Background: Adolescence is a distinct phase of complex developmental and psychological needs. UNICEF states that suicide is the second leading cause of death in this age group of young girls. A myriad of social, economic and health factors undermine the ability of the adolescents to lead full and productive lives. There is a need to study these factors as they are bound to health-related outcomes.Objective: To assess the psycho-social health of adolescent girls (15-19 years) living in a rural area using WHO HEEADSSS questionnaire and to compare their psychosocial risk profiles and demographic profiles to identify important risk factors. Methodology:This cross-sectional study was conducted from April to August 2017 on a convenient sample of 180 adolescent girls of 15-19 years residing in the rural field practice area of NRI Medical College, Guntur. The WHO's HEEADSSS (Home and Environment, Education and Employment, Activities, Drugs, Sexuality, Suicide & Depression and Safety) questionnaire was used to assess the psychosocial risk profile of the subjects. The findings were subjected to multiple regression and chi-square test at 5% level of significance.Results and Discussion: Only 6.11% of the girls had scores within the normal range. 10% were at severe risk and 1.11% were in the very severe risk category. The following factors accounted for 75% of the psychosocial risk: Age, Marital Status, Occupation, Positive History of Smoking or Alcohol intake in Family, Having Sleep Problems, Thoughts of inflicting self-hurt and Thoughts of inflicting physical hurt on others. Conclusion:HEEADSSS questionnaire is a useful tool to assess the psycho-social health of adolescent girls. Most girls didn't have adequate knowledge regarding family panning methods or STDs. Qualitative methods would give further insight into these issues.

Background: Adolescence lays the foundation for physical wellbeing, emotional stability and mental ability. Quantitative methods often lack depth of understanding on crucial issues and leave many lacunae in the information available about the problems faced by adolescent girls in India. Using qualitative methods, a researcher can go beyond the surface and gather hidden information and associated feelings. Objective of the research was to qualitatively assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of health among adolescent girls (15-19 years) living in a rural area.Methods: This qualitative study to explore issues surrounding the health of adolescent girls in a rural area was conducted from August 2018 to November 2018 in the rural field practice area of the NRI Medical College. The qualitative methods used to gather information were focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs). Triangulation of information was done through key informant interviews (KIIs) with professionals working with adolescents.Results: The themes identified were causes of stress, education & marriage, safe pregnancy, prevalent diseases, exercise and leisure, health seeking behaviour and domestic violence. In-depth interviews with girls having significant social and psychological risk factors revealed a sense of loss of freedom, decision making power and resignation to their fate. Key informants revealed the neglect of adolescents in health programmes.Conclusions: Adolescent girls have poor knowledge about important health issues. Interventions that focus both on the continuation of the girls’ education and creating options for generating income are necessary along with non-judgmental counseling services and adolescent friendly health care facilities.

An ethno botanical survey was undertaken to collect information from Yanadi tribe of Cheruvukattasangham, Kavali, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Kavali is a part of Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt which is a Precambrian fold belt extending over 600 km along the east coast of India from the North of Cuttack in Orissa to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Yanadi tribe is most prevalent in this region. Besides other usages of plants the practice of oral tradition for healthcare management of human and domesticated animals using herbal medicines is still prevalent among the inhabitants of the area. The study revealed that, the Yanadi tribe used 30 plant species belonging to 20 families to treat scorpion sting, snake bite, cold, helminthic diseases, body pains after delivery in women, dysentery etc. This paper reports the uses of medicinal plants used by tribal people in the form of juices, extracts, decoctions, pastes and powders. The information requires validation for clinical usage.

AbstractObjectivesMost of the adult mental health disorder occurs either during childhood or adolescent stage. Assessment of positive mental health among adolescents will help in predicting the future physical and mental health outcome. Hence, this study was done to determine the prevalence and factors associated with positive mental health among adolescents in rural Puducherry.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents (10–19 years) during April and May 2018. Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), a validated questionnaire was used for the assessment of positive mental health. Prevalence of positive mental health was expressed as proportion with 95% confidence interval.ResultsOf the total 245 adolescents interviewed, almost half of them belonged to the age group of mid-adolescence (14–16 years). Majority (66.5%) were boys and more than one third were studying in secondary class.Prevalence of positive mental health was 51.8% (95% CI: 45.6–58.1). Mother’s education between primary and secondary (aPR-0.77 95% CI: 0.60–0.98), upper middle (aPR-1.74 95% CI: 1.03–2.94) and middle socioeconomic status (aPR-1.80 95% CI: 1.11–2.87) were significantly associated with positive mental health.ConclusionCurrent study found that more than half of the rural adolescents had positive mental health. Maternal education and upper socioeconomic status were found to be significant predictors of positive mental health. Our findings on the burden and risk factors as well as protective factors of mental health can contribute to the mental health strategy in public health action.