Validation of the Indian (Hindi) version of the life-space assessment scale among community-dwelling older adults: a multicentric cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The Life-Space Assessment (LSA) is an instrument that measures mobility in older adults as they reach different areas, defined as life-spaces extending from home to beyond towns or regions. The purpose of the study was to develop the Hindi version of the LSA (LSA- H) and to investigate the validity and reliability of the Hindi version as well as its cultural adaptation. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of two hundred forty-five older adults participated in the study from four different study practice areas. Following forward backwards translation, the LSA-H was developed, and the scores were correlated with those of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale Hindi (ABC- H), the Physical Health Subscale of the WHO-BREF Questionnaire and the Geriatric Depression Scale: Short Form Hindi (GDS-SFH) to test the criterion and concurrent validity. RESULTS: The mean score and standard deviation of the LSA-H questionnaire were 56.53 ± 35.99, those of the Physical Health Subscale of the WHO-BREF instrument were 18.54 ± 7.87, those of the GDS-SFH questionnaire were 6.95 ± 4.21 and those of the ABC- H questionnaire were 54.40 ± 28.96. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the LSA-H score and ABC-H score was 0.707 (p value < 0.0001), that between the LSA-H score and the Physical Health Subscale of the WHO-BREF was 0.766 (p value < 0.0001), and that between the LSA-H score and GDS-SFG score was - 0.674 (p value < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the Hindi version of the LSA is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing living space among older adults in the Hindi language in an Indian population. Furthermore, the LSA-H was significantly correlated with other health assessment tools in terms of functional mobility, general health status and mental well-being.

Determinants of substance use among young people attending primary health centers in India.

Background: Substance use is a complex condition with multidimensional determinants. The present study aims to find the prevalence and determinants of substance use among young people attending primary healthcare centers in India. Methods: A multicentric cross-sectional study was conducted across 15 states in India on 1,630 young people (10-24 years) attending primary health centers. The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was used to capture data on substance use. The degree of substance involvement was assessed and multivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors of substance use. Results: The prevalence of substance use was 32.8%, with a median substance initiation age of 18 years. Among the substance users, 75.5% began before completing adolescence. Tobacco (26.4%), alcohol (26.1%) and cannabis (9.5%) were commonly consumed. Sociodemographic determinants included higher age, male gender, urban residence, positive family history, northeastern state residence and lower socioeconomic class. Over 80% of users had moderate or high involvement. Conclusions: High substance use prevalence among young people in Indian healthcare centers underscores the urgency of targeted intervention. Insights on determinants guide effective prevention strategies for this complex public health issue.