ObjectivesThe objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge and skills of medical interns and nurses regarding family planning (FP) services, and document the prevailing FP practices in the teaching hospitals in India.Study designA cross-sectional study was conducted in three states (Delhi, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra) of India, among randomly selected 163 participants, including medical interns (n = 81) and in-service nurses (n = 82), during 2017. The semi-structured, pre-tested interview schedule, was used to assess the knowledge and status of training received; and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) based checklist was used to evaluate the skills.ResultsAbout 60% of the interns and 48% of the nurses knew more than five contraceptives that could be offered to the clients. About 22% (11.1% interns and 33.3% nurses) respondents believed that contraceptives should not be given to a married woman coming alone, and 31.9% (17.3% interns and 46.3% nurses) respondents reported that it was illegal to provide contraceptives to unmarried people. Nearly 43.3% interns and 69.5% nurses refused to demonstrate intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) insertion in the dummy uterus as per OSCE, and among those who did, 12.3% interns and 18.3% nurses had failed. About 63% interns and 63.4% of nurses had observed IUCD insertion, and 12.3% interns and 17.1% had performed IUCD insertion, during their training.ConclusionsKnowledge and skills of interns and nurses regarding FP services were inadequate. The medical training during graduation or internship, and during the job, was found to be inadequate to provide quality FP services as per guidelines of nursing/medical council of India and Government of India on FP.

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Background: The knowledge of nursing staff regarding hepatitis B virus (HBV) when their daily activities will be closely related to patients' body fluids plays a vital role in minimizing the risk of acquiring HBV infection. Objective: We aimed to assess the knowledge regarding HBV infection among nursing staff. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured self-administered questionnaire among the nursing staff in Tagore Hospital, Jalandhar. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. Results: Most (51%) of staff nurses had good knowledge followed by 44% who had excellent knowledge and few (5%) staff nurses with average knowledge score regarding universal precautions about hepatitis B. No staff nurse had poor knowledge score. All of the (100%) staff nurses had desirable attitude regarding universal precautions about hepatitis B. Conclusion: The staff had good knowledge regarding HBV infection and its preventive aspect.

Introduction: Social capital is defined as social cohesion among communities. This refers to processes between people which establish network, social trust and co-operation and mutual benefit. The present study was conducted to know the status of social capital among elderly population of Chandigarh city, India. Methods: The study was conducted from January to April 2017. The study was community based using convenience sampling. A total of 300 elderly subjects were selected for interview from the electoral rolls. The survey instrument was modified Onyx and Bullen scale consisting of 30 items with responses on likert scale from 1-4. Results: Mean age of respondents was 66.47 years. Male: Female ratio was 1.4:1. 45.7% owned their residence whereas 54.3% lived as tenants. Social capital score of majorities of elderly was good (63.7%) followed by average (19.3%).Highest mean scores were received for questions namely: would you help someone if their vehicle breaks down (3.03±0.69), do you agree to helping yourself when you help others (3.15±0.78) and have you visited your neighborhood in the past week (3.01±0.82). Poorest scorewere received for questions: while on shopping, are likely to run into friends (1.11±0.53) and have you done a favor for a sick neighbor in last 6 months (1.33±0.53). Conclusion: Social capital status among elderly of Chandigarh city was good andhigher scores were seenamong males. Highest mean scores were seen in factor 4 (proactivity in social context) and lowest among family and factor 5 (friend’s connections).

Biomedical waste or hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious materials. It may also include waste ass ociated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory origin (e.g. packaging, unused bandages, infusion kits etc.), as well research laboratory waste containing bio molecules or organisms that are mainly restricted from environmental release. The pre-experimental study was conducted on 40 nursing students in Chief Khalsa Diwan International Nursing College, Amritsar. Prior to structured teaching programme nursing students gave self-information and a self-structured knowledge questionnaire was used and evaluate the significant of difference between the two groups. The data obtained from study subjects was analysed and interpreted in terms of objectives and hypothesis of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used for the data analysis. The study findings revealed that structured teaching programme was significantly effective in increasing the knowledge of Nursing Students of Chief Khalsa Diwan International Nursing College, Amritsar.