Introduction:Diabetes is a lifestyle disease which requires a multipronged approach for its management, wherein patient has an important role to play in terms of self-care practices, which can be taught to them by educational programs. To develop such an educational program, a baseline assessment of knowledge and self-care practices of patients, needs to be made. The two objectives of the study were to estimate the knowledge of diabetic patients regarding the disease and its complications, and to estimate the knowledge and adherence to self-care practices concerned with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods:The study was conducted in rural Sullia, Karnataka, from January 2014 to May 2015. The sample size was calculated to be 400, and the sampling method was probability proportionate to sampling size.Result:Majority of them were married males of Hindu religion and belonged to upper middle class. Only 24.25% of them had good knowledge. Among the self-care practices, foot care was the most neglected area.Conclusion:Only one-fourth of the study population had a good knowledge toward diabetes. Adherence to some of the self-care practices was also poor. Government policies may help in creating guidelines on diabetes management, funding community programs for public awareness, availability of medicines, and diagnostic services to all sections of the community. Continuing education programs for health-care providers and utilization of mass media to the fullest potential may also help in creating awareness.

A B S T R A C TBackground: Hypertension is a leading cause of mortality in the world and is ranked third as a cause of disability-adjusted life years. Epidemiological studies have shown that sedentary life-style and stress are important risk factors for hypertension. The job of bank employees is both sedentary and stressful. Studies on hypertension among bank employees are sparse in India; hence, this study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and identify its risk factors in bank employees of Sullia. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted among employees of 13 banks located in Sullia. Data was collected using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured following Joint National Committee-7 criteria. Analysis of data was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 17. P < 0.05 was considered to be signifi cant. Results: A total of 117 bank employees including 18 managers/assistant managers, 33 offi cers and 66 clerks participated in the study. The prevalence of hypertension was 39.3%. Increasing age, family history of hypertension, body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and abnormal waist-hip ratio were signifi cantly more frequent among the hypertensive than normotensive population. Conclusion: The bank employees had a high prevalence of hypertension and they must be considered an occupational risk group. We recommend periodic screening for early detection of hypertension in them.

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Background: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - 7 aimed to reduce by half the proportion of population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Without access to clean water and basic toilets, and without good hygiene practices, a child’s survival, growth and development are at risk. This study was conducted to assess the drinking water management and handling practices at household level of Sullia Taluk of Karnataka which would give an insight into drinking water management and handling practices in this area.  Also the present study is planned to determine the sanitary practices in the households of Sullia Taluk. Methods: 260 houses were sampled using a probability proportionate to sampling size . A cross sectional study was done using a semistructured questionnaire to assess water handling, water management and sanitary practices. Free chlorine in the water was assessed by O- Toluidine. Results: Main source of drinking water was protected dug well in 31.5% and 75.3% did not have any alternate source of drinking water. 92% of those who stored water in overhead tanks and sumps did not clean them within seven days. 14% of the households did not use any of the water treatment methods before drinking. There was no free chlorine in the water of any of the households . 4% did not wash their hands with soap post-defecation. 28% of the households threw their waste indiscriminately around their house. 92% had cattle in close proximity to their house. None of the households practiced open field defecation. Conclusions: Health education is very important to prevent the incidences of water and sanitation related diseases. Emphasis needs to be given to behavioural change communication to create awareness among the households regarding the importance of water and sanitation practices.

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