Background: Mental illness is multifactorial in its occurrence varying from place to place, thereby listing different opinions among communities. Religious, cultural beliefs play an important role in the perception of mental illness. This study aims to understand the community perceptions of urban, rural, and tribal areas and associate with sociodemographic factors. Aims: (1) To explore the knowledge, attitude, cultural beliefs, and practices with regard to mental illness among urban, rural, and tribal population of Mysuru. (2) To compare the knowledge, attitude, cultural beliefs, and practices with regard to mental illness among urban, rural and tribal population of Mysuru. Materials and Methods: Study design: It was a cross-sectional study conducted between January 2021 and March 2021 in urban (n = 100), Rural (n = 100), and Tribal (n = 100) field practise areas in Mysuru district among participants aged >18 years. A semi-structured questionnaire regarding their attitude, beliefs, and understanding about mental illness was drafted, and data were obtained from participants after taking their informed consent. Ethical clearance was obtained from the institute. Statistics: Chi-square analysis was done to see the association between sociodemographic variables and perceptions. Results: Participants held different opinions across three different zones. A significant association was seen between their age, place, education, occupation, and type of family with their perception about mental illness. Conclusion: We can conclude that age, place, education, and occupation play an important role in the varied perception regarding mental illness. Continuous and focused interventions have to be done among the community for a positive acceptance and reducing stigma toward mental illness.

Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease which emerged at the end of 2019 in China and soon took over the world. Interventional measures such as lockdown and health education were provided to contain the spread of the infection. The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the people of Mysuru and clarify any misconceptions regarding the disease or COVID-19 vaccination following the 2nd wave of the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2021 to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about the 2nd wave of COVID-19 among the people residing in Mysuru city. The aim was to correct any misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccination, black fungus and basic practices to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A sample size of 142 was interviewed with a questionnaire through a door-to-door survey. Results: Though awareness about black fungus and basic etiquette was present among the people, there was poor knowledge about the benefits and use of COVID-19 vaccination among the people. Conclusions: Providing health education is essential to provide knowledge to the public. However, clarifying their doubts and queries is also an essential component to ensure better attitude and widespread practice of the containment measures.

Introduction: In 2018, the Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), a part of the Ayushman Bharat scheme as a progressive step toward universal health coverage. The scheme was intended to provide health insurance for the socioeconomically deprived population. This study was undertaken to assess the coverage of the scheme and to assess the reduction in medical out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the urban slum dwellers in Mysuru. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for the study. Oral consent was taken from the participants before administering the questionnaire. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews. Statistical tests such as percentages and mean were calculated using SPSS software (Version 26, Licensed by JSSAHER). Results: The study was conducted among 104 individuals, of which 73% were females. Only 38 (33%) of the participants had PM-JAY cards while 59 (56.73%) did not have any health insurance. Thirty percentage (78.95%) of the card holders had utilized the insurance in the past 1 year and incurred an OOPE of Rs. 25,873/-. For all the cardholders, this amount was spent from their savings. Conclusion: The coverage of the scheme and OOPE reduction toward health care is still lacking. Greater measures need to be taken by medical officers, medicosocial workers, and other field workers to identify eligible households and help them avail the benefits of this scheme.

Objectives To assess the effect of maternal exposure to a specific food substance in the diet during her antenatal or postnatal period and comparing the acceptance of the same food in infant during feeding. Methods Mothers were recruited in JSS hospital, Mysuru, Karnataka when they came for antenatal visits after they have met inclusion criteria.Informed consent was signed by the mother after the study details and outcomes were explained by the principal investigator. Mothers were randomised into 3 groups: group A, group B and group C. Group A mothers were instructed to consume a diet containing 200 gm of spinach per meal 3–4 times in a week in their third trimester of pregnancy, group B mothers were instructed to consume 200 gm of spinach per meal 3–4 times in a week during the first three months immediate postnatal period and group C mothers served as controls as no dietary intervention were made. Mothers were advised regarding complementary feeding pattern to babies after 6 completed months as per IYCF guidelines .In addition, we modified the diet by introducing 30 gms of cooked spinach. The facial expression of the babies during each exposure was videotaped by the mothers which was then assessed by Neonatologist and Clinical psychologist. The principal investigator coded each video with a different assessment code and the results were analysed using Feeding infants behaviour and facial expression coding system (FIBFECS) scale.If a baby accepts the food without facial expression of distaste it is considered as ‘acceptance' in any exposure. If the baby does not accept the food, a maximum of 6 exposures on 6 different days is given .If the baby has facial expression of distaste even after 6th exposure, is accounted for as ‘unacceptance’ Results In comparision between the mothers, antenatally(gp-A) and postnatally (gp-B) with the control (gp_C), infants whose mother consumed spinach antenatally showed a higher rate of acceptance during complementary feeding with a significant p value of 0.025.Statistical analysis was done by ANOVA. Conclusions Exposure of flavours to babies antenatally or postnatally did show benefit in uptake of the food during complementary feeding. This indicates that the influence of the maternal feeding habits on the child's psychology does exists, and the idea that when the child is exposed repeatedly, the dislike to certain foods may decrease. Funding Sources None.