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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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Background: Advances in medical field have increased the longevity of people by reducing morbidity and mortality to a great extent. With the increase in longevity, problems related to old age have also increased. These problems are more confounded by social factors. Objective: To assess the various health problems faced by elderly people and suggest the remedial measures so that effective preventive and promotive measures can be implemented. Methodology: Community based cross-sectional study of the elderly persons residing in an urban slum of Bijapur. Results: Among acute health problems most common were arthritis (39%) and bronchitis (20.8%). Most common chronic illness observed was respiratory illness 19% (COPD and asthma) fallowed by visual impairment (11.5%), arthritis (11.1%), and hypertension (9.1%) Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) showed that majority of respondents 297 (60%) were having the normal score. Conclusion: The pattern of geriatric health problems have different characteristics and hence require a specific type of screening programme based on the finding of various geriatric health studies .