Solomon ◽  
Efrata Girma Tufa ◽  
Fekadu Elias Sadamo ◽  
Samson Kastro

Abstract Background Anemia is a global public health problem and most of the HIV positive people become anemic at some point in the course of the disease. We lack adequate evidence on the magnitude of anemia among children on highly active anti retroviral therapy in Ethiopia and particularly in South Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed at determining the proportion and associated factors of anemia among children on highly active anti retroviral therapy in Wolaita zone, South Ethiopia.Method a facility based cross-sectional study has been conducted from November to December 2018 on 256 children 6 months to 14 years of age who were on Anti retroviral therapy. Data were collected through an interview with caregivers and review of medical records. CD4+ cell count was analyzed using FACS caliber and Hemoglobin level was measured with Hem cue 301 analyzer. Stool sample was examined for presence of intestinal parasites by direct wet mount technique. Data analyzed with Stata version 14.0 were conveyed in mean and standard deviation of the mean, median and inter-quartile range. Multivariate analysis was carried out to identify independent predictors of the outcome variable. Adjusted Odds Ratio with 95% confidence interval was reported.Results The magnitude of anemia was found to be 38.8%. Taking Co-trimoxazole antibiotic prophylaxis (AOR=.45; 95% CI: .21, .95), caregivers’ not receiving nutritional counseling (AOR=09; 95% CI: .01, .98) and presence of intestinal parasites (AOR=3.10; 95% CI: 1.39, 6.88) were associated with anemia.Conclusion The magnitude of anemia obtained in this study is a moderate public health problem. Health education programs in Anti Retroviral Therapy clinics should be targeted at appropriate dietary practice, and appropriate hand washing and other hygienic practices to prevent intestinal parasitic infections. Co-trimoxazole prophylaxis should give given to all eligible children based on the recommendation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
RB Sah ◽  
K Gauray ◽  
DD Baral ◽  
N Jha ◽  
PK Pokharel

Antenatal care is provided during pregnancy to save lives of mother and foetus. The World Health Organization recommends four focused visits as sufficient for normal pregnancy. The objective of this study was to find out the antenatal care practices and its impact on birth outcome.The cross-sectional study was conducted from 28th March to 10th April, 2013 among the residents of Dhankuta municipality where 246 households were taken as subjects. Convenient purposive sampling technique was applied. Semi-structured questionnaire was used and face to face interview was conducted. Chi-square test was applied to find out the significant difference between sociodemographic characteristics and outcome variable i.e. birth outcome & antenatal care visits. Almost eighty eight percent of respondents attended ANC visits.The findings revealed that even though the fourth ANC visit was (82.4%), almost 82.5% of the pregnant women took the tetanus toxoid (TT) injections, about 81.7% received iron tablets and nearly 57.7% received albendazole. Women with School Leaving Certificate and higher ed­ucation level are more likely to ANC visits (95.4%) than women with below SLC (87.9%) and no education (66.7%). Hindu women are more likely to have ANC visits (91.2%) compared to women of other religion (47.4%) (P<0.001). Furthermore, economic variable shows stronger association with ANC visits (P<0.001). We conclude that the women of the surveyed communities have placed antenatal care as priority. Lack of money and education led some of the respondents not to attend the recommended antenatal care visits. Antenatal care checkup is important for favourable birth outcome. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v3i2.8435 Journal of Chitwan Medical College Vol.3(2) 2013 12-15


Author(s):  
Elsheba Mathew ◽  
Rajalakshmy Aiyappan ◽  
Mili M. ◽  
Navaneetha N. ◽  
Priyanka Shibu ◽  
...  

Background: Control of blood pressure is a global challenge and non-adherence to hypertension medications is a public health concern. Patient, medication and system related factors can contribute to non-adherence. The study was to determine adherence to hypertension medications and to understand the barriers to adherence in an adult group in Pathanamthitta District of Central Kerala.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a community setting in 2016, among 139 adults aged 30 years and above on treatment for hypertension for at least six months. Those with gestational hypertension, those having serious comorbid conditions and those unwilling to participate were excluded. The data sheet included basic demographic information and history related to hypertension. A content validated eight item questionnaire was used to assess reported adherence and scores classified level of adherence as good (8), moderate (6-<8) and poor (<6). The data was analyzed using SPSS. Chi square test of significance and multivariate regression analysis were done. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The participants were in the age group 34-91 years, 50.4% belonging to 50-69 years, and 75.5% were females. Adherence to hypertension medications was good in 49.6%, moderate in 31.7% and poor in 18.7%. The most common factors reported to contribute to non-adherence were forgetfulness (70.5%), high cost of medications (51.8%), and symptom-free state (27.3%).Conclusions: Adherence was good in less than half the study participants and poor in almost one-fifth. Forgetfulness and high medication costs were the most commonly reported barriers. These findings highlight the importance of individuals, families and health service, joining hands to tackle the public health problem of non-adherence to hypertension medications.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 1842-1847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnon D. Cohen ◽  
R. Gurfinkel ◽  
R. Glezinger ◽  
Y. Kriger ◽  
N. Yancolevich ◽  
...  

Burn trauma is an important public health concern, with increased risk for burns in children. A cross-sectional study was performed to describe the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors for burns in hospitalized Bedouin children in Soroka University Medical Center during the years 2001–2002. In a population of 558 hospitalized burn-injured patients, 282 Bedouin children were identified. Two hundred and sixty five patients (94.0%) had burns involving less than 20% of the body surface area. Cause of the burns was scald in 190 patients (67.4%), fire in 80 patients (28.4%), chemical in 8 patients (2.8%), and explosion in 2 patients (0.7%). Two female patients (0.7%) aged 11 and 17 years died of their burns that were caused by fire. The mean length of hospitalization was 9.8 days. Pediatric burn injury has become a significant public health problem in the Bedouin population of the Negev. To reduce the burden of burn injury, it is necessary to increase current efforts in prevention of burns.


Author(s):  
Desirée Mena-Tudela ◽  
Susana Iglesias-Casás ◽  
Víctor Manuel González-Chordá ◽  
María Jesús Valero-Chillerón ◽  
Laura Andreu-Pejó ◽  
...  

Background: Obstetric violence is a worldwide public health problem, which seems greater in Spain. As no studies were found that identify the most representative healthcare professionals, times, and areas involved in obstetric violence, the objective of this work was to study at what time of maternity, with which professionals, and in what areas women identified obstetric violence. Methods: This descriptive, retrospective, and cross-sectional study was performed from January 2018 to June 2019. The main variables were the area (hospital, primary care, both), the time (pregnancy, birth, puerperium), and the professionals attending to women. Results: Our sample comprised 17,541 participants. The area identified with the most obstetric violence for the different studied variables was hospitals. Women identified more obstetric violence at time of birth. Findings such as lack of information and informed consent (74.2%), and criticism of infantile behavior and treatment (87.6%), stood out. The main identified healthcare professionals were midwives and gynecologists, and “other” professionals repeatedly appeared. Conclusions: Having identified the professionals, times, and areas of most obstetric violence in Spain, it seems necessary to reflect on not only the Spanish National Health System’s structure and management but also on healthcare professionals’ training.


Author(s):  
Chutima Rattanawan ◽  
Suraiya Cheloh ◽  
Asma Maimahad ◽  
Malatee Tayeh

Anemia is a global public health problem. The prevalence of anemia among different ages, genders or ethnic groups must be clarified in order to solve problems. This study proposed to determine the prevalence and factors related to anemia among the Muslim school-age population in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Socio-demographic and anthropometric data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from 200 school-age subjects. The thalassemia screening was performed with KKU-OF and KKU-DCIP reagents. The prevalence of anemia in this study was 36.5%, divided into males and females, 33.3% and 39.1%, respectively. The means of Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, and MCHC in the anemic group were significantly lower. The positive results for KKU-OF or KKU-DCIP or both were 15.0%, 2.5%, and 1.0%, respectively. The result of positive OF test was a significantly independent factor for anemia. The number of family members was 5 to 7 and more than 7 persons are related factors for anemia in this study. In summary, the contribution of thalassemia and socio-economic factor are associated factors to anemia in this population. These findings should be addressed in public health strategies for the control of anemia of school-aged Muslims in the region.


2022 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Humayun Kabir ◽  
Md. Kamrul Hasan ◽  
Mamunur Rahman ◽  
Shimpi Akter ◽  
Golam Ishraque Chowdhury ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Mucormycosis, a severe fungal infection, is an emerging public health concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the perception of mucormycosis among Bangladeshi healthcare workers. Results An exploratory cross-sectional study was carried out among the Bangladeshi healthcare workers from May 25, 2021, to June 5, 2021. The study found 422 responses from the healthcare workers of Bangladesh. Among the respondents, nearly half of them (45.26%) were doctors (n = 191). This study explored that the healthcare workers’ mucormycosis perception scores were significantly associated with their age, gender, profession, monthly income, marital status, job type, and death of friends and family members due to COVID-19. Conclusions This study emphasized the healthcare workers’ mucormycosis perception along with other associated factors. The findings could help policymakers to mitigate mucormycosis and related infectious diseases emergencies in the post-COVID-19 situation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Nikmatur Rohmah ◽  
Fariani Syahrul

Diarrhea is still a public health problem in the world and the mostly occur in children under five years. At the moment the number of diarrhea-caused mortality was 3.8 per 1000 per year by 3.2 episodes per year in children under five years. This research aims to analyze the association between hand-washing habits and toilet use with the incidence of diarrhea in children under five years. This is an observational analytic with cross sectional study. Population of the research was a children's mother took her children to the public health center of Sekardangan Sidoarjo Subdistrict. The number of samples taken as many as 58 mother of children under five years. Data collection was done with interviews to parents of children and the observations of the toilets. Technique of data analysis using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. On the results of the research there is a significant association the habit of hand washing (p = 0.006) and toilet use(p = 0.014) with the incidenceof diarrhea in children under five years. Conclusions of the research is the habit of hand washing and toilet use had a significant association with the incidenceof diarrhea in children under five years. Advice that can be given to the mother of a children under five years is to wash the hands before and after defecating and before preparing food for children. Keywords: diarrhea, hand washing, toilet use, observational, children under five years


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (217) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muna Maharjan ◽  
Niresh Thapa ◽  
Narayani Maharjan ◽  
Pabita Rai ◽  
Prakash Pun ◽  
...  

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy is a public health concern. Maternal and neonatal health outcomesare negatively impacted in teenage pregnancy. The objective of the study is to find the prevalence ofteenage pregnancy in a community hospital of rural Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Okhaldhunga Community Hospital,Okhaldhunga, Nepal. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee of thehospital. Data were retrieved from July 2007 to July 2017 from the hospital record books. The total of7054 records of deliveries were reviewed from the hospital records and whole sampling was done.Subgroup analysis was done on basis of age, ethnicity, gravida, para, period of gestation, mode ofdelivery, maternal or neonatal complications and birth weight. Datas were entered and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel. Results: The total of 7054 deliveries were conducted in ten years among which 2050 (29.06%) wereteenage deliveries at the confidence interval of 95% (28.52% - 29.06%). The highest percentage ofteenage delivery was found among Janajati ethnicity of 1056 (53.3%). Amongst teenage delivery, asignificant tear was found in 157 (7.9%) as a maternal complication. Perinatal deaths were found in27 (1.4%). The cesarean section rate was 839 (11.9%) among all deliveries. Conclusions: The trend of teenage pregnancy remains almost same over ten years in theOkhaldhunga Community Hospital. The overall prevalence of teenage delivery is higher than thenational figure. Low birth weight babies, premature delivery, perineal and cervical tears were thecommon complications. Further health education and awareness programs might help to reduce theteenage pregnancy rate.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uchenna C. Atowa ◽  
Alvin J. Munsamy ◽  
Samuel O. Wajuihian

Aim: To study the prevalence of myopia among school children in Aba, Nigeria.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in public and private (primary and secondary) schools. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used for selecting participants aged between 8 and 15 years from 12 schools in Aba, Nigeria. Data were analysed for 1197 children who underwent a comprehensive eye examination. The children were divided according to the following criteria: age groups (group 1 [8–11 years] or group 2 [12–15 years]), gender (male or female), level of education (primary or secondary) and type of school (public or private). Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent refraction (SER) ≤ -0.50 D in the poorer eye.Results: The prevalence of myopia was estimated to be 2.7%. Of the 96 children with refractive error, 78.1% were uncorrected. In using logistic regression analysis, risk of developing myopia was associated with older age groups (odds ratio [OR]: 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16–9.11; p < 0.010) and higher level of education (OR: 1.73; 95% CI, 1.05–2.86; p < 0.030). There was no significant difference in myopia prevalence between male and female children (p = 0.89).Conclusion: Although the prevalence of myopia and overall prevalence of refractive error in school children in Aba were low, the high prevalence of uncorrected refractive error is a significant public health problem. An effective and sustainable children’s vision screening programme is needed to prevent visual impairment and blindness.


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