Background and Rationale:Medical professionals’ attitude towards homosexuals affects health care offered to such patients with a different sexual orientation. There is absence of literature that explores the attitudes of Indian medical students or physicians towards homosexuality.Aim:This study aimed to evaluate Indian medical students and interns’ knowledge about homosexuality and attitude towards homosexuals.Materials and Methods:After IEC approval and written informed consent, a cross-sectional study was conducted on a purposive sample of undergraduate medical students and interns studying in one Indian medical college. The response rate was 80.5%. Only completely and validly filled responses (N = 244) were analyzed. The participants filled the Sex Education and Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire (SEKHQ) and the Attitudes towards Homosexuals Questionnaire (AHQ). SEKHQ consisted of 32 statements with response chosen from ‘true’, ‘false’, or ‘don’t know’. AHQ consisted of 20 statements scorable on a 5-point Likert scale. Multiple linear regression was used to find the predictors of knowledge and attitude.Results:Medical students and interns had inadequate knowledge about homosexuality, although they endorsed a neutral stance insofar as their attitude towards homosexuals is concerned. Females had more positive attitudes towards homosexuals. Knowledge emerged as the most significant predictor of attitude; those having higher knowledge had more positive attitudes.Conclusion:Enhancing knowledge of medical students by incorporation of homosexuality related health issues in the curriculum could help reduce prejudice towards the sexual minority and thus impact their future clinical practice.

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Background:Worldwide, multiple studies demonstrate a negative attitude of interns toward psychiatry. Scenario in Gujarat state has never been looked upon. The objective of this study is to identify the situation in this region by studying the attitude of interns toward various areas of psychiatry and to study the gender differences if any.Materials and Methods:For study, all 122 interns who attended psychiatry posting for the 1st time in their internship, over a period of 8 months were approached amongst which 100 (56 males and 44 females) consented to be a part. Attitude was measured with 30 items attitude toward psychiatry (ATP 30) questionnaire on the 1st day of their posting. The data thus collected were analyzed by SPSS version 20.Result:The results showed a neutral to the negative attitude in major areas of psychiatry. Most neutral responses were seen regarding contribution of psychiatric hospitals in the treatment, regarding psychiatric patients considered to be interesting and psychiatry enabling people to have rewarding relationships. Negative attitude toward areas on scientific information in psychiatry and psychotherapy's validity were obtained. While attitude was positive in areas of psychiatric knowledge and teaching, but female interns were lagging behind their male counterparts. Psychiatric treatment lessens worries and psychiatric illness should be considered at par with other medical illnesses, were most common positively viewed attitude.Conclusion:Interns overall shared a neutral to negative ATP. Adequate rectification is required in existing medical curriculum, and more exposure to the subject is essential to improve the attitude of interns toward mental health

Background: Despite coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) being a major health crisis in the current times, only a few studies have addressed its potential direct effect on mental health, especially among COVID-19 patients. Aims: This study was conducted to assess the mental health of COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: In cross sectional study, mental health status of 301 symptomatic and 200 asymptomatic COVID-19 participants was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire-28. Results: Around 8.78% COVID-19 patients were found to be psychologically distressed that was predominantly higher among symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Risk of psychological distress was significantly higher in females, living in nuclear families and having a history of addiction. Conclusions: COVID-19 patients suffer from psychological distress, which needs to be addressed to cope well with this pandemic situation.