Comparison of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Nursing Staff Regarding Cervical Cancer Screening at Various Levels of Health Care Facilities in Western India.

Background: Cervical cancer is a public health problem, and nursing personnel are crucial for successful implementation of low-cost cervical cancer screening approaches in low-resource settings. The following study assessed and compared the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding cervical cancer and its screening among female nursing staff at different levels of health care facilities in western Rajasthan, India. Methodology: An anonymous pre-validated, structured questionnaire was used as the study tool among 233 female nursing personnel of primary, secondary, and tertiary care health facilities. Multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the association between level of knowledge with level of health care and other demographic variables. Results: The nursing staff of the tertiary care health facility demonstrated significantly higher knowledge compared to those working at primary and secondary levels [adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 11.01 (3.80-32.40)]. At tertiary care, the practices of the nursing professionals were not found significantly associated with any socio-demographic variable including age, marital status, or level of health care facility. Conclusion: The overall knowledge of cervical cancer was poor, especially among staff nurses at primary and secondary levels of health care. In order to implement a successful population-based screening program in India, it is important to update the nursing curriculum and start in-service trainings at primary and secondary levels of health care facilities.

Revitalising community engagement and surveillance challenges for strengthening dengue control in Jodhpur, Western Rajasthan, India - A mixed method study.

OBJECTIVES: Dengue continues to remain a public health problem in many regions of the world. This study focuses on addressing the community level barriers and opportunities using a health education intervention model to aid in dengue control. METHODS: In-depth interviews of frontline workers were conducted to understand potential barriers during surveillance. A house-to-house cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2018 among the crowded urban Pratapnagar area followed by intervention in the form of health education using pamphlets and counselling. RESULTS: The entomological indices were found to be above the critical levels in the hotspot area. 90% of the population had heard about dengue but only 51.4% had knowledge about fever as one of the symptoms of dengue. Overall knowledge among the community was good. But attitudes and practices were low and probably required more sustained health education intervention over prolonged period. The potential barriers for surveillance which were recognised during In-depth interviews were safety issues, lack of manpower and availability of dedicated vehicles, dearth of community participation and lack of inter and intra departmental coordination. CONCLUSION: The health administration needs to adopt robust surveillance and monitoring activities with inter-departmental coordination ensuring greater community participation focusing on behaviour change.

Prevalence of Asthma and Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder in School-Going Children.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of asthma and sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) in school-going children. METHODS: This school-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among children of age groups of 6-7 and 13-14 years from 31 public and private schools in rural and urban areas of Jodhpur. A pretested and validated questionnaire in Hindi for childhood asthma, International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire and 22-item pediatric SRBD scale were used to collect data. RESULTS: A total of 2245 children were screened for asthma and SRBD. The overall prevalence of asthma and SRBD in school children in Jodhpur was 8.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.9%-9.2%) and 9.5% (95% CI: 8.4-10.8), respectively. Asthma was found to be significantly associated with SRBD in school-going children in Jodhpur (odds ratio: 4.8; 95% CI: 3.3-6.8) on multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: There is a significantly high prevalence of asthma and SRBD with a good association between them in school-going children.