The world's population has been evolving rapidly; every country in the world is facing this drastic progression in the number and the percentage of the elderly in their net population. As the chronological age advances, physiological and psychosocial decline will be evident among all older adults. The potentially relevant literature was identified using appropriate search terms in electronic databases such as PubMed MEDLINE, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, CINAHL, IndMed, and Google Scholar. Articles published from 2006 to 2019, reported the prevalence and the risk factors for depression among older adults living in the community, old age homes, or hospitals of the South Asian countries. Articles were published in the languages other than English and those reporting the categorised or mean depressive scores were excluded from the review. After quality check for all the retrieved articles from different databases, 120 articles were included for the meta‐analysis. The data were extracted based on a validated data extraction form, and the reviewer contacted the authors for clarification of the missing data whenever required. The estimates were pooled using the random effect model for meta‐analyses. Sub‐group and sensitivity analyses were also performed. The overall pooled estimate (random effect models) of the prevalence of depression among the elderly was 42.0% (95% CI: 0.38–0.46), Chi‐squared P‐value <0.001, and I2 99.14%. The pooled estimate of the prevalence was higher in the community settings than the old age homes (44.0%; 95% CI: 39.0–49.0 vs. 42.0%; 95% CI: 34.0–49.0). Depression is a common problem among the elderly population and the pooled estimate of depression would give directions to the healthcare providers, policymakers, and future researchers to plan some measures (either pharmacological or non‐pharmacological interventions) to effectively tackle the burden of geriatric depression in the future.

Aim: The overall aim of the study is to develop a module for the structure, staffing, job responsibilities, training and workflow for the hospital Infection Control Department. Design: An exploratory research design in two phases. Phase 1: Hospital based exploratory survey design. Phase 2: Delphi technique with Focus Group Discussion. Method: Data will be collected through interviewing Infection Control Nurses (ICNs) or infection control in-charge using Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) released by World Health Organization (WHO) in the first phase and Delphi technique in the second phase to determine the problems and solutions for the concerns pertaining to the ICNs. The study is funded by Indian Council of Medical Research from 15 October 2019 for 3 years duration. Discussion: Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) affects the care quality of millions of people around the globe. Many researchers have explored the evidence for causes and measures to contain infection. However, there are hardly few researches from the perspective to structure, staffing pattern and factors affecting ICNs. As staffing is considered as a vital component in infection prevention, there is a necessity for optimization to reduce the global burden related to HAI. Impact: This protocol on Structure, staffing, and factors affecting ICN will provide insight into developing strategy, policy or educational module for the ICNs across the country. Trial Registration: The trial is registered with Central Trial Registry of India (CTRI)

Background: The geriatric population is at high risk for gait and balance-related issues as they grow older. The gait and balance-related issues then causes them to be more vulnerable to a fall. Following a fall, the psychological impact could result in fear of falling and decreased quality of life (QoL) in later life. This mixed-method study protocol was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive and balance training on gait, balance, fall-related self-efficacy, and QoL among institutionalized older adults. Methods: A sequential explanatory study has been designed with phase I as quantitative (QUAN) and phase II as qualitative (qual). A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of combined cognitive and balance training among older adults. An in-depth interview will be conducted in phase II with thematic analysis to determine the phase II objectives. A nested sampling technique will be used, wherein the phase II participants will be selected from phase I. In phase I, the intervention arm will receive both cognitive and balance training whereas the control arm will receive only balance training. The phase II participants will be selected from the institutionalized older adults who show improved and not improved fall-related self-efficacy and QoL after comprehensive cognitive and balance training strategies (CCBTS) training. The outcome variables included in the phase I study are gait, balance, fall-related self-efficacy, and QoL. Conclusions: Cognitive training and balance training as a stand-alone intervention has proved their impact among older people. The gait and balance issue could impact from the consequences of both cognitive decline and physical decline; hence the proposed research would highlight the need for combined intervention to enhance overall well-being among the geriatric population. Registration: This study is registered with The Clinical Trials Registry - India (CTRI); CTRI reference ID: CTRI/2016/11/007449; registered on 08/11/2016.

Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most prevalent gynecologic condition affecting women, especially adolescent girls. Among adolescents, associated symptoms of dysmenorrhea impact the general health status, negatively influence the quality of life, resulting in school absenteeism and decreased academic performance. This study protocol was developed to estimate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and evaluate the effectiveness of Meditation and Yoga intervention on dysmenorrhea among adolescent girls. In phase I, data will be collected from adolescent girls (N» 5000) aged between 13 and 18 years to estimate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and in the second phase, Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial will be conducted to evaluate the impact of Meditation and Yoga on dysmenorrhea. From the first phase, those adolescent girls (N=400) with high pain intensity (numerical pain rating scale ≥ 4) from each school, with schools as clusters, will be assigned to the interventional and control arm. The interventional arm will receive the proposed Meditation and Yoga intervention for 12 weeks under supervision and the control arm will continue with standard routine care.  The outcomes such as pain intensity, stress, academic performance, self-efficacy and biomarker levels (Hb, Progesterone, Estrogen, Prostaglandins F2α and E2) will be assessed at baseline and 12 weeks after the intervention. Yoga's popularity and medical benefits have grown with the growing interest in alternative and complementary medicine. There is insufficient evidence to support yoga as a treatment for dysmenorrhea symptoms. This research contributes to the evidence on the impact of meditation and yoga on primary dysmenorrhea among adolescent girls.

Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic impacted across the globe disrupting all sectors including the higher education universities. Nursing institutions faced various challenges due to the pandemic restrictions, of which the abrupt shift of implementing the curriculum to online mode posed a major challenge to both the teachers and the students. To assess nursing students' perception of pandemic pedagogy and the challenges faced in online teaching-learning, this cross-sectional survey was conducted among 982 undergraduate nursing students from three Deemed to be University nursing institutions of Southern India. Institutional Ethics Committee approval (IEC 444/2020), permission from the heads of the institutions and study participant’s consent was obtained. Data was collected using an online survey questionnaire which had three domains, including student-related (19 items), teacher-related(5 items), and physical learning environment-related factors (11 items).  The reliability was established using Cronbach’s Alpha (0.86). Explored the favouring, hindering factors and challenges faced during the emergency remote teaching with open-ended items. The overall mean score of perceptions on pandemic pedagogy was 89.03±10.03. Sixty-three percent of students had a total perception score above 87 which indicates that they preferred online learning during the pandemic whereas 45% preferred classroom learning. There was a significant difference in the total perception scores and the years of study( F (3, 978) = 4.96, p = 0.002). The factors favouring online learning were, an opportunity to view the recorded classes even after the live classes’ (n=165), and ‘more time to spend for learning activities’ (n=152). Factors that hindered the learning or the challenges faced were poor network connectivity (n=451), and lack of opportunity for group study  (n=326). Students favoured online learning during the pandemic; however, there were several challenges. The educational institutions need to prepare themselves to overcome this and focus on a blended learning curriculum.