Background: According to the United Nations, India will become the most populated country by 2050.This will lead to further strain in social and economic life. Family planning plays a major role in bridging this rapid population growth. But unmet needs for family planning prevent women from availing this benefit. Aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of unmet needs for family planning and its associated factors among ever married women in selected villages of Anekal taluk, Karnataka.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted during a period of two months among ever married women in selected villages of Anekal. A structured interview schedule consisting of questions about unmet needs for family planning and its determinants was administered to 133 ever married women.Results: Of the 133 study participants 127 (95.5%) were aware of at least one contraceptive method. The prevalence of unmet needs for family planning was 11.3%. Younger age (18-24 years), <5 years active years of married life, women having a single live child and who were a sole decision maker had higher unmet needs for family planning. Among the women who had unmet needs for family planning, the major reason reported was family and cultural problems.Conclusions: The unmet need for family planning was found to be 11.3% which is more than the state value of 8.8% (rural Karnataka NFHS 4). So there is a need to create increased awareness among the women in the study area regarding the importance of contraceptive measures in the family and the society.

Context:Adolescence is the time which is crucial for the overall development of a person both mentally and physically. In this period, along with academic intelligence, emotional intelligence (EI) also plays an equal or strong role in student life.Aims:This study was to assess EI, parental bonding, and their association among adolescents in high schools under Sarjapur PHC area.Subjects and Methods:This was a cross-sectional study conducted among high school students under Sarjapur PHC area. The EI was assessed using EI scale which measured self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The parental bonding instrument was utilized to determine the parental styles of both the parents and was interpreted in terms of care and protection as neglectful parenting, affectionless control, optimal parenting, and affectionate control.Results:A total of 300 adolescents were interviewed. It was seen that most of them had low EI in self-awareness, i.e., 92 (30.7%), motivation 99 (33%), and social skills 101 (33.7%). It was also observed that most of them had high EI in self-regulation, i.e., 98 (32.7%) and moderately high EI in empathy 117 (39%). The study group perceived that 147 (49%) of the fathers and 109 (36.3%) of the mothers had affectionless control.Conclusion:Along with poor parenting, most of the respondents also have low EI in self-awareness, motivation, and social skills which has to be addressed for the future of the country.

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Background: Upper respiratory tract infections are the most frequently occurring illness of childhood. The common types of upper respiratory tract infections are common cold, rhinitis, laryngitis, pharyngitis, otitis media and sinusitis. Common misuse of antimicrobial agents is seen in infections caused by viruses, which are self-limited and they do not respond to the currently available anti-infective agents. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at pediatric out-patient department of Basaveshwara Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chitradurga for a period of six months. The data was collected from outpatient record in a suitably designed individual case record form of the patients diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection. Results: A total of 120 patients aged less than 13 years were collected from the paediatric outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The most common diagnosis was nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections (49.1%). Only 10 drugs were prescribed from the essential drug list. Amongst all drug class, respiratory drugs were prescribed in more (29%), antihistamines (24.6%), antimicrobials (24.3%), Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (18%) and nasal drops (4.1%). In antimicrobials, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (45.8%) was the highly prescribed combination. The main drug interactions were between chlorpheneramine and terbutaline. Conclusions: Antibiotic prescriptions were inappropriate in acute self-limiting upper respiratory tract infection. Antibiotics are over prescribed for paediatric upper respiratory tract infections. Amoxicillin with clavulanic acid combination were preferentially prescribed. Doctors should be educated on more appropriate and cost effective prescribing.

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Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI), often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), refers to skills that provide the ability to balance emotions and reason, which provides long-term happiness. Focus on Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in the current era has to be changed for the betterment of society. Objectives was to assess and compare Emotional Quotient (EQ) among students who excel in dance, sports, and academics.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among three groups of minimum 30 students who are excellent in dance, academics or sports. EQ was assessed using a 22 item EQ test which measures the psychological dimensions such as emotional sensitivity, emotional maturity and emotional competency and also total EQ.Results: Out of 91 students, maximum students were having extremely high EQ in the domains of emotional sensitivity 36 (39.6%), emotional competency 88 (96.7%) and total EQ 85 (93.4%). Dancers showed significantly high EQ in the domains of emotional maturity, emotional competency, and overall EQ compared to sportspersons and academicians. Increased age, agriculture and business occupation of mother and presence of another sibling were significantly associated with emotional intelligence of students.Conclusions: This study showed that inclusion of extracurricular activities like dance and sports along with academics may improve the self-confidence and increased awareness about one’s own emotions, leading to raised EQ.

Background Acute hemorrhagic stroke (AHS) resulting from intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a rampant neurological disorder with devastating consequences, particularly in Indians. Recently, serum ferritin levels have been related to adverse cardiovascular and stroke outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic utility of serum ferritin in AHS. Materials and Methods Admission serum ferritin levels were estimated in 50 AHS patients with primary supratentorial hemorrhage. Study subjects were categorized based on their prognostic scores in modified Rankin scale (mRS) assessment. Ferritin levels were compared across the study groups, correlated with mRS and other ICH severity indicators. Results Serum ferritin and other ICH severity indices such as Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and ICH volume were significantly altered in the mRS groups by the end of 7th and 30th days of hospitalization. Elevated ferritin levels, ICH volume together with decreased GCS, characterized the groups with adverse prognosis. Serum ferritin moderately correlated with GCS (r = –0.643), ICH volume (r = 0.562), and had significantly higher correlations with long-term prognostic scores of 7th day mRS (r = 0.802) and 30th day mRS (r = 0.916). Conclusion  Elevated admission serum ferritin levels indicate poor AHS short-term and long-term outcomes, thereby making serum ferritin a possible prognostic index for the same.

Background: Uncontrolled stress can be made at ease through resilient emotions and higher coping skills. The study aimed at assessing the level of stress, resilience, and coping among medical students and to study the effect of stress intervention programs on the stress level. Materials and Methods: This was a nonrandomized control trial among 526 medical students which used medical student stress questionnaire, and perceive stress scale (PSS), resilience assessment using a 25-item resilience scale, and coping using a modified Pareekh scale. After the completion of the preintervention assessment, the students were assigned nonrandomly into two groups (intervention group n = 272 vs. nonintervention group n = 254), and the stress intervention programs were done for one group without any programs for the other group. Results: The study concluded that 246 (46.8%), 274 (52.1%), and 277 (52.7%) showed higher stress higher resilience and lower coping, respectively. The study showed that, with stress intervention programs, stress levels by PSS got significantly reduced by 2.64 scores. Conclusions: The study showed the presence of higher stress and resilience and lower coping among medical students. The inclusion of programs to reduce the stress among students showed a positive result and can be replicated.