Background The Union Territory of Puducherry has a high rate of suicide in India. This study aims to find the prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan and suicide attempts and the risk factors of suicidal behaviours. Methods This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged 18 years and above in rural and urban areas of Puducherry, India. Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale questionnaire was used. Prevalence ratio was estimated to assess the factors associated. Results The 12-month and lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation was reported to be 12.5% (95% CI: 10.4–15.0%) and 20% (95% CI: 17.4–22.9%), respectively. About 0.7% (95% CI: 0.3–1.5%) and 2.1% (95% CI: 1.2–3.3%) of the participants had suicide plan in past 12 months and ever in their lifetime, respectively. Around 1% (95% CI: 0.5–2.0%) and 5.7% (95% CI: 4.3–7.6%) of the participants had attempted suicide in past 12 months and ever in their lifetime, respectively. Family issues, physical abuse, unemployment and place of residence were significantly associated with suicidal ideation in multivariable analysis. Conclusion Prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt were very high in the study area. Unemployment, physical abuse and family issues were significantly associated with suicidal behaviour.

Introduction: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) pose a significant burden on global health with the increasing prevalence in rural and tribal communities. Although several studies show an alarming trend in adverse outcomes in Indian tribes, there have been only a few reports assessing their perception of NCDs. This study was conducted to address this gap to design better health strategies to reduce the burden of NCDs among the tribal communities. Methodology: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study done in Gudalur Adivasi Hospital in The Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu. The study participants included the five tribal communities belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Group (formerly Primitive Tribal Group) living in the Gudalur and Pandalur Taluks. After approval from the Ethics committee of the Association for Health Welfare in the Nilgiris (ASHWINI), the data were collected using a predesigned, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The results were entered into an Excel sheet and exported to SPSS software (version 19) for the analysis. Results: The interviewed tribals belonged to the Paniya tribe (54%), Bettakurumba tribe (25%), Moolakurumba tribe (7%), Kattunayakan tribe (6%), and Irula tribe (8%) of whom 43% were illiterate. Seventy-eight percent of the tribals were aware of the presence of NCDs in their community. The most common source of information is ASHWINI and the other health care facilities. The association of unhealthy diet and family history with NCDs was reported by 72% and 25% of the interviewed tribals, respectively. However, the other risk factors like lack of physical activity (7%), old age (2%), and environmental factors (3%) were poorly understood. Similarly, the association between alcohol, tobacco, and NCDs was acknowledged by only 10% and 4% of the interviewed tribals. The importance of screening was understood by 72% of the interviewed tribals. Conclusion: This study showed that there is a severe lack of awareness of NCDs among the tribal population of the Gudalur and Pandalur taluks of the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu. The importance of health promotion in reducing the burden of NCDs is well recognized. There is an urgent need for implementing adequate strategies to correct the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the tribal communities towards NCDs.

Background: The high mortality among cervical cancer patients in India can be attributed to presentation at advanced stages. The varied and lengthy pathway taken up to diagnosis could be a major reason for advanced stage at presentation. Hence, we aimed to describe the care pathways and diagnostic delay among cervical cancer patients.Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 101 cervical cancer patients attending a cancer clinic at a Regional Cancer Center. The histo-pathologically confirmed cases of cervical cancer, who registered in July to October 2018 were approached. Data were collected through personal interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the number of providers visited and diagnostic delay.Results: The median (range) number of providers visited by the patients up to diagnosis was 2 (1-5). As the first point of care, 14% of participants approached sub-center or primary care facilities, 27% approached secondary care facilities, 49% participants approached tertiary care facilities and 11% came directly to a regional cancer center. Diagnosis was made only in 24% of participants at secondary and tertiary care levels. The median (IQR) number of days to get diagnosed was 66 (30-130) days and three fourth of the patients had a diagnostic delay.Conclusions: The diagnostic delay was higher among patients who consulted multiple providers. Implementing a protocol to be followed at all three levels of health care delivery system may enhance the early diagnosis.

No abstract