Assessing attitude towards condom use among truck drivers at transhipment location, Meerut District, India, using multidimensional condom attitude scale.

Background: In India, unsafe sex has been documented among truck drivers. This study explores the factors influencing their attitude of trucker towards condom use. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adapted for this study in which 25 factors were chosen to assess attitude toward condom use on 7 point validated Likert scale UCLA Multidimensional Condom Attitude Scale on 5 subcomponents -Reliability, Pleasure, Stigma associated with condom use, embarrassment about negotiation and use of condom and about purchasing condom. Hundred truck drivers were recruited using convenient sampling and Mann-Whitney U and Kruskall Wallis Test were used to validate the subcomponents among those practicing unsafe sex. Results: Positive attitudes regarding reliability and effectiveness of condom were significantly higher among adult entrants and those resting more than 10 hours during journey whereas positive attitude regarding pleasure associated with condoms and stigma towards it is significantly higher among truck drivers travelled long distances and resting more than 10 hours. Conclusion: Adolescent entrants, those who have not travelled long distances and not rested more than 10 hrs requires improvement in the attitude towards condom use.

Adverse effects after first and second dose of covishield and covaxin: A longitudinal study.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out recently in several parts of the world. Although the protective efficacy is frequently discussed, little is known about the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine adverse effects. The study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the occurrence of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with two doses of covishield and covaxin and to assess factors associated with these adverse effects. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted for a period of three months in the adults above 18 years of age attending rural health training center (RHTC) either to receive their first or second dose of covishield or covaxin. After vaccination, the participants were observed at the health facility for 30 min for any AEFI and also followed up telephonically on seventh day from vaccination. Data was collected on predesigned and pretested questionnaire and appropriate statistical tests were applied. Results: Out of 532 participants, 250 (47%) came for their first dose while 282 (53%) came for second dose. In both the groups maximum participation was seen by males and those belonging to age group 18-30 years. Majority of the participants reported local tenderness (39.3%) after first dose of covaxin and fever (30.5%) after first dose of covishield. Mainly significant association was observed after vaccination in participants with comorbidities. Conclusion: The short-term adverse events with both the vaccines were observed, but these were mild and short lived. In this context, our study becomes more relevant in disseminating short-term safety data post vaccination. This will help individuals in their decision to accept vaccination.

Exploring unsafe sexual practices among truck drivers at Meerut District, India: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Despite implementation of HIV prevention programmes for truck drivers in India, unsafe sex behavior among truck drivers has been documented. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess knowledge about HIV Transmission and modes of prevention, pattern of condom use with high risk partners and explore the practice of unsafe sex and its risk factors among truck drivers. METHODS: This exploratory cross-sectional study design was conducted on a recruited convenient sample of 100 truck drivers above 18 years from March to May 2015. Binary logistic regression was used to compute unadjusted odds ratio [95% Confidence Interval] for establishing association of risk factors with unsafe sex. RESULTS: Overall, only 7% had complete knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. 54% of truck drivers have sex with a high risk partner (commercial sexual worker or men having sex with men) and thirty-eight percent reported unsafe sexual practices due to inconsistent condom use with them. The various risk factors found significantly associated with unsafe sex were mean age of first intercourse (OR= 0.92, 95% CI: 0.75 - 0.97), access to pornography (OR = 4.4, 95% CI: 1.8 - 10.7) and conuming psychoactive substance before sex (OR = 4.06, 95% CI: 1.09 - 15.02). CONCLUSION: Socio-demographic, occupational factors, pornography access and consuming psychoactive substances seems to influence the sexual behaviour of truckers.

Mid-upper arm circumference in detection of weight-for-height Z-score below -3 in children aged 6-59 months.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive ability of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) for detecting severe wasting (weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) <-3) among children aged 6-59 months. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Rural Uttar Pradesh, India. SUBJECTS: Children (n 18 456) for whom both WHZ (n 18 463) and MUAC were available. RESULTS: The diagnostic test accuracy of MUAC for severe wasting was excellent (area under receiver-operating characteristic curve = 0·933). Across the lower range of MUAC cut-offs (110-120 mm), specificity was excellent (99·1-99·9 %) but sensitivity was poor (13·4-37·2 %); with higher cut-offs (140-150 mm), sensitivity increased substantially (94·9-98·8 %) but at the expense of specificity (37·6-71·9 %). The optimal MUAC cut-off to detect severe wasting was 135 mm. Although the prevalence of severe wasting was constant at 2·2 %, the burden of severe acute malnutrition, defined as either severe wasting or low MUAC, increased from 2·46 to 17·26 % with cut-offs of <115 and <135 mm, respectively. An MUAC cut-off <115 mm preferentially selected children aged ≤12 months (OR=11·8; 95 % CI 8·4, 16·6) or ≤24 months (OR=23·4; 95 % CI 12·7, 43·4) and girls (OR=2·2; 95 % CI 1·6, 3·2). CONCLUSIONS: Based on important considerations for screening and case detection in the community, modification of the current WHO definition of severe acute malnutrition may not be warranted, especially in the Indian context.