Background: Viral hepatitis is preventable, yet a global health priority. As hepatitis B (Hep B) remains an occupational risk for healthcare workers (HCWs), the Government of India recently mandated universal adult Hep B vaccination for all HCWs. However, in the absence of institutional policy, its real-time utilization in a hospital was dependent on individual's general awareness. Therefore, this study was designed to assess baseline knowledge, attitude, and practices among undergraduate medical and nursing students, the future HCWs, regarding Hep B at an apex healthcare institute at Uttarakhand. Materials and Methods: A descriptive survey was carried out using self-administered questionnaire among undergraduate medical and nursing students of a medical college between July and September 2018. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Ver 22.0) was used for analysis. Results: The study comprised 180 medical and 183 nursing students. About 55.0% of medical and 33.9% of nursing students were correctly aware about the disease; 98.3% of medical and 86.9% of nursing students were aware about vaccine. About 80.6% of medical and 87.4% of nursing students showed positive attitude, recognizing disease as a public health problem. However, only 82.8% of medical and 70.0% of nursing students underwent vaccination; mere 62.4% and 49.2% of vaccinated completed three-dose vaccination schedule, respectively. Furthermore, around 7% of them checked their titer post vaccination. Conclusion: Despite comparatively low awareness level about the disease, most students had sufficiently high knowledge about vaccine and underwent vaccination. However, only half of them could complete three-dose vaccination schedule. Only a handful of subjects underwent post-vaccination titer assessment, an instrumental approach to safeguard them against accidental Hep B exposure.

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Viral hepatitis is still considered a major cause of the burden of disease in India. It is the most common cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Prisoners are one of the groups at most risk for hepatitis. This study aimed to estimate the pooled estimates of the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among prisoners in India. The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for study selection. The extensive search was done through databases of PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar. All cross-sectional studies conducted to find the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among prison inmates in India published till June 2020 were screened and included in this meta-analysis. The analysis was conducted using the random-effects model. The heterogeneity was estimated using the I2 indicator. After extracting the required data, the meta-analysis was performed using the software Stata, version 12 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, Texas). The study is registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; registration no: CRD42020185137). Out of a total of 970 articles searched through the database of PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar, five studies that met the inclusion criteria were included and analyzed. Hepatitis B and C prevalence were given in four studies each. The results showed that the overall prevalence of hepatitis B and C in prisoners was 8% (95% CI: 4-12) and 7% (95% CI: 1-13). The studies show high heterogeneity with no evidence of publication bias. The prevalence of hepatitis B and C among male prisoners was 4.48% (95% CI: 3.64%-5.32%) and 6.35% (95% CI: 5.48%-7.23%), respectively, while the prevalence among female prisoners was 1.53% (95% CI: 0.31-2.75) and 2.10% (95% CI: 0.28-3.93), respectively. The study findings show a high prevalence of hepatitis B and C in prisoners, which is of particular concern. Appropriate and effective interventions to reduce the transmission of hepatitis B and C in prisons are essential.

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Background: Women in India have multitude of health problem, which ultimately affect the economic output. The health of Indian women is intrinsically linked to their status in society. There is significant gap in understanding the reproductive tract infections as well as consequence for women lives. The objective of the study was to study the prevalence of reproductive tract infections and sociodemographic factors responsible among ever married women.Methods: Community based cross sectional study was carried out in the rural area near Mumbai city. List of villages in the study area was obtained from primary health centre (PHC). The prevalence of reproductive tract infections among ever married women was 20.7%. At 95% confidence level and 5% allowable error sample size is 262 (n=4*p*q/l2). So the sample size required to document RTI was 265 ever married women.Results: Prevalence of reproductive tract infections was 143(53.96%). Most common morbidity found was vaginal discharge 59 (22.26%). There was a significant difference between the proportions of study subjects with reproductive tract infection with respect to their educational status & occupation.Conclusions: There was high prevalence of reproductive tract infection among study subjects with only 13.74% visited a qualified medical practitioner for their complaints.

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Context: Immunization is one of the most important preventive health actions against the most childhood diseases. Advent of combination vaccines in immunization schedule such as Pentavalent Vaccine has given many benefits. Aim: To assess knowledge of mothers/ caregivers and health care workers regarding Pentavalent vaccine and side effects of vaccine. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Raipur Rani Block in Panchkula, Haryana. All four PHCs and one SC from each PHC of this block were selected. A total 80 mothers attending immunization clinics and 10 health workers (8 ANMs and 2 LHVs) from PHCs and SCs were enrolled in the study. Methods and Materials: Predesigned, pre-tested and semi structured questionnaire was used to collect information of mothers/caregivers of children and health workers regarding pentavalent vaccine. Statistical analysis used: Data was entered into excel sheets and analyzed using SPSS version 23 utilizing appropriate statistical methods. Results: In the present study 38.8% of mothers correctly knew about what vaccine was given to the baby on the day of immunization. Also 70% of mothers knew about side effects of the vaccine. 83.3% of health workers were aware of the diseases prevented by pentavalent vaccine. All of them had very good knowledge regarding VVM benefits, its uses and working. Conclusion: Present study indicates that lack of knowledge about the serious AEFI, inability to communicate with the clients and not adhering to open vial policy increases the chances of adverse events that can impact vaccination coverage.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is recommended as the best feeding alternative for infants up to six months and has a protective effect against mortality and morbidity. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is one of the optimal infant and young child feeding practices. Globally,