IntroductionThe microeconomic impact of surgery for congenital heart disease is unexplored, particularly in resource limited environments. We sought to understand the direct and indirect costs related to congenital heart surgery and its impact on Indian households from a family perspective.MethodsBaseline and first follow-up data of 644 consecutive children admitted for surgery for congenital heart disease (March 2013 – July 2014) in a tertiary referral hospital in Central Kerala, South India was collected prospectivelyfrom parents through questionnaires using a semi-structured interview schedule.ResultsThe median age was 8.2 months (IQR: 3.0– 36.0 months). Most families belonged to upper middle (43.0%) and lower middle (35.7%) socioeconomic class. Only 3.9% of families had some form of health insurance. The median expense for the admission and surgery was INR 201898 (IQR: 163287–266139) [I$ 11989 (IQR: 9696–15804)], which was 0.93 (IQR: 0.52–1.49) times the annual family income of affected patients. Median loss of man-days was 35 (IQR: 24–50) and job-days was 15 (IQR: 11–24). Surgical risk category and hospital stay duration significantly predicted higher costs. One in two families reported overwhelming to high financial stress during admission period for surgery. Approximately half of the families borrowed money during the follow up period after surgery.ConclusionSurgery for congenital heart disease results in significant financial burden for majority of families studied. Efforts should be directed at further reductions in treatment costs without compromising the quality of care together with generating financial support for affected families.

Blood pressure distribution in children from our study population demonstrates a different pattern in comparison to existing international reference. Higher blood pressure values in the study population are of considerable public health significance.

The aim of the study was to examine the association of a trend in body mass index (BMI) status with current blood pressure in a cohort of school children from South India. A population of 25 228 children was selected using stratified random sampling method. Height and weight were measured in [2003][2004]. Height, weight and blood pressure were measured in [2005][2006]. A total of 12 129 children aged 5-16 years having paired data were analysed. Blood pressure and BMI values were converted to Z scores using International paediatric reference values. An increase in Z BMI meant that the child is moving to a higher BMI level with respect to his or her age and sex. In the cohort, 62.4% children had a higher Z BMI at follow-up than at baseline. Children with higher Z BMI at follow-up were labelled as positive BMI status group (PBSG) and the remaining as negative BMI status group (NBSG). The positive trend in BMI was more in rural areas, government schools and girls. In all subgroups, PBSG showed significantly higher systolic blood pressures (SBPs) than NBSG. PBSG showed significantly higher diastolic blood pressures (DBPs) in urban area, government schools and girls when compared with NBSG. Prevalence of first instance systolic hypertension was more in PBSG in all the subgroups except in rural children. Prevalence of diastolic hypertension was significantly higher in PBSG in urban subgroup only. BMI status trends are associated with blood pressure distribution in children.

BackgroundUnderstanding what factors influence the receipt of postabortion contraception can help improve comprehensive abortion care services. The abortion visit is an ideal time to reach women at the highest risk of unintended pregnancy with the most effective contraceptive methods. The objectives of this study were to estimate the relationship between the type of abortion provider (consultant physician, house officer, or midwife) and two separate outcomes: (1) the likelihood of adopting postabortion contraception; (2) postabortion contraceptors’ likelihood of receiving a long-acting and permanent versus a short-acting contraceptive method.MethodsWe used retrospective cohort data collected from 64 health facilities in three regions of Ghana. The dataset includes information on all abortion procedures conducted between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2010 at each health facility. We used fixed effect Poisson regression to model the associations of interest.ResultsMore than half (65 %) of the 29,056 abortion clients received some form of contraception. When midwives performed the abortion, women were more likely to receive postabortion contraception compared to house officers (RR: 1.18; 95 % CI: 1.13, 1.24) or physicians (RR: 1.21; 95 % CI: 1.18, 1.25), after controlling for facility-level variation and client-level factors. Compared to women seen by house officers, abortion clients seen by midwives and physicians were more likely to receive a long-acting and permanent rather than a short-acting contraceptive method (RR: 1.46; 95 % CI: 1.23, 1.73; RR: 1.58; 95 % CI: 1.37, 1.83, respectively). Younger women were less likely to receive contraception than older women irrespective of provider type and indication for the abortion (induced or PAC).ConclusionsWhen comparing consultant physicians, house officers, and midwives, the type of abortion provider is associated with whether women receive postabortion contraception and with whether abortion clients receive a long-acting and permanent or a short-acting method. New strategies are needed to ensure that women seen by physicians and house officers can access postabortion contraception and to ensure that women seen by house officers have access to long-acting and permanent contraceptive methods.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1875-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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