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Background:Health care in prisons is one of the neglected health areas in our country. Looking into the health problems of prisons will show us a way for the approach in providing the heath care for prisoners.Objectives:To assess the health status of convicted inmates of prison and to study their sociodemographic profile.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among the inmates of central prison over a period of 1 year. Study population comprised of 300 convicted life-term prisoners. The inmates were interviewed using predesigned and pretested proforma. Sociodemographic data were analyzed by frequencies and percentages along with 95% confidence interval using statistical package SPSS18.Results:In health status, 29 (9.6%) inmates suffered from acute upper respiratory tract infections and 15 (5%) from acute lower respiratory tract infections. A total of 54 (18%) inmates had ascariasis. Diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue contributed to 26 (8.7%) of inmates. A total of 252 (84%) prisoners had anemia. In sociodemographic profile, it was found that rural people, unmarried, illiterates, lower socioeconomic status people were more likely to have committed the crime resulting in the conviction for life.Conclusions:As there is an increase in number of prisoners and morbidities among them, there is an urgent need for prison health care services in developing countries like India and provide training to the health care providers to manage the commonly existing health problems among prisoners in the prisons.

Background: The lack of awareness and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS in general population is responsible for rapid spread and social stigma & discrimination in our country. Many studies have revealed that early educational interventions can reduce the Knowledge Attitude Practice (KAP) gap among health professionals. This study was conducted to assess awareness regarding HIV/AIDS in newly admitted medical students. Methods: Cross sectional study was carried out on newly admitted 1st MBBS students. All the students (72) present on the day of data collection were included in the study. Data was collected by pretested questionnaire and analysed using percentages. Results: Awareness among students about HIV was good. All the students (100%) were conscious about HIV/AIDS disease, its causative agent and diagnostics test. Majority of the students were aware about the modes of transmission and preventive approaches. Very few misconceptions were observed like spread by mosquito bite (1.1%). Conclusions: The results of our study are encouraging as most of the students had good awareness regarding HIV/AIDS disease. Role of media & IEC activities are very important to spread the awareness among general population. These measures will help to reduce the misconception and indifferent attitude towards the HIV infected patients.

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In the twenty-first century computers have become a household need, used from calculating grocery bills, telecommunications to banking operation. Many universities or job require a computer literate for enrolment. The application of computer technology and the accompanying use of VDT's are revolutionizing the work places in India. Computer work has generated a new genre of occupational health problems like RSI, CTD (Repetitive Strain Injuries and Cumulative Trauma Disorder) and occupational overuse syndrome. 1 Computer use causes general malaise, eyestrain and musculoskeletal problems etc. 2 The common musculoskeletal complaints include pain and stiffness in various regions of the body like neck, shoulder, lower back, and wrist etc. 2 The rise in computer use and flat light touch keyboard that permit ABSTRACT Background: Computer work has generated a new genre of occupational health problems like Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). Computer overuse have resulted in an epidemic of injuries of the hands, arms and shoulders causing pain and stiffness in various regions of the body like neck, lower back and wrist etc. The objective of the study was to find the prevalence of Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among computer engineering students and teaching-staff in Gulbarga city. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among the 319 third-year students and 79 teaching-staffs of computer science department of all 4 engineering colleges in Gulbarga from January2011 to December2011. The study-subjects were interviewed using pre-designed and pretested proforma including Standardized Nordic Questionnaire. Appropriate statistical tests are applied. Results: Out of 398 study subjects majority (75.37%) were 20-22 years age studying B.E Computer science. The most disabling MSDs affecting study subjects were upper back 67 (16.83%), lower back 64 (16.08%), neck 51 (12.81%) and wrists/hand 34 (8.54%) which was statistically significant (χ²= 53.14, 64.514, 9.452, p<0.001). Conclusions: Majority of study subjects (31.16%) suffered at least 1 disabling episode of MSDs causing poor classroom performance which can be prevented by multidisciplinary approach. Implications by multidisciplinary approach RSI symptoms could be reduced by 40%.