Introduction: Primary health care is the nucleus of country's health care delivery system. Bottlenecks in delivery of services at PHC level leads to decreased effi ciency of health system and indirectly affects health of the citizens of a country. Keeping these issues in mind a study was carried out with the objectives i)To identify constraints/bottlenecks in implementation of elements of primary health care ii)To fi nd out solutions to address these bottlenecks. Materials and Methods: This crosssectional study was carried out in Cuttack district during Dec 2010 and January 2011 using a semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire. Data regarding various diffi culties faced while delivering health care services at PHC was collected from participants attending district level IMNCI (Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness) training after getting verbal consent. All 72 respondents who had attended the training during the above mentioned period were included in this study (Medical offi cer, AYUSH medical offi cer, Maternal Child Health co-coordinators and Block Programme Offi cers). Data were analyzed manually using content analysis. Results: Diffi culty in vaccine delivery, inadequate infrastructure and lack of suffi cient manpower for smooth functioning of JSY, diffi culty in card updation and diffi culty in retrieval of defaulter of alcoholic TB patients for Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (DOTS) are some of the problems identifi ed in general. Conclusion: The study identifi ed the need for strengthening infrastructure and manpower to provide quality care for institutional delivery. It also emphasized the need for construction of more number of sub centre buildings which forms the backbone of rural health care delivery system. Identifi cation of loop holes and bridging the gap by corrective action will make the journey towards Millenium Development Goal (MDG) easier.

No abstract

Background: In working towards the goal of Universal Health Coverage, mental health is often neglected in terms of awareness, human resources, and health care facilities. This pandemic has increased the awareness regarding the importance of mental health. Methods: Every occupation is subjected to mental stress, but a field of particular importance is a teacher. During the ages 5-15, the teacher’s effect on the growing child is unique as they take part in building the academics and the personality of a student. Results: Teachers themselves are often subjected to high work pressure, low pay, and other challenges and their mental health is often overlooked. Hence there is a profound need for training the teachers on detection of early signs of mental disorder and also incorporating their routine mental health examination. The close bonding between the teachers and students can be utilized to generate awareness and help in early diagnosis. Conclusion: From this we have concluded that the preserving the teacher’s mental health will benefit the teacher and their students the future of the nation. Keywords: teachers mental health, teachers-student dyad, training of teachers, mental disorders

Demographic and epidemiologic transition coupled with increasing life expectancy has resulted in high old age dependency ratios and rising burden of comorbidities; especially non communicable diseases. This demands large pool of caregivers to support the dependents; physically, psychologically and financially. But the problems faced by caregivers – stress, anxiety, monetary, physical exhaustion and sickness, lack of time for personal care and health resulting in caregiver burden – is often neglected. This article summarizes the importance and/or role of caregivers, theirs problems and recommendations to identify, manage and prevent caregiver burden. The involvement of various stakeholders namely medical and para-medical colleges through training and medical education, hospitals, physicians, psychiatrists and/or psychologists, research organizations, governments and their policies is the need of the hour.

No abstract