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CONTEXT: Unsafe drinking water causes diarrheal disease and environmental enteropathy. The quality of water is determined by its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Water sources have a significant impact on household members' health, particularly children. To combat this, India is committed to providing household tap connections to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water with the "Jal Jeevan Mission." AIMS: This study aims to estimate the access to safe drinking water and the physical and chemical qualities of water (qualitatively) in the urban and rural areas of Etawah district, India. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Etawah district from January 2020 to December 2021. The study subjects were the eldest female of the family. A total of 312 females were included. The data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 (released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) for descriptive analysis. RESULTS: In the present study, 76.3% (238/312) of households in the urban and rural areas had access to safe drinking water (here, the meaning of the word "safe" is based on its operational definition). A total of 130 (83.3%) households in rural areas and only 21 (13.5%) in urban areas had private supply as the primary water source. The physical and chemical qualities of water were within the requirement (acceptable limit) and permissible limit in all the study areas, so the water is considered safe for drinking. CONCLUSIONS: This study reported that 76.3% (238) households had access to safe drinking water according to the operational definition. The major public source of drinking water was public-supplied tap water, and in private sources, submersible or boreholes were the most common.
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Background: Open defecation continues to prevail among toilet owners despite effective implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). We conducted this study to determine toilet utilization rates and learn about the barriers to toilet use in the rural areas. By understanding the barriers, physicians can provide targeted education and become better equipped to manage their patients' conditions and advocate for their demands. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on the households of the rural field practice areas of the department in central Uttar Pradesh by the census method. House listing was procured from the departmental records. The questionnaire was directed at both the household level and individual level. Results: The proportion of households with access to a toilet was found to be 91.1% of which 504 households were included in the study. Among the toilet owners, 115 (22.8%) households were not using toilets exclusively by all the members. At the individual level, age groups (of 20-59 years, and ≥60 years) and female gender were found to be significantly associated with open defecation. At the household level, government assistance for toilet construction and livestock keeping was found to be associated with open defecation. Major barriers to toilet use were childhood habits, dearth of toilets in the farming grounds/workplace, women during menstruation and having a non-functional toilet. Conclusion: This study indicates that merely installing a household toilet does not ensure exclusive utilization of toilet and the practice of open defecation might continue to be prevalent if corrective measures are not undertaken.
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Background: In 2019, the global number of malaria cases was estimated at 229 million. An estimated 409,000 deaths were attributed to malaria in 2019. Under-five children are the most susceptible to malaria, accounting for 67% (274,000) of all malaria deaths worldwide in 2019. This study aimed to assess knowledge and practices regarding malaria among Village Health Sanitation Committee (VHSC) members in rural Uttar Pradesh. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the villages of four districts of Uttar Pradesh with high malaria burden. In the present study, 484 participants were interviewed from four districts of Uttar Pradesh. Results: Nearly all the participants (97.1%) have heard about malaria. Majority of the participants (97.1) were aware that mosquito bites spread malaria. However, many participants were also having a false awareness that malaria is spread by other modes like drinking contaminated water, touching each other, eating contaminated food, and so on. More than half of the participants told that mosquitoes are responsible for malaria breeds in stagnant clean water (25.6%) and stagnant dirty water (28.5%). Nearly half of them were aware that mosquitoes' biting time was sunset (42.1%) and sunrise (7.8%). Conclusion: In the present study, many participants were having a false awareness that malaria is spread by other modes like drinking contaminated water, touching each other, eating contaminated food, and so on. Even the knowledge regarding any government program for the prevention and control of malaria of the mosquitoes was very weak. There is an urgent requirement of increasing knowledge among the VHSC members to reduce the malaria burden in the country.
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INTRODUCTION: An estimated 2.25 million new cancer cases with 7 lakh cancer deaths were reported, according to GLOBOCAN 2018 in India. There is a steady rise in cancer cases, but trends and patterns vary within the state depending on the geographic region. OBJECTIVES: To study the proportion and site-wise distribution of neoplasm reported at a tertiary care hospital in district Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A record based retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in district Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. Total four years (from 2015 to 2018) hospital-based retrospective data were collected from the Medical Record Department. Identification and distribution of malignant neoplasm were done according to the WHO ICD-10 classification. RESULTS: Total cases diagnosed with malignancy from January 2015 to December 2018 were 3614. Cancer cases reported over the years was 932 (25.8%) in 2015, 1031 (28.5%) cases in 2016, 897 (24.8%) in 2017 and 754 (20.9%) in 2018. It was found that breast carcinoma (24.0%) accounted for the maximum number of cases diagnosed, followed by lung carcinoma (10.9%), cervical cancer (8.7%), gall bladder carcinoma (8%), and oral cavity cancer (7.9%). CONCLUSION: The present study reveals that the malignancy of the breast is most common, followed by malignancies of lung, cervix, and gall bladder among the patients who were seeking care in a tertiary care hospital of the district Etawah Uttar Pradesh, India.
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CONTEXT: India accounts for 17% of the population, contributes to about 19% of maternal deaths, and 21% of childhood deaths of the world. Antenatal and postnatal services were one of the most important works done by ASHA workers. AIMS: The objective of this study was to assess the services provided by ASHA workers in a district of western Utter Pradesh to her beneficiaries regarding antenatal and postnatal care. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was done in four randomly selected blocks of the district with the help of simple random sampling technique. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 384 study participants (mother having child up to 2 years of age) who availed services from the ASHA of their village. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using SPSS-24.0, IBM Corp., Chicago, USA. Differences between the groups were compared using the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of 384 beneficiaries of ASHA workers regarding antenatal and post-natal services, only 25% educated up to ≥higher secondary. Most of the beneficiaries (>55%) escorted less than four times for ANC, whereas only 0.5% of beneficiaries received the correct number i.e., 180 or > 180 IFA tablet from the ASHA workers. Only 57.2% of beneficiaries replied ≥6 times the post natal care home visit done by ASHA. CONCLUSION: Services provided by ASHA workers regarding ANC and PNC were not adequate.
