Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide, with highest mortality in India. The incidence and mortality of cervical cancer can be reduced by screening women for precancerous lesion and by administration of human papilloma virus vaccine to adolescent girls. Knowledge of the women about cervical cancer and awareness about its prevention are the key factors that determine their utilization of screening services. Methods:A cross sectional survey of women attending Gynaecology Out-Patient Department (OPD) in a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry was conducted. Information about their knowledge of cervical cancer, awareness of its prevention and their socio demographic characters were collected.Results: Mean age of the study population was 40.45 ± 12 years. Less than half of the study population (178, 44.5%) knew about cervical cancer. Less than one-fourth of the population knew about screening services for prevention of cervical cancer, and majority (389, 97.2%) were not aware of vaccination as prevention for cervical cancer.

Background Health insurance is considered as a mechanism to accelerate the progress towards universal health coverage and ensure financial risk protection for households throughout the country. There is a growing body of evidence reporting that the health insurance coverage can significantly improve the access and utilization of healthcare services. Hence, we attempted to determine the impact of health insurance on the utilization of healthcare services during COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A community‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted in rural Tamil Nadu. The primary data collection was conducted during November 2021. We employed a multi‐stage stratified random sampling technique. Propensity score matching analysis was performed using radius matching method at 0.05 calliper to estimate the following parameters: average treatment effect (ATE), average treatment effect on treated (ATT), and average treatment effect on untreated (ATU). Results In total, 2390 participants were included. Almost two‐third belonged to 18–45 years with almost equal distribution of males and females. Only 13.6% were covered by health insurance. Healthcare utilization was significantly higher among participants with health insurance (55.2%) compared to participants without coverage (42.5%). The ATT values in intervention and control group were 0.55 and 0.46 (p < 0.001). Similarly, the ATU values in intervention and control group were 0.42 and 0.51. The ATE value was 0.08. Conclusion Our study shows that the health insurance coverage had significant impact on utilization of healthcare services during COVID‐19 pandemic. Further longitudinal research exploring the effect of different forms of health insurance for improving access and utilization of healthcare services can be undertaken.

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Background: Many adolescents in higher secondary schools, who become sexually active, do so without accurate information about reproductive and sexual health. This lack of information can put them at risk of unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out among 464 secondary school going adolescent students of Chengalpattu Taluk using a structured self-administered questionnaire comprising questions to assess the knowledge on reproduction, contraception and HIV/STD and the attitude on sexual risk behaviour. The data was analysed using MS excel and SPSS. Descriptive statistics such as rate, ratio and proportions were calculated. Results: The average level of knowledge on reproduction, contraception and STD/HIV was 38.5%, 34.75% and 45.5% respectively. Only 18% gave correct response to questions “there is problem if a girl does not get period 14 years” and “it is dangerous to have intercourse during a girl’s period”. Majority of 80% knew pregnancy happens when sperm fertilizes ovum and 80.6% gave incorrect answer to question that “letting semen drip out of the female organ after sex prevents pregnancy”. Almost 50% were ignorant that it is possible to have more than one STD. As many as 42.5% agreed about having sex with several people for their age. Only 52% agreed to use condom if sexually active. 56.2% disagreed to popularity of boy or girl who has sexual intercourse. Conclusions: The students lack correct information about sexuality issues in general which could be due to insufficient sexual education by schools and parents. Hence it becomes essential to include reproductive and sex education programs in all higher secondary schools.