Prevalence of substance use was seen in 52.7% students belonging to age group 19 to 21 years. More prevalence of substance use was found among law students (76.2%) followed by the students from Art stream (62.5%). Among the users alcohol was most commonly used (53.5%), followed by smokers (27.3%), tobacco chewers (8.2%), cannabis (6.8%).49% of the users were using substances on daily basis, followed by 23% who using weekly.29.3% of users had father using any substance. Relief from psychological stress (66.0%) followed by easy availability (46.9%) were the most common reasons of substance abuse. that substances use is common among college going male students irrespective of their social demographic characteristics like age [OR 0.76, 95%CI (.443-1.317) religion [OR.859 95%CI (.461-1.598), parental education, occupation and socio-economic status. Therefore, interventions in terms of health education/counselling for reducing substance use among them should be adopted, irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics. Suggestions: This study suggested some life style related interventions in order to reduce the problem of substance use.There is an utmost need to educate and counsel young students regarding harmful effects of substance use. Health education may be imparted in the school curriculum. Parents should also be educated on discouragement of substance use and on taking proper care of their children.

Background:Cancer has emerged as a major public health problem. People often turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) when they have a long-lasting problem. CAM is a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. The present study was conducted to find prevalence rate of CAM use among cancer patients undergoing allopathic treatment in a health facility and to compare the CAM usage patterns among different subgroups of patients at different stages. Further to investigate some psychosocial, cultural, and demographiccorrelates/predictors of CAM use.Materials and Methods:Present hospital-based cross sectional study was conducted among cancer patients attending Radiotherapy Outpatient Department (OPD) of a Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). A total of 1,117 cancer patients participated in the study. Statistical methods like normal test of proportions, Chi-square (χ2) test, logistic regression analysis for estimation of risk factors of CAM use were applied to carry out the data analyses using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)-16 software package.Results:The most common CAM therapy in use was found to be ayurvedic treatment reported by 187 (16.7%) patients. Overall CAM use was found to be 38.7%. Sixty percent of patients who were aware of CAM were not using CAM, only 40% aware were using CAM. Low socioeconomic status contributed maximum to proportions of CAM use; wherein out of all users, 175 (40.5%) patients were using CAM. Maximum degree of relief was found due to homeopathic treatment (78.4%). Reasons of using CAM therapies reported by the users were mainly on the advice of family members or friends (23.1%).Conclusions:There is an urgent need of conducting further in-depth epidemiological studies to evaluate the efficacy of various CAM therapies in use for cancer. The high utilization of CAM among cancer patients and nondisclosure proportions suggests prioritizing research investigating reasons to use CAM and efficacy and safety of CAM use.

Background: 'RETREATMENT' for Tuberculosis (TB) has long been a neglected area in global TB control. While other components of the Stop TB Strategy have garnered appropriate focus and, increasingly, sufficient resources, issues related to the TB of patients previously treated for tuberculosis remain under examined and under-resourced.

Background:‘Retreatment’ for tuberculosis (TB) has long been a neglected area in global TB control India. However India disproportionately accounts for nearly half of retreatment TB cases notified globally. Sex differences vary in different age groups and in different parts of the world. The present study focuses on whether gender-based differences are present in notification rates, clinical presentation, and treatment outcomes of different subcategories of patients registered under category II of Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) Chandigarh.Materials and Methods:A longitudinal study was designed and the patients registered under RNTCP category II from June 2010 to December 2011. Out of total 607 patients registered during this period under category II of RNTCP in Chandigarh, 545 consented to participate in the study. These were followed-up to September 2012 till the completion of treatment. All 545 recruited cases were stratified into males and females and the results analyzed. The Z test for proportion (for comparing differences in proportions) and Student's t-test (for comparing mean) were performed for statistical analysis.Results:From the cohort of 545 patients, 348 (63.9%) were males and 197 (36.1%) were female patients with overall male to female ratio 1.8:1. The proportion of male patients notified was significantly higher than females (Z = 5.93, P < 0.001). The proportion of extrapulmonary cases was higher in the females (28.4%) as compared with males (17%) (P < 0.001). Males outnumbered females in all the unfavorable outcomes death, default, and failure. The default in males was significant as compared to the females (Z = 5.21, P < 0.001).Conclusions:The findings of this study suggest a sex difference in the notification rate of retreatment cases of TB. Reasons for a better outcome and low notification rate for TB in females are more due to epidemiological factors than a differential access of the health care. Integrated research is required to outline the relative roles played by epidemiology.

Background: Shortcomings in the delivery of primary health care services at state-run centers and more dependence on private health care service providers has resulted in lesser utilization rates. Feedback from patients is vital if deficiencies are to be identified and improvements achieved. This study attempts to assess client satisfaction of the PHC services provided by a rural health training center. Objectives: The main objective of the study is to measure the satisfaction of OPD patients at a rural health center, and also (1) to know the relationships between the various determinants and OPD patients satisfaction and (2) to correlate patient satisfaction with the sociodemographic profile. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done to assess the satisfaction of services provided at the rural health center which caters to population of around 40,000. The response was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. SPSS version 15 was used to analyze the data. Average satisfaction of each patient was taken and the overall mean and SD was calculated to know about the overall satisfaction. Results: The mean age is 33.45 ± 10.719 years. The mean waiting time for consultancy was 11.84 ± 8.932 min. The mean consultation time by the physician was 6.06 ± 3.002 min. The mean waiting time for drugs is 5.93 ± 5.213 min. Only 28.5% were highly satisfied with the available lab investigations. 58.5% of the clients were highly satisfied with the doctor's relationship with the patients. 63% felt that adequate privacy was given during consultation. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that although the overall satisfaction was high, some aspects of services indicated some degree of dissatisfaction.