Background: Immunization contributes significantly to the achievement of millennium development goal number 4 and is one of the eight elements of primary health care. Effective utilization of immunization services is associated with reduced infections in young children with immature immune system and improved child health outcome. The objectives of the study were to compare the default rates for vaccine doses in immunization schedule; to study the factors responsible for default; to describe the socio-demographic profile of study subjects.Methods: An observational study was conducted in the urban and rural Primary health centre on immunization days for 3 months. The study subjects were children aged (9-24) months attending immunization clinics. Their care givers were interviewed regarding socio-demographic profile and causes for default. Sample size calculated was 184 (92) each from urban and rural clinic).Results: Among 184 care givers interviewed, mean age of study subjects was 14.9±4.6 months in urban & 14.6±4.9 months in rural clinic. Default rates for vaccination were 5.4% (birth dose), 7.6% (6th wk.) both in urban & rural clinic. However, for further doses i.e., 10th week, 14th week, 9 months and 18 months the default rates were slightly higher in rural compared to urban clinic. Commonest reason for default was mother not aware that child had missed dose (urban 52.2% and rural 42.3%) followed by child being sick (urban 26.6% and rural 30.4%).Conclusions: The overall default rate was found to be very high which is a serious concern and need to be addressed in order to prevent eventual dropouts.

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INTRODUCTIONCancer is a term used for a large group of diseases which is characterized by the growth of abnormal cells beyond their usual boundaries that can then invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs. Any part of the body can be affected by cancer and it can further be classified into many subtypes, each of which requires specific management strategies.Globally, cancer is the 2 nd leading cause of death and about 8.8 million deaths occurred due to it in 2015. The commonest cancers among men are those of the lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver while the commonest among women are those of the breast, colorectal, lung, cervix, and stomach. Current evidences suggest that nearly 30%-50% cancer deaths can be prevented just by modifying or avoiding risk factors like reducing alcohol consumption, regular exercise, addressing infection related risk factors etc. 1 Cervical cancerIt is the 4 th most common cancer among women. More than half a million new cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2012. More than 1 million women worldwide are ABSTRACT Background: Cancers of the cervix and breast are common among Indian women. Majority of the women are not aware of the symptoms or screening methods and report late. Hence the current study was done to assess their knowledge and provide information regarding early detection. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in the OBG out-patient department of Kempegowda Institute of Medical Science Hospital, Bangalore over a period of 3 months and 205 women aged 18 years and above were the study subjects. The awareness of the study subjects regarding cervical and breast cancer was assessed using a pre-tested semi-structured proforma. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Among 205 study subjects interviewed, the study subjects who had heard about cervical cancer were 173 (84.4%) and those who had heard about breast cancer were 202 (98.5%). Out of 173 subjects who had heard about cervical cancer, 139 (80.3%) had good knowledge regarding the symptoms and 102 (58.9%) knew about the risk factors. The fact that cervical cancer could be detected early was known to 113 (65.3%) subjects but only 57 (32.9%) were aware of a pap smear. Out of 202 subjects who had heard about breast cancer, 159 (78.7%) had good knowledge regarding the symptoms and 74 (36.6%) knew about the risk factors. The fact that breast cancer could be detected early was known to 143 (70.8%) subjects but only 42 (20.8%) were aware of mammogram. Conclusions: Majority of the study subjects had reasonable knowledge of the symptoms and risk factors of cervical and breast cancer but the knowledge regarding screening test for early detection of these cancers was poor.Cite this article as: Srikanth J, Upadhya KG, Kumar P. Awareness of cervical and breast cancer among women attending OBG out-patient department of a medical college hospital, Bangalore. Int J Community Med Public Health 2018;5:2104-8.