Klemenc-Ketis Z, Mitrovic D Patients' use of and attitudes towards self-medication in rural and remote Slovenian family medicine practices: a cross-sectional multicentre study Introduction: Self-medication is very common in the general population, but its prevalence can differ according to the place of residence. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-medication in patients attending rural and remote family physicians, and to detect the important factors that are associated with it. Methods: A cross-sectional multicentre study was performed in 24 rural and remote family medicine practices in Slovenia was performed. The aim was to include 720 patients who visited their family physicians on a particular day. The authors used a validated questionnaire on self-medication, which consisted of questions about demographic characteristics (sex, age, education and working status), questions about health status, questions about self-medication practices, and questions about attitudes towards self-medication. The level of participants' trust in different sources of medical information was measured by a five-point Likert scale. The participants were asked to take into account the year 2013 when completing the questionnaire. Results: Of 720 invited patients, 371 (51.5%) completed the questionnaire. There were 233 (62.8%) women in the sample. The mean age of the participants was 48.1 (±15.1) years. Self-medication was practised by 300 (80.9%) participants. In multivariate analysis, the variables independently associated with self-medication were information on self-medication obtained from pharmacists, and information on self-medication obtained from relatives. Additionally, some other variables had high odds ratios such as information on self-medication obtained from books, information on self-medication obtained from media, and reason for self-medication: burdening physicians. © Z Klemenc-Ketis, D Mitrovic, 2017. A Licence to publish this material has been given to James Cook University, http://www.jcu.edu.au 2 Conclusions: The practices of self-medication in rural Slovenia as reported by patients can be defined as moderately safe. People tend to seek more information on self-medication but the main sources for this are lay informants. Further studies are needed to explore the safety of such practices.

Background: Urolithiasis is the third most common urological disease. The prevalence is on the rise due to various changes in the socio-demographic and other etiological factors in the northeastern states of India in general and Manipur in particular. Aims & Objective: The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of urinary stones and to assess the association between urolithiasis and selected variables of interest. Material and Methods: The study was conducted during September 2008 to August 2010 among wetland dwellers of Loktak Lake in Thanga, a rural area of Manipur. A representative sample of subjects, which included men and women 15 years of age and above were included in the study. Sample size was calculated based on a prevalence rate of 5.41% with an allowable error of 1.5 at 95% confidence level. Calculated sample size was 875. A pre-tested interview schedule was used for data collection. Results: A total of 875 individuals were studied. The prevalence rate of urolithiasis was 196(22.40%) and was more commonly present in the age group of 25-44 years. Urolithiasis was observed to be significantly more common among those individuals who are more educated, engaged in heavy work, with history of urinary tract infection (UTI), with history of stressful events in recent years, among those who consumed only 2-4 glasses of water per day and with family history of stones. Conclusion: Prevalence of urolithiasis was observed to be 196(22.4%). Information regarding the risk factors which have been identified in the present study can be utilized in formulating future health plans for preventive services.

Breast feeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. A child who is breast fed has greater chances of survival than a child who is artificially fed. The low prevalence and duration of exclusive and partial breastfeeding increase the risk of infant and childhood morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. Worldwide, suboptimal breastfeeding still accounts for deaths of 1.4 million children aged less than five years. AIM OF THE STUDY: 1. To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding breast feeding among women 2. To study the factors influencing breast feeding practices among women residing in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. METHODOLOGY: The present study is a cross sectional study conducted within the field practice area of NEIGRIHMS, two of which were urban-Nongmynsong and Pynthorbah and one rural area-Tynring. The study period was conducted from October 2012-December 2012 (three months duration). A total of 135 women were interviewed during the period. In the respective areas the households were selected using simple random sampling after obtaining a list of all the households in the respective area from the ANM. In the selected household all the females available who have a child between 1-2 year of age were interviewed. Data analysis was done by descriptive analysis and analytical statistics by using Chi Square test using SPSS version 17.0. RESULTS & OBSERVATION: Out of 135 families visited, 70 (51.9%) families were nuclear families. With respect to feeding practices; 80 (59%) mothers had given Exclusive Breast Feeding for a period of 6 months. 74 (55%) of mothers had knowledge on colostrums and 109 (80.75%) of mothers had given colostrum to their babies. 42 (31.1%) mothers had initiated BF within 1 hour .The variables which were found to be associated with breast feeding are the mother's age, type of family and the mother's education. CONCLUSION: Mothers education was found to be an important factor in influencing breast feeding practices. Therefore, Health education and counseling of mothers can go a long way in improving breast feeding practices in this area.