Menstruation in adolescent girls is often associated with menstruation related problems and poor practices. The study was planned to investigate the menstrual related problems and menstrual practices among school going adolescent girls. The study was a community based cross sectional study in a girls school in Nagpur. Majority of menstrual practices were significantly better in urban girls as compared to rural girls (P<0.05). Majority of the girls (71.83%) had at least one problem related to menstrual cycles. There was a significant difference in proportion of menstrual problems in rural and urban girls (P<0.01). Menstrual problems are a common source of morbidity in this population.

Background:Medication errors are probably one of the most common types of medical errors, as medication is the most common health-care intervention. Knowing where and when errors are most likely to occur is generally felt to be the first step in trying to prevent these errors.Objective:To study prescribing patterns and errors in pediatric OPD prescriptions presenting to four community pharmacies across Nagpur city and to compare the prescription error rates across prescriber profiles.Materials and Methods:The study sample included 1376 valid pediatric OPD prescriptions presenting to four randomly selected community pharmacies in Nagpur, collected over a period of 2 months. Confirmed errors in the prescriptions were reviewed and analyzed. The core indicators for drug utilization studies, mentioned by WHO, were used to define errors.Results:The 1376 prescriptions included in the study were for a total of 3435 drugs, prescribed by 41 doctors. Fixed dose formulations dominated the prescribing pattern, many of which were irrational. Prescribing by market name was almost universal and generic prescriptions were for merely 254 (7.4%) drugs. The prescribing pattern also indicated polypharmacy with the average number of drugs per encounter of 2.5. Antibiotics were included in 1087 (79%) prescriptions, while injectable drugs were prescribed in 22 (1.6%) prescriptions. The prescription error score varied significantly across prescriber profiles.Conclusion:The findings of our study highlight the continuing crisis of the irrational drug prescribing in the country.

Background: Quality Work Life is the quality of relationship between employees and the total working environment. Nurses are the largest group of employees in health care organization. QWL of nurses is influenced by many factors. Objectives of the study were to know the perceptions about QWL and the factors contributing in QWL of nurses working in Government Medical College and Hospital, Yavatmal. Methods: A present cross sectional study was carried out in 100 randomly selected nurses working at tertiary heath care institution. A composite scale was used for assessment of QWL in nurses. Descriptive statistics were calculated and independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA was used to determine the relationship between quality of work life and other demographic variables. Results: Mean age ± SD of study participants was 39 ± 9 years. The majority (>70%) of nurse respondents indicated that they were satisfied with items in the dimension of work environment life. Quality of work life in terms of organizational culture; 78% have received cooperation from respective department. However, 61% were unsatisfied due to gender discrimination. Significant differences (P<0.05) were found according to education, marital status, work experience, night shifts, per capita per month income, and support from family members. Conclusions: This research provides an initial step in understanding the work life of nurses in a tertiary health care setting. The present study showed that nurses' quality of work life is at the moderate level. This study also reveals significant association with socio-demographic characteristics of nurses and QWL.

Background: In any community, under-five children constitute one of the most vulnerable groups for nutritional deficiencies. The estimation of growth in children is vital for screening health status, identifying divergences from normality, and evaluating the efficiency of interventions. Composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) offers a single number to the overall evaluation of malnourished children in a population, which no other conventional indicators do. Objective: To estimate the overall prevalence of undernutrition among under-five children in an urban slum using CIAF and study some covariates associated with undernutrition. Materials and Methods: This community based cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban slum area of Nagpur city. Study subjects were under-five children residing in the slum, and respondents were their mothers. Data collection was done by conducting house-to-house survey, and information was recorded in predesigned pretested questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were recorded using standard techniques. Overall prevalence of undernutrition was estimated using CIAF. Result: The overall prevalence of undernutrition by CIAF among under-five children in urban slum area was found to be 58.59%. Covariates found to be significantly associated with undernutrition were lower socioeconomic status, illiteracy of mother, low birth weight, birth order, narrow birth interval, exclusive breastfeeding, immunization status, and childhood morbidities. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of undernutrition among under-five children was found to be 58.59%, which was higher than that estimated by conventional measures of undernutrition (underweight, stunting, and wasting). An aggregate and comprehensive measure of the total magnitude of undernutrition such as CIAF is a useful tool to quantify undernutrition, especially to identify children with multiple anthropometric failures.

No abstract