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Context: Tobacco use is the leading single preventable cause of deaths worldwide. India is the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world. Aims: To study the prevalence of tobacco use among the adult population >15 years age of District Gautam-Budh Nagar and find the association of various socio-demographic factors with the tobacco usage. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional community-based study conducted in urban and rural areas of District Gautam-Budh Nagar, Uttar-Pradesh. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted among 1461 adults aged 15 years and above in the District Gautam-Budh Nagar. Multistage sampling was used to select the study subjects. The questionnaire used for the interview consisted of questions related to socio-demographic profile, smoking habits and smokeless tobacco use, intention to quit and exposure to second-hand smoke. Statistical Analysis: The data were entered and analyzed in SPSS Software version 20.0. The prevalence of tobacco use was expressed in percentages. The association between various socio-demographic factors and tobacco use was assessed by Chi-square test. P value < 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Prevalence of tobacco usage in this study was found to be 50.4% (65% among males and 28.8% among females). The prevalence of smoking and smokeless tobacco use in our study was 37.2% and 21.3%, respectively. Increasing age, male gender, and lower educational status were found to be significant risk factors for tobacco use in our study. Conclusions: India needs to gear up the efforts more and can still do more to make the proven tobacco control tools work for its citizens’ well-being.

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe, it has not been possible to conduct traditional classroom teaching in view of the closure of schools and colleges in our country since March 2020. Hence, it is important to study the highlights, demerits, and bottlenecks in the implementation of online education from a student’s perspective. Methods: The present study was carried out to assess perceptions regarding virtual classroom among undergraduate students of a tertiary medical college in U.P. A pre-designed, semi-structured questionnaire was used. Study was conducted through an online survey. Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 21. Results: A total of 377 participants were included in the study. More than half of the participants (54.9%) preferred a mixed mode of learning which includes both online and offline learning. Lack of interaction with teachers (66.3%) and fellow students (57.6%) and lack of quiet space at home to listen to online classes (44%) were a few of the perceived demerits of online classes. Internet speed was found to be one of the most challenging issues faced in online learning (78.5%). Conclusion: Students’ perception of the blended learning mode was positive. They were, however, less enthusiastic about online learning than they were about conventional classroom learning.

Background: Immunization is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent the suffering that comes from avoidable sickness, disability and death. In India, though immunization coverage has improved over the past few years, the country still accounts for the largest number of children who are not immunized i.e. 7.4 million. So, this study was taken up to assess the immunization coverage among children in District Gautam-Budh Nagar of Uttar Pradesh and to decipher the causes behind the partial immunization/non- immunization. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during June-August 2015 in an urban resettlement colony of District Gautam-Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh among 210 children aged 12-23 months selected using WHO 30X7 cluster sampling technique. Results: A total of 210 children were covered, of which 72.9% children were fully immunized, 19.0% children were partially immunized, whereas, 8.1% children did not receive even a single dose of any vaccine, thus constituting a total of 27.1% children with partial/no immunization. On bi-variate analysis, significant associ­ation was observed between immunization status among children and caste (p=0.047), mother’s education (p=0.01), father’s education (p=0.000) and socio-economic status (p=0.003). On multi-variate analysis, however, only father’s educational status was found to be significantly associated. The major reasons for partial/non-immunization among children were Ignorance (80.7%) followed by unavailability of vaccines (7.0%). Conclusions: Immunization coverage found in the present study is still way short of the target of universal coverage. Therefore, health planners and policy makers in our country should develop a comprehensive strategy to achieve universal immunization coverage.

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