No abstract

Malnutrition among children in developing countries is a major public health problem, especially in India. Inappropriate feeding practices, in combination with other causes such as infection and food shortage, may be responsible for 1/3rd of malnutrition. Moreover, the risk of mortality is inversely related to children's height-for-age and weight-for-height. The aim: To assess the nutritional status of children aged 2 to 5 years in the urban field practice area of SVIMS-Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women, Tirupati and to determine the impact of low birth weight, breastfeeding practices and other related factors on the nutritional status of the above study population. Materials and methods: This is a community-based observational cross-sectional study conducted among 282 children aged 2 to 5 years in the urban field practice area of SVIMS-Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women, Tirupati. Socio-demographic data, Birth history, breastfeeding practices and anthropometric measurements were noted in the study questionnaire. Nutritional status was determined using HAZ, WHZ and WAZ scores of WHO child growth standards. Data was entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 version to test for association between categorical variables, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 282 school children with mean age of 39.9 (+10.4) months participated in the study, of which 132 (46.8 %) were boys and 150 (53.2 %) were girls. This study observed exclusive breastfeeding in 193 (68.4 %) children. Prevalence of stunting, wasting and being underweight were 22 %, 12.4 % and 23.8 %, respectively. A statistically significant association was found between stunting (p=0.006) and underweight (p=0.001) with low birth weight children. Conclusions: The present study revealed a high prevalence of malnutrition, especially stunting, a common outcome of long-term malnutrition among young children. Low birth weight and inappropriate breastfeeding practices result in long-term adverse consequences on the nutrition of preschool children, which should be prevented through appropriate strategies.

Background: World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 529,000 women die annually from maternal causes. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in the less developed countries. Every seven minutes - an Indian woman dies from complication related to pregnancy and child birth. For every woman who dies, 30 more women suffer injuries, infection and disability.Birth-Preparedness and Complication-Readiness (BP/CR) is a package to empower women, her family and the community to promote maternal and neonatal survival. It has been recognized as a standard component of the programs designed to make pregnancy safer.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics between May 2014-August 2014 at Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC). A total 274 pregnant women who had given consent for the study have been included in the study. Data was collected by interview in local language and a predesigned and pretested questionnaire. Socio-economic status was assessed according to Modified Kuppuswamy’s classification (as per June 2015 CPI index. BP/CR was calculated by a set of seven indicators which has been developed by the John Hopkin Bloomberg School of Public Health.Results: A total of 274 pregnant women have participated in the study. Only half of pregnant women (54.0) were well prepared by fulfilling atleast four indicators of BPCR. Pregnant women in the age group of >30 years, educational status of pregnant women Occupational status of both pregnant women and their husbands and regular antenatal checks ups and their husbands and joint family have significant associations for well birth preparedness and complication readiness (p<0.0005).Conclusions:Pregnant women in the age group of >30 years, educational status of pregnant women and their husbands and joint family have significant associations for well birth preparedness and complication readiness.

Background: Healthy aging is a process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well- being in older age. Objective of the present study is to assess the quality of life among elderly population using WHOQOL-BREF scale and to determine the association between socio demographic factors and quality of life.Methods: Community based cross- sectional study was conducted in the urban field practice areas of SVIMS-Sri Padmavathi Medical College for women, Tirupati for a period of one month (February 2019 to March 2019). Study population were Elderly of age 60 years and above. Total 60 elderly were included in the study. Quality of life was assessed using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.Results: Most of the study population was in the age group of 60-64 years, Most of them were females (71.7%). More than one third were illiterates (36.7%), 30% were studied up to primary school. 93.3% of study population were suffered from some form of illness. Mean total transformed score was high among ≥70 years compared to <70 years, Males were showing high mean total transformed score compared to females, literates were showing high score and persons with illness were showing high scores and persons without illness.Conclusions: It is concluded from this study that most of the elderly population are suffered from some form of illness. Overall quality of life is good among elderly within 70 years of age, males, literates and who are in living as married compared to their counter parts.