Study objective -To estimate the prevalence of active pulmonary tuberculosis in a homeless population in London and to assess whether those with suspected disease could be integrated into the existing health care system for further follow up and treatment.
Context: Tobacco is the foremost cause of preventable death in the world. Tobacco use causes a wide range of major diseases which impact nearly every organ of the body. Tobacco is not only causing cancers, heart diseases and lung diseases but also responsible for overall ill-health increasing visits to health centres. Kerala even though has better health indicator values than rest of country. Tobacco use is highly prevalent in the state of Kerala. Aim: To study association between tobacco use and ill-health (visit to health services for treatment of any illness). Material and Methods: Case control study was conducted in rural area of Kerala. Fifty patients visiting Community health centre for medical care for any illness other than accidents and injuries formed cases and 150 apparently healthy age, sex, etc. matched individuals from general population in field practice area formed controls. Cases and controls were interviewed using predesigned questionnaire to know tobacco consumption practices among them. Statistical analysis used: Data was analysed using SPSS 16. Percentages, t test, chi-square test and odds ratio were used. Results: In the present study 80% cases were tobacco users; while 64% controls were tobacco users. In the present study use of tobacco was significant risk factor for overall ill-health (odds ratio 2.25 [1.04-4.85]). Ill health was significantly associated with number of cigarettes smoked and mean years of smoking. Conclusions: Tobacco use is responsible for overall ill-health increasing visits to health centre. It also causes economic loss.
Introduction: Organ transplantation has been found to be the only possible treatment in most of the chronic illnesses. It would be possible to save thousands of lives by organ donation. It has been found that the issue of organ donation involves a lot of medical, legal, ethical, organizational and social factors. Although the shortage of organs has been found to be a global problem, the situation in Asia is much worse. The main reasons behind the low percentage of organ donation in India are lack of awareness, improper infrastructure facilities, myths and misconceptions regarding organ donation. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of the people seeking health care, regarding organ donation in rural Kerala. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was distributed amongst all willing patients and their relatives attending Medical College Hospital, Urban Health training centre and Rural Health training centre, after obtaining informed consent. A sample size of 360 subjects fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria was selected by simple random sampling. Results: The mean age of the study population was 53.6±11.8 with slight female preponderance. Majority of the participants had knowledge about donation of eye (97%) and kidney (91%).81% of participants had obtained knowledge regarding organ donation from television and social media. 64.2% had good attitude and thought that organ donation should be promoted. Conclusion: Although most of the participants had knowledge about organ donation, willingness to donate was found to be limited. Healthcare professionals need to take an active role in clarifying any myths and doubts of people regarding organ donation, which cannot be accomplished through electronic media alone.
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