Strategies to Improvise Organ Donor Pool: A Study on the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Performance of Higher Secondary School Teachers Towards the Organ Donation.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess higher secondary school teachers' knowledge, attitude, and performance levels towards organ transplantation and donation (OTD). Teachers have an essential role in giving knowledge to children and teenagers, and they can influence their views. Organ transplantation offers re-life to many patients, yet organ shortages are a global issue. Teachers who influence students' future attitudes regarding organ donation must have a favorable attitude and genuine knowledge. Materials and Methods: The research method was descriptive and cross-sectional. The sample size was 372 school teachers in Villupuram district of Tamilnadu, India, selected using a convenient sampling method. A survey questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and attitude about OTD, the reason for donating/not donating organs. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify critical variables affecting intent to practice. Results: The teachers' mean scores with SD on knowledge, attitude, and performance were 7.61 ± 2.74, 8.81 ± 2.08, and 0.38 ± 0.11, respectively. The linear regression analysis showed that the knowledge (p < 0.001) and attitude (p < 0.05) of the participants were positively associated with organ donation performance. A significant relationship was also observed between gender (p < 0.036), age (p < 0.01), and education status (p < 0.001) with the performance of the teachers. Lack of family support was the most spelt reason for unwillingness for organ donation. Conclusion: The positive linear correlations underline that having more information may lead to a more optimistic mindset and, as a result, to better practices. Teachers should be provided with overall health teaching campaigns to increase the number of possible organ donors. Teachers serve as role models for students, families, and society by changing their attitudes.

A Subset of Primary Polydipsia, "Dipsogneic Diabetes Insipidus", in Apparently Healthy People Due to Excessive Water Intake: Not Enough Light to Illuminate the Dark Tunnel.

Dipsogenic diabetes insipidus (DDI) is a subtype of primary polydipsia (PP), which occurs mostly in healthy people without psychiatric disease. In contrast, PP is characterized by a polyuria polydipsia syndrome (PPS) associated with psychiatric illness. However, the pathogenesis of DDI is not well established and remains unexplored. In order to diagnose DDI, the patient should exhibit excessive thirst as the main symptom, in addition to no history of psychiatric illness, polyuria with low urine osmolality, and intact urine concentrating ability. Treatment options for DDI remain scarce. On this front, there have been two published case reports with successful attempts at treating DDI patients. The noteworthy commonalities in these reports are that the patient was diagnosed with frequent excessive intake of water due to a belief that drinking excess water would have pathologic benefits. It could therefore be hypothesized that the increasing trend of excessive fluid intake in people who are health conscious could also contribute to DDI. Hence, this review provides an overview of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment, with a special emphasis on habitual polydipsia and DDI.

Social Support, Self-Care Behaviour and Self-Efficacy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Diabetes mellitus is a major public health issue that considerably impacts mortality, morbidity, and healthcare costs worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc in diabetes management, too, like other spectrums of life. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was adopted to determine the effect of Social Support, Self-Care Behaviour and Self-Efficacy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) during this COVID-19 pandemic. Two hundred T2D patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria were chosen using a convenient sampling procedure. The tool consists of four sections, including socio-demographic characteristics, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), revised Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) Scale and modified Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale (DMS). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the obtained data. The mean and SD of diabetic management self-efficacy is 5.74 (1.95) and 4.37 (1.4), respectively, for patients with HbA1c < 6.5% and HbA1c ≥ 6.5%. The self-care activities of the patients who had good glycemic control were 4.31 (2.06) compared to 3.50 (1.73) who did not. The social support received by the patients was 6.13 (2.13) vs. 5.31 (1.67) among patients with glycemic control vs. no control. The results show that social support (p = 0.04), self-efficacy (p =0.01) and self-care activities (p = 0.001) were significantly related to the level of glycemic control of the T2D patients. A significant relationship was also identified between gender (p = 0.036), age (p = 0.001) and education status (p = 0.000) with HbA1c control of the participants. This study demonstrates a significant relationship between social support, self-care behaviours, self-efficacy and glycemic management in T2D patients. During this COVID-19 pandemic, interventions to enhance the self-care activities like exercise and social support to boost their self-efficacy; for better diabetes management, reducing diabetes complications or prolonging their onset are the need of the hour.