Background: Depression among elderly has been a neglected health issue. Various factors hinder its early diagnosis. The objectives of this study are to screen for depression among elderly using geriatric depression scale-15 and to determine its influencing factors.Methods: A community based cross sectional study on geriatric depression was done in villages catered by a primary health centre in Puducherry. Permanent residents of the study setting, aged ≥60 years consenting for the study were included. Line listing of elderly individuals in the study setting was done and subjects were selected by simple random sampling. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and clinic-psychological variables. Hindi mental state examination scale was used to screen for cognitive impairment (score <23). Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was used to screen for depression (score >5) among geriatric individuals. Appropriate statistical tests of significance were done.Results: Among the 360 elderly individuals screened using GDS-15 tool, 41.4% of them were found to be at a higher risk of developing depression. Significant factors for risk of depression in univariate analysis include being female, illiterate, unemployed, widow/single, having sleep problems, dependency in activities of daily living and cognitive impairment. Predictors for risk of depression evident by multivariate analysis include presence of unemployment, sleep problems and cognitive impairment.Conclusions: A higher proportion of elderly was observed to be at risk of depression.  Primary care physicians may consider screening for depression in elderly with identified risk factors and act accordingly.

Background : A multi provider health system comprising of modern as well traditional systems of medicine in the form of AYUSH is of paramount importance. Objectives: 1. To study the utilization of services by patients attending District AYUSH Hospital, Davangere. 2. To find out the client satisfaction among patients towards AYUSH services offered. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 335 patients attending in District AYUSH Hospital, Davangere in February-March 2014. Data was gathered by direct patient interviews as well as hospital records. Descriptive statistics was done using percentages and proportions. Results: Among the services offered, ayurvedic treatment was mostly sought by the patients (45%). Neurological ailments were the commonest reasons for seeking treatment in ayurveda (48%), whereas it was musculoskeletal disorders in unani (20%); gastrointestinal disorders in homeopathy (22%) and non communicable diseases in yoga (30%). Only 3% of the patients were cross referred from allopathic practitioners to AYUSH. Overall, 41.8% of the patients were satisfied and 50.7% were very much satisfied with the AYUSH services provided in the District AYUSH Hospital. Conclusion: Majority of the patients were satisfied with the services offered by the District AYUSH hospital.

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