Health-seeking behaviour and its determinants of health of Under-5 Children living in urban slums of Chennai, India 2018.

Background: Appropriate health-seeking behaviour could help in reducing child mortality and morbidity. Information on social factors of mortality and health-seeking behaviours of caregivers of under-5 children from slums of Indian cities is minimal in literature. Objectives: We estimated the prevalence of health-seeking behaviour for morbidity ofunder-5 children and its determinants in urban slums in Chennai city, India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a mixed-method design among primary caregivers of under-5 children living in Chennai slums, India. Two-stage cluster sampling was adopted to select 40 slums. A total of 233 primary caregivers were interviewed. Nine focus group discussions and 18 in-depth interviews were conducted among the primary caregivers. Prevalence of inappropriate health-seeking behaviour was estimated, and determinants were identified by multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Thematic analysis was done on qualitative data. Results: We interviewed 233 primary caregivers. The weighted prevalence of inappropriate health-seeking behaviour for under-five children in urban slums of Chennai was 53.9% (95% CI: 46.9 - 60.8). Primary caregivers educated above secondary school were more likely (AOR of 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3-4.1) to follow inappropriate health-seeking behaviour compared to those educated below. Similarly, caregivers who were unaware of young child feeding practices (AOR of 3.6, 95% CI: 1.9-6.5) and early care-seeking and health practices (AOR of 2.5, 95% CI: 1.3-4.9) were more likely to engage in inappropriate health-seeking behaviour compared to those who were aware and we found that illness symptoms influenced health-seeking behaviour and that early disease detection might prevent severe illness. Conclusion: Health-seeking behaviour was found to be suboptimal among under-5 children in Chennai's urban slums. We suggest policymakers improve interventions on early care-seeking of common childhood illnesses in the urban health programme.

Magnitude and pattern of various cancers from tertiary health care center registry: A study in three southern states of India.

Many research studies have looked into the epidemiological aspects including various potential risk factors associated with cancers, namely environmental, dietary, genetic, and hormonal. The present article studies the magnitude and pattern of various cancers registered at tertiary health-care centers in three South Indian states. Data from hospital-based cancer registries compiled by the ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research for the time periods 2007-2011 and 2012-2014 for three South Indian states, namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, were analyzed using R software. Summarizing the type and proportions of cancers seen at the three registries during the periods 2007-2011 and 2012-2014, it was found that, among men, hypopharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and oral cancer were the major cancer types prevalent and, among females, cervical cancer, mouth cancer, breast cancer, ovary cancer, and thyroid cancer were the common cancer types. With multidisciplinary approach, cancers can be prevented to a certain extent by insisting behavioural changes through recommendation of increase in physical activities and intake of micro nutrient-rich food items with fiber component.

Childlessness among Muthuvan Tribes of Tamil Nadu, India: An Exploratory Study.

INTRODUCTION: Childlessness is a global concern and it has serious demographic, social, and health implications. The declining Muthuvan child population may reduce their population on the whole. OBJECTIVE: The study explored the prevalence of childlessness and its underlying reasons in the Muthuvan tribes of Tamil Nadu. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study applied the mixed-method design, and the snowball technique was adopted to identify eight Muthuvan hamlets. Descriptive and thematic analysis was done for the collected quantitative and qualitative information. RESULTS: The study found the prevalence of childlessness among Muthuvan couples as 30.65%. The underlying reasons were their cultural practices of confinement during menstruation and restriction on engaging in productive work and family care, which gave them the idea of regular intake of oral contraceptive pills and lessen their desire to have children. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that the comfort of their daily life has taken over more important than the consequences of objects used for comfort, to their health and future generations.