ABSTRACT
Adolescence is a distinctive and determinative stage in human life. Adolescent period serves as a transition between childhood and adulthood during which they acquire social, cognitive and emotional skills that de-termine their future. During these years, adolescent children undergo lot of physical and emotional changes. The quality of the environment where adolescents grow up shapes their physical and psychological well-being. Negative impact on mental health can happen due to encounters in homes, schools or social media which increases the risk of developing mental illness. This could be because of bullying, poverty, violence and mentally ill parents or siblings. In such cases, adolescents struggle to handle their psychological health and unless they get adequate care and support from parents, teachers and peer group, their psychological wellbe-ing gets affected. It is estimated that 1 in 7 adolescents worldwide experience mental health conditions. How-ever, majority of these psychological issues go unnoticed and untreated. This article highlights various ethical issues in the Researchers’ Perspective when a study was planned to assess the psychological wellbeing of ado-lescent school children in an urban part of Tamil Nādu, India. Knowing the ethical concerns in conducting the research on psychological wellness of adolescents will help in planning more research studies for a better un-derstanding of the epidemiology of mental illnesses among them.
ABSTRACT
Background: Pandemic has affected people physically, mentally and economically. India being a growing economic power house, spends only around 1.2% of GDP on health which thereby leads to high OOP spending. This study aims to estimate out of pocket health expenditure and proportion of financial risk protection. Methods: Cross sectional study conducted among Covid-19 affected individuals in Chennai. It was a questionnaire-based study with questions about covid-19 management status, cost and insurance utili-zation. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis was used for analysis. Results: Total of 47 were treated at hospital and 85% of them were treated at private hospital. The mean cost investigations for patients treated at hospital was of Rs. 50000+11547 and for medicines was Rs. 110000+57735. 53% of study participants had health insurance. 29 (54.72%) of them had Covid-19 treatment cost covered under insurance. The multiple regression analysis showed a statistically signifi-cant association between total OOPE incurred and age, religion and socio-economic status. Conclusion: Majority of participants spent for their treatment through savings and borrowing money. OOPE was compensated by reimbursement through health insurance. Provision of quality health care in government hospitals, increase public health spending and creating awareness about health insurance are ways to reduce OOP costs.
ABSTRACT
Background: Convenience of plastic use pays a high price by negatively affecting health and environment. As nationwide ban on use of plastic carry bags failed, statewide ban was imposed in Tamil Nadu from 1st January 2019. This study was planned with the objective of determining the awareness, acceptance and practice of plastic ban legislation among residents in urban population in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu.Methods: This community based cross sectional study was carried out with a sample size of 250 using systematic random sampling method. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and further analysis was done with SPSS Version 25 Software.Results: About 94% respondents were aware of legislation and 76% had a positive attitude towards the ban. About 52% participants continued using plastic bags despite the ban. Common source of knowledge about the ban was mass media (42%). About 80% were aware of the negative effects of plastic use and 70% were aware that plastics are non-bio-degradable. Statistically significant association was found between various socio demographic factors with the use of plastic bags. Alternate eco-friendly bags usage was found among 48% of respondents.Conclusions: Good awareness level about the ill effects of plastic use and its ban was observed but the level of implementation in their daily life was poor. Even after the preparatory period of six months given to get accustomed to eco-friendly alternatives, the use of plastic bags still remains rampant. IEC activities need to be intensified to bring about changes in the attitude and practice of plastic use.