Scoring satisfaction among patients, attending ART Centre of a medical college in North-West India.

Patient satisfaction is a measurable concept comprising multidimensional elements such as access to care, quality of the provider patient interpersonal relationship and affordability of care. This further influences the decisions to seek care and outcomes of diseases. Although stigma and discrimination are potential barriers to effective implementation of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme, higher satisfaction levels of patients are also crucial for treatment adherence. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the ART centre of IG Medical College, Shimla from November 2008 through May 2009. Three hundred and eighty four consecutive adult (≥18 years) patients attending the ART centre and on ART who consented to participate in the study were enrolled. Of the 384 patients, 209 (54.4%) were males. Majority were in the age bracket of 25-44 years. About 61.6% of the patients were satisfied to the services being provided. Mean Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) scores were the highest for technical quality of care and lowest for financial aspects. About 69.4% of the patients were satisfied towards their care provider. Although a majority of the patients were satisfied, several areas of patient care need improvement.

Prevalence of major neurological disorders in predominantly rural northwest India.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies based on hospital population, geographic isolates, smaller population, and focused groups provide valuable information on the pattern of diseases, but do not reflect on the true prevalence rates or the changing trends of disease over a period of time in different communities. The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and pattern of various neurological disorders in Himachal Pradesh. METHODOLOGY: Study was carried out in urban and rural population of district Kangra of Himachal Pradesh. A proportional representation was given to each area in the allocation of sample size as per probability proportional to size (PPS) method using a two-phase design: 1) A screening phase and 2) a clinical evaluation phase. All subjects were screened and a subset (screen positive and 10% of screen negative) was identified for the detailed clinical evaluation after screening. A standardized screening battery (NIMHANS protocol) was used for this purpose. An individual was confirmed as a case of neurological disorder only after clinical evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 260 (out of 10,000 studied) individuals were found positive for neurological disorders yielding a crude prevalence of 2.6%. The crude prevalence for rural areas was found to be 2.28% (206/9000), whereas the crude prevalence in urban area was found to be 5.4% (54/1000). Migraine was the most common disorder. CONCLUSION: In view of the high crude prevalence of major neurological disorders, there is a need to develop capacity among healthcare professionals regarding them.

Building Evidence for Coverage of Fully Vaccinated Children of 12-23 Months of Age across Districts of North India, 2015.

CONTEXT: Unprecedented low coverage (63%) of fully vaccinated (FV) children in the recent round of national survey district level household (HH) and facility survey 4 (DLHS-4) propelled health system of Himachal Pradesh for an independent rapid assessment of FV coverage. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the FV coverage among 12-23-month old children in the state. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A community-based survey with an interviewer-administered questionnaire was carried out in all 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh from September 2015 to January 2016. SUBJECT AND METHODS: WHO 30 × 7 cluster technique was used. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Chi-square and unpaired Student's t-test along with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: A total of 2492 children across 35,551 HHs (2.4% of state share) were surveyed with FV coverage of 98.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 97.5-98.6) and 86% (95% CI: 84.6-87.3) based on history and card, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The reported FV coverage in the current study was observed too high in the state as reported in earlier round of the national surveys (except DLHS-4).