Self-care practices and quality of life of filariasis patients in a gram panchayat of Paschim Burdwan district, West Bengal, India.

Background & objectives: Self-care management is one of the important components in the goal of elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and Quality of Life (QoL) has become an important deliverable in the present day health care system. The objective was to assess the self-care management of the affected limb and to find out the quality of life who were suffering from lymphoedema. Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional epidemiological study conducted during 2019-2020 in a Gourbazar gram panchayat area of Paschim Burdwan district of West Bengal, India. QoL was assessed by Lymphatic Filariasis Specific Quality of life Questionnaire (LFSQQ). Results: Total 115 LF patients were identified with a mean age of 53.9 years. About 26.1% correctly knew the management of the affected area. Out of the 33 patients having cracked skin, around 39.4% used to take care of the affected skin. Overall, median quality of life score was found to be 77.84 (65.90-89.20). Age-wise, median score gradually decreased with increase in age except in the age group of 50-60 years. Males had higher score compared to females (79.54 vs. 76.13). Activity domain score was found to be lowest followed by mobility score, while social and psychological domain score was found to be good. Interpretation & conclusion: Self-care practice is not known to the affected patients. Time has also come to integrate measures like rehabilitation, psychological intervention, social assistance in addition to self-care management to put up a holistic approach of the existing program.

Mobile phones: time to rethink and limit usage.

Radiofrequency waves generated from mobile phones cause potential public health problems. Short-term effects like changes in sleep, heart rate, and blood pressure, and long-term effects like carcinoma are well documented. The Government of India's efforts in laying down regulations regarding the safety limits, manufacture, marketing, and mobile use are still in nascent stage. The need for stringent enforcement of laws for prevention of phone usage while driving and guidelines of medical regulatory bodies regarding rules and regulations of phone usage while at class or attending patients is of utmost importance. This should be supplemented by mass media to raise awareness among people regarding the possible health effects of radiofrequency emissions from mobile phones and the guidelines to minimize its exposure. It is the need of the hour to teach young people to be structured, to know when to have the cell phone on, and to avoid becoming the slave of technology instead of its mastery.

Mobile phone involvement and dependence among undergraduate medical students in a Medical College of West Bengal, India.

INTRODUCTION: Mobile phone dependence has become an emerging public health problem. This cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the mobile phone involvement and dependence among undergraduate medical students in a Medical College of West Bengal, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A study was conducted at IQ City Medical College, Durgapur, District Burdwan, West Bengal, India, during July-August 2015 among 252 undergraduate medical students. Involvement and dependence were elicited by mobile phone involvement questionnaire (MPIQ) and mobile phone dependence questionnaire (MPDQ), respectively. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 19.0) was used for analysis. RESULTS: About 14.9% of students were being highly involved with their mobile phone. The mean score of MPIQ was greatest in domain 5, i.e. euphoria followed by domain 2, i.e. behavioral salience and then domain 4, i.e. conflict with other activities. About 19.4% of males and 11.1% of females had high dependence. Mean MPDQ score was higher among males, though it was not significant statistically. Sex, total recharge, and total hours spent on mobile phone could explain between 2.2% and 3.8% variance of the presence of dependence in binary logistic regression. Total recharge (adjusted odds ratio 1.144) and total hours spent on mobile (adjusted odds ratio 1.135) were positively associated with the presence of dependence. CONCLUSION: Many students were highly involved and dependent on mobile phone and they had already been experiencing some health-related problems. There is a need to identify students having high involvement and dependence so as to generate adequate awareness and plan educational or treatment interventions accordingly.