Utilization of Reproductive and Child Health Services and Client Satisfaction from Urban Primary Health Centers by Recently Delivered Women Living in Urban Slums of Lucknow, India

Background: Due to rapid urbanization, there is an increase in population in slums often lacking access to basic health services. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the utilization of reproductive and child health services by recently delivered women and their children residing in catchment areas of urban PHCs, to evaluate their level of satisfaction and to determine the factors associated with utilization of these services by recently delivered women. Settings and Design: The study was conducted in the catchment areas of urban primary health centre of Lucknow. Methods and Material: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 women having children less than 24 months in the slums covered under selected U-PHCs, sampled through a multi-stage random sampling technique using a semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis used: SPSS-26 and MedCalc software were used for data analysis. Results: Utilization of RCH services by recently delivered women from UPHC was 39%. About 24% of recently delivered women availed ANC services from UPHC and 56.7% utilized family planning services and 95.8% immunization services for children. Child care services for diarrhea and ARI were availed by 9.9 and 3.1% of women, respectively. Satisfaction regarding maternal care and immunization services was seen in 84 and 95.8% of women. Poor satisfaction regarding child care was seen in 56.5% of women. Conclusions: The utilization of RCH services was found to be poor in the study population. Most recently delivered women were satisfied with all services except child care.

Prevalence of Depression among Geriatric Population in Old Age Homes of South Delhi

Background: Ageing population is increasing globally year by year. Around 15% of adults aged 60 and above suffer from a mental disorder and depression being the commonest among them. Geriatric mental health and physical condition are more important for perceiving good quality of life. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three old age homes of South Delhi. Data was collected using a structured, pre-tested, validated questionnaire - Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). After obtaining consent from the participants, the required number of samples (n=105) were collected through systematic random sampling method. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS v21. Results: Overall prevalence of depression was found to be 73.3%. Of which 26.7% had mild depression, 31.4% had moderate depression and 41.9% had severe depression respectively. Statistical significance (p<0.05) was found between married, illiterate, female by gender, those with no regular income, those who had associated co-morbidities, participants whose family/friends did not visit regularly and depression. Conclusion: Increased prevalence of depression among the geriatric population residing in old ages indicates the growing mental health burden and the need for it to be identified at early stage and treated with proper therapeutic measures.