Background: Globally, road traffic injuries are estimated to be the leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 years, and second leading cause of death in 10–14 years and 20–24 years age groups. The objective of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards road traffic safety among adolescent students of a selected Pre-University college in Raichur city.Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted among (372) adolescent students of a selected Pre-University college in Raichur city by using pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using Epi-Info software. Chi-Square test was applied and level of significance was kept at P value of <0.05.Results: Mean age of the participants was 16.68±0.75. 196 participants (52.8%) had adequate knowledge on the road safety rules and regulations. Only 25 participants (7.7%) were driving with a valid driving license. The most common reason for motor vehicle accidents was high speed. Knowledge adequacy about road safety rules and regulations had statistically significant association with age and gender.Conclusions: Mere knowledge does not necessarily translate into improved traffic behavior as was seen in this study. School/college is the basic institution where we can formulate interventions. Continuous reinforcement and education reminding them of traffic rules can bring about a positive change and motivate them to strictly adhere to the traffic norms and help reduce the morbidity and mortality regarding road traffic accidents.

Background: Hypertension is a chronic condition of concern due to its role in the causation of coronary heart disease, stroke and other vascular complications. It is one of the important risk factors for cardio-vascular mortality, accounting for 20-30% of all deaths. Hypertension is an iceberg disease. To address this problem of hypertension, the theme for World Health Day, 2013 was "High Blood Pressure." Aims & Objectives: To study the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors among staff of Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences, Raichur. Materials and Methods: On the WORLD Health Day 2013, a hypertension screening camp was organized. A total of 163 teaching and non-teaching staffs actively and voluntarily participated in the camp. Hypertension and its risk factors were assessed using predesigned questionnaire-which included socio-demographic details and their family, dietary and personal history. Height, weight and blood pressure of the study participants were recorded. Results: Out of 163 participants, 101 (62%) were males and 62 (38%) were females. Majority, 79.1%, had mixed diet, 20.9% were vegetarians, and 18.4% of them added extra salt to the diet. Physical activity level was good among 27%, as they were exercising for ≥ 30minutes in a day. Prevalence of hypertension was 11.7 %, and 9.2% of staff had blood pressure in pre-hypertension range. Conclusion: Prevalence of hypertension was 11.7%, among which 6.7% were newly detected and 5% were previously diagnosed to have hypertension. Regular screening and health education camp are essential to curtail the rising problem of hypertension.

Background: Human blood is an essential element of human life. Medical colleges students can be very good source for voluntary blood donation. This study was done with the objectives - to find out the factors motivating blood donation and the factors responsible for not donating the blood among the medical students.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among the students of a government autonomous medical college, situated at northern part of Karnataka, India. Data was collected by a pre tested, semi structured, self administered, questionnaire. All the students studying MBBS in RIMS, Raichur who have joined the course between 2013 -2016 were included in the study.Results: In our study a total of 319 students have participated. Among the total students studied 85 (26.64%) have donated the blood at least once and 234 (73.36%) students have not donated even once. The major motivating factor for voluntary blood donation as responded by students was altruism/ doing good to others (51.8%). Major reason for non-donation of blood was he/she was never been asked for blood donation (56.4%). In the present study, the voluntary blood donation was significantly high among males (40.3%) compared to females (8.7%). Proportion of people who have donated blood increased with each year of study, highest among MBBS phase III Part 2 (53.6%).Conclusions: Having knowledge and attitude alone will not improve the voluntary blood donation unless, blood donation opportunity is available. So creating opportunities for donation of blood through voluntary blood donation drives is very much needed.

Background: Depression among medical students represents a neglected public health problem in India. Early onset depression among medical students interferes with psychological, social, and academic functioning. Clearly, depression in medical students is of paramount importance and warrants serious study to detect early symptoms of depression. This study was conducted to find out the prevalence and the risk factors associated with depression among medical students of RIMS, Raichur.Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted among medical students from 1st year to final year of RIMS, Raichur who gave consent. Socio-demographic and risk factors details were collected using pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire and beck depression inventory scale was used to assess the depression level. Data was analyzed using Epi-Info 7 software and appropriate statistical tests were applied. Level of significance was set at a p<0.05.Results: Of the 421 medical students participated in the study, 214 (50.83%) were males and 207 (49.17%) were females. The overall prevalence of depression was found to be 22.09%. Statistically significant association of depression was found with family history (χ2=4.23, p<0.05), family problems (χ2=61.98, p<0.001), relation with parents (χ2=51.82, p<0.001), high expectations from parents (χ2=22.76, p<0.001), those who regret joining MBBS (χ2=30.44, p<0.001), relationship status (χ2=4.63, p<0.05).Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the importance of screening for depression of medical students on a regular basis for early detection and appropriate intervention like group counseling, stress management training, support services etc. to protect this valuable future human resource.

Background: Harmful use of alcohol consumption can lead to various health hazards and pre-university students are vulnerable for abuse of substances like alcohol. Hence this study was aimed to find out the prevalence and perception towards alcohol consumption among students of government boy’s college and to find out some factors affecting alcohol consumption among students.Methods: A cross sectional study conducted among purposively selected students of government pre-university (PU) college for boys. Data was collected through pre-structured questionnaire. Alcohol consumption was assessed by self-reporting through questionnaire.Results: In the present study 7% students have consumed alcohol at least once in their life time. Mean age of initiation of alcohol consumption was 14.89 years. 23.7% of students said that alcohol consumption can lead to cancer and 13.3% students knew it leads to liver damage, 18.1% felt it leads to heart problems. Among the current alcohol consumers 41.7% said they have driven the vehicle under influence of alcohol. Among the current alcohol consumers 75% have thought to quit the alcohol consumption at least once. Having family history of alcohol consumption was significantly associated with alcohol consumption among students.Conclusions: Alcohol consumption is prevalent in the pre-university college students and family history is a major risk factor for the alcohol consumption. Many alcohol consumers have driven the vehicle under the alcohol consumption in spite of the legal prohibition. Parental and peer involvement is crucial in reducing the prevalence of alcohol consumption among PU students.