Background: According to State Health Society, there are about 30 lakhs sickle cell carrier and 1.5 lakhs sufferers in Maharashtra, prevalence being more in tribal population. As Sickle cell disease is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, it is important for patients to have awareness regarding its cause, treatment and genetic implication. To assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practices regarding sickle cell disease in adult sufferers and carriers. Materials and Methods: The present study is an cross sectional study, carried out in 232 adult sickle cell disease sufferers and carriers in rural area of Chandrapur district from July 2014 to December 2015. Results: Out of 232 study subjects, 17.24% were sufferers and 82.76% were carriers. Only 62.50% knew the correct cause and only 42.67% had correct knowledge of types of disease. 76.30% had correct knowledge about symptoms of disease. 40.09% patients were availing treatment of some kind. It was found that only 6.77% had done premarital screening of their spouses and 100% had screened their children for sickle cell disease. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding sickle cell disease, its cause, types, treatment and prevention is satisfactory in sufferers but not in carriers. Overall attitude towards treatment and prevention is more or less positive. Treatment seeking behavior is good in sufferers but not in carriers.

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Background: Birth weight is a major determinant of child’s health and nutrition. There are various factors which determine birth weight like maternal age, parity, socio economic status etc. A new born weighing less than 2.5 kg is classified as a low birth weight (LBW) baby. Low birth weight can be prevented by improving health status and socio-economic status of the community, improving antenatal care and also by providing proper health education. Methods: A record-based study was carried out in a tertiary care facility of central India. Labour room records from January 2021 to December 2021 were reviewed. The details on birth weight, gender, gestational age, parity, and mode of delivery were obtained and recorded. The data obtained was entered in Microsoft office excel software. Statistical analysis was carried out with the help of open Epi. Results: Out of 4266 records which were studied 46.65% mothers were in the age group 21-25 years and 53.52% were multiparas. The proportion of LBW was found to be 41.30%. LBW was found to have a significant association between age of mother, parity, residence and gender of the baby. Conclusions: In this study, sociodemographic factors, maternal age and multiparity has contributed substantially to LBW. Hospitals should inform pregnant women about the importance of appropriate age at conception. It is high time to discuss the aftereffects of older maternal age in detail and to focus more on biological components underlying these associations.

Background: The emergence of tobacco related diseases is a burgeoning public health problem. Every year, more than 8 million people die from tobacco use worldwide. It is one of the major causes of death and disease in India and accounts for nearly 1.35 million deaths every year. India is also the second largest consumer and producer of tobacco. There is an urgent need to curb tobacco use and reduce the associated morbidities and mortalities. The present study was the first step in the process of generating strategies to control the use of tobacco by estimating the prevalence and pattern of tobacco use in an urban community.Methods: Study was conducted in the field practice area of an urban health training center of a tertiary care hospital. House to house survey was done. Houses were selected by systemic random sampling. All the people above 15 years of age were included in the study, with total subjects interviewed being 590.Results: 371 (62.88%) study subjects were males and 219 (37.19%) were females. The prevalence of tobacco consumption was found to be 34.06%, 28.81% used smokeless form of tobacco and 3.39% were smokers. About 1.86% consumed both forms of tobacco.Conclusions: Prevalence of tobacco consumption particularly of smokeless form was quite high. Identification of high-risk group and their pattern of tobacco consumption is crucial in developing innovative and effective strategies to curb the tobacco epidemic in India.