The Government of India initiated a cash incentive scheme-Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)-to promote institutional deliveries with an aim to reduce maternal mortality ratio (MMR). An observational study was conducted in a tertiary-care hospital of Madhya Pradesh, India, before and after implementation of JSY, with a sample of women presenting for institutional delivery. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the total number of institutional deliveries before and after implementation of JSY, (ii) determine the MMR, and (iii) compare factors associated with maternal mortality and morbidity. The data were analyzed for two years before implementation of JSY (2003)(2004)(2005) and compared with two years following implementation of JSY (2005)(2006)(2007). Overall, institutional deliveries increased by 42.6% after implementation, including those among rural, illiterate and primary-literate persons of lower socioeconomic strata. The main causes of maternal mortality were eclampsia, pre-eclampsia and severe anaemia both before and after implementation of JSY. Anaemia was the most common morbidity factor observed in this study. Among those who had institutional deliveries, there were significant increases in cases of eclampsia, pre-eclampsia, polyhydramnios, oligohydramnios, antepartum haemorrhage (APH), postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), and malaria after implementation of JSY. The scheme appeared to increase institutional delivery by at-risk mothers, which has the potential to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, improve child survival, and ensure equity in maternal healthcare in India. The lessons from this study and other available sources should be utilized to improve the performance and implementation of JSY scheme in India.

The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in all segments of the population due to increased industrialization, urbanization, mechanization, and associated changes in diet and lifestyles. Change in diet habit of consuming more high energy fast foods and shifting to sedentary lifestyle has affected our children and also increased the risk of chronic diseases among adolescents. Childhood obesity has association with increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer in later life. Therefore, its control and prevention is one of the major concerns for all developing nations. The present school-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 2785 affluent adolescents of six public schools in Meerut during the period October 2003 to March 2004. The objective is to assess the magnitude of overweight and obesity in adolescents and associated risk factors, with the help of the ELIZ health pathway based on body mass index criteria. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 19.7% and 5.3% in girls and 18.36% and 10.82% in boys. Obesity was found to be significantly associated with high intake of junk foods (P < 0.05), binge eating, high calorie intake (P < 0.05), lower physical activity (P < 0.05), and prolonged TV watching (P < 0.05).

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to assess the present level of knowledge about disaster preparedness and mitigation among undergraduate medical students. Rarely a week goes by when a major disaster is not reported in the media -a disaster that results in death and destruction. There is a general reluctance among the people to accept that tragedy can appear any time in the form of a disaster. Unfortunately, disasters are seen more in context of emergency responses than pre-planning or preparedness measures. Continuous preparedness saves lives, lessens personal suffering and loss and reduces the destruction of property and economic losses. Emergency medical assistance is the most important and immediate post-disaster need, second only to search and rescue operations. Hence, knowledge about disaster preparedness and mitigation is essential for medical students. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 375 undergraduate medical students who volunteered for participation were included in the study. A pre-tested and pre-designed, structured questionnaire was administered for assessing the current level of knowledge, attitude and practice about disaster preparedness and mitigation. The percentage marks were analyzed and compared for statistically significant difference. Findings -The mean score was 8.77 percent, which was slightly higher in females and was maximum in age group 26-30 years. There was little variation according to the year (professional) of the MBBS course. Originality/value -The paper shows that undergraduate medical students have little knowledge about disasters and disaster preparedness.

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Background: Postnatal period is a vulnerable time, because most maternal and new born deaths occur during this period, especially immediately after childbirth. Postnatal care in the first hours and days after childbirth could prevent the great majority of these deaths. Aims & Objectives: Present study was conducted with the objective to assess the utilization of post natal care and associated factors in tribal area of Madhya Pradesh. Materials and Methods: A community based cross-sectional study carried in tribal area of Madhya Pradesh. A total of 210 mothers who delivered in last one year were selected for study by "30 cluster sampling method" in Nainpur block of Mandla district. Results: Among 210 mothers, 82.4% were 15-24 years of age and 71.9% of mother received post natal checkup within 10 days of delivery. Regarding number of post-natal checkup , 36.6% of mothers received one postnatal checkup , 18.5% two, 14.7% three and only 1.9% received four post natal checkup. The education/occupation of mothers, cast, education of husband, place of delivery, person conducting delivery and level of knowledge of mother about need of postnatal checkup were significantly associated (P<0.001) with utilization of post natal checkup. Conclusion: The present study revealed that role of education, especially of female education in tribal area, is important contributing factor associated with utilization of postnatal care. Female education is related with enhancing the economic status of mothers, female empowerment, awareness of mother, and independent decisions making capacity in them.

Unemployment has been a major problem for India from a long time. The problem of unemployment is a global phenomenon, with international bodies like ILO predicting the rise in unemployment in India in coming years. The study attempts to find out the effect of economic growth on unemployment rate in India. Gross Domestic Product has been considered as an indicator of economic growth for the study. The data regarding GDP and unemployment rate have been collected from secondary sources like WorldBank database. Correlation and Regression analysis have been used to study the nature and degree of effect of economic growth on unemployment rate. It has been found that there is a strong negative correlation between economic growth and unemployment rate. Also, it was found that GDP accounts for 48% of cause of change in unemployment rate. The findings are in line with the Okun’s law and the conclusions of studies conducted in the past.

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