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Background Maternal and child health services, like antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care, are crucial to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Numerous studies have been conducted on the distribution of utilization of maternal and child healthcare (MCH) services in India with respect to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. But no study has analyzed the utilization of MCH services with a focus on the topography of a given region (hilly/plain). The present study analyzes the utilization of MCH services in the hilly-Himalayan region of India in comparison to the rest of the country. Methods Data from India’s National Family Health Survey-4 (2015–16), on 190,898 women, was utilized for analysis in the present study. The association between the utilization of MCH services and the topography of the region of residence (hilly/plain) was analyzed by calculating adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) and predicted probabilities using a two-level random intercept logistic regression model. Results It was found that the utilization of MCH services was significantly lower in the hilly regions compared to the plain regions. Women living in hilly areas (AOR: 0.42, 95%CI: 0.39–0.45) had 58% lower odds of receiving skilled birth attendance (SBA) than those living in plain areas. Similarly, the odds of receiving PNC, ANC, and full immunization were also lower in the hilly regions compared to the plain regions. The utilization of MCH services was alarmingly low in the rural-hilly regions. The odds of receiving two tetanus injections before birth were 71% lower for women in the rural-hilly areas (AOR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.36–43) than those in the rural-plain areas. Predicted probabilities also showed that women in the hilly regions were less likely to receive MCH services compared to their counterparts in the plain regions. Conclusion Except for the consumption of Iron Folic Acid (IFA) and the utilization of AWC services/ICDS (Integrated Child and Development Services), all other MCH services were significantly underutilized in the hilly regions compared to the plain regions. This calls for the attention of and concentrated efforts by policy makers and stakeholders, with a special focus on the rural-hilly regions. We firmly believe that the results of the present study have important policy implications.

Self-rated health (SRH) is a well-established measure in public health to administer the general health of an individual. It can also be used to assess overall health status’ relationship with the social, physical, and mental health of a person. In this study, we examine the association of SRH and various socio-economic & health-related factors such as multi-morbidity status, mental health, functional health, and social participation. Data used in this paper is collated from the first wave of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) 2017-18. A total of 65,562 older adults aged 45 or above are considered in our study. Various indices (multimorbidity, social participation, functional and mental health) have been created to measure factors influencing the SRH of an individual. Overall, in the study population, around 18.4% of people reported poor SRH. Dominance Analysis results show that the contribution of multimorbidity in predicting poor SRH is highest, followed by functional health, mental health, and social participation. In a developing country like India, there is a dire need for policies having a holistic approach regarding the health and well-being of the older population.

Background Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient for the overall health and well-being of individuals. For strong musculoskeletal and neurological development of human body, vitamin D levels during childhood and adolescence have key importance. This is the first national-level study that analyzes the deficiency and concentration of serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D)] among Indian children and adolescents with respect to various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods Data of Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS, 2016–18) was utilized for the present study. Vitamin D levels were assessed based on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been shown for the three age groups: 0–4 years (n = 12,764), 5–9 years (n = 13,482), 10–19 years (n = 13,065). Vitamin D deficiency was defined as: serum 25(OH)D < 12 ng/mL; and insufficiency as: 12 ng/ml ≤ 25(OH) < 20 ng/ml. 25(OH) D level higher than 20 ng/mL was accepted as adequate. Random slope multilevel logistic regression models were employed to assess the demographic and socioeconomic correlates of vitamin D deficiency. Results Mean serum 25(OH)D concentration level was found to be 19.51 ± 8.76, 17.73 ± 7.91, and 17.07 ± 8.16 ng/ml in age group 0–4 years, 5–9 years and 10–19 years respectively. 49.12% of the children aged 0–4 years were having insufficient level of vitamin D. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was comparatively higher among female adolescents (76.16%), adolescents living in rural region (67.48), Sikh individuals (0–4 years: 76.28%; 5–9 years: 90.26%; 10–19 years: 89.56%), and adolescents coming from rich households. North-Indian individuals were having substantially higher odds of vitamin D deficiency in all the three age groups. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is considerably high among children and adolescents of India. The study highlights high-risk group which require prompt policy interventions.

Emergency situations typically lead to a plethora of public attention on social media platforms like ‘Twitter’. Twitter provides a unique opportunity for public health researchers to analyze untampered information shared during a disease outbreak. Considering the ongoing public health emergency, we conducted a study investigating the public reaction to COVID-19 pandemic around the world using in-depth thematic analysis of Twitter data. A dataset of 212846 tweets was retrieved over a period of seven days (from April 13, 2020, to April 19, 2020) via Twitter Application Programme Interface (API). The following five keywords were used to collect the tweets: “coronavirus”, “covid-19”, “corona”, “covid”, “covid19”. After data filtering and cleaning 6348 tweets were randomly selected for in-depth thematic analysis. Thematic analysis was done manually using a two-level coding guide. A total of six main themes emerged from the analysis: ‘sentiments and feelings’, ‘Information’, ‘General Discussion’, ‘Politics’, ‘Food’, and ‘Sarcasm or humor’. The aforementioned themes were divided into 26 sub-themes. The results of the thematic analysis show that 30.1% of the tweets were regarding ‘sentiments and feelings’, 15.6% were regarding ‘politics’, and 6.5% were related to ‘sarcasm or humor’. The present study is the first study that has analyzed the public response to COVID-19 on Twitter. The study demonstrates that social media platforms (like Twitter) can be used to conduct infodemiological studies related to public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that the results of this study will be of potential interest to policymakers, health authorities, stakeholders, and public health and social science researchers. KEYWORDS:COVID-19, Twitter, Social Media, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Pandemic