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Introduction:In India, intestinal parasitic infection and anemia remain the most important cause of morbidity especially among the adolescent school children due to lack of awareness of personal hygiene practices, leading to intestinal parasite infections which could in turn lead to anemia.Aim:This study was conducted with the aim to find out the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection and anemia among adolescent female school children in an urban area of Tamil Nadu.Materials and Method:This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among adolescent female school children in Anakaputhur area of Kancheepuram district. Three schools were selected randomly from a total of eight schools in the study area. Universal sampling was applied in each school, and a total of 250 willing children participated in the study. Early morning stool specimen was collected for microscopic examination and hemoglobin estimation was done. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data which were analyzed using SPSS version 22.Results:The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was found to be 36% with Entamoeba histolytica being the commonly isolated organism (23.2%) followed by Giardia intestinalis (5.2%), Hookworm (4.4%), and Ascaris lumbricoides (3.2%). The prevalence of anemia among them was found to be 84.8% with mild, moderate, and severe anemia being 12.8%, 46.8%, and 25.2%, respectively. Statistically significant association was found between intestinal parasitic infection and open field defecation, inadequate hand washing practices, and anemia.Conclusion:The study reveals high prevalence of anemia and intestinal parasitic infection among female school children. Preventive measures such as periodic deworming and health education about nutritional balanced diet, iron supplements, and personal hygiene practices have to be given to both the parents and their children to prevent and reduce disease burden.

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Introduction: In India, though the prevalence of alcohol consumption is low, nearly half of the alcoholic consumers fall into the category of hazardous drinking. There have been rapid changes in the trends and pattern of alcohol use in India. Aims: The study was carried to find out the pattern of alcohol consumption, associated morbidities, and its association with related factors in an urban area of Tamil Nadu. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study done among adult males >18 years of age in Kancheepuram district Tamil Nadu. Among the 400 study participants selected by simple random sampling, 156 were found to be alcohol consumers. A pre-tested structured questionnaire and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to identify the pattern of alcohol consumption and the associated health morbidities. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22. Results: It was found that 67% of alcohol consumers had a problematic drinking pattern with 52.5% having a hazardous/harmful drinking pattern and 14.7% were found to be dependent alcoholics. The associated factors of problem drinking among the alcohol consumers were illiteracy, having a history of tobacco use, being unmarried/divorced and consuming alcohol in wine shops. The health morbidities that were found to be associated with alcohol consumption were hypertension, gastritis/peptic ulcer disease, and psychiatric illnesses. Conclusion: More than half of the alcohol consumers had a problematic drinking pattern, which is an alarming public health problem. All the current drinkers in a community have to be screened for problematic drinking pattern and it has to be supplemented with referral services, health promotion, behavioral change communication to the alcohol consumer, and his family members.

Introduction: Maternal morbidity and mortality is still a major public health challenge. Lack of proper birth plan and delay in identification of pregnancy complications is one of the major causes of maternal morbidities and deaths, especially in the rural areas. Aim: The study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the health-seeking behaviour for obstetric care services among the antenatal and postnatal mothers in a rural area of Tamil Nadu. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among antenatal and postnatal mothers registered in the Rural Health Training Centre, in Sripuram area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu during 2017. About 150 antenatal and 150 postnatal mothers were selected by simple random sampling method. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data which was analysed using the SPSS version 22. Results: Only 21% of the study participants had adequate knowledge regarding the danger signs of pregnancy and the major determinants were maternal literacy and adequate prenatal care. Regarding the health-seeking behaviour, 62.3% of them preferred primary health centres as preferred place of delivery, 87.3% of them had received adequate prenatal care and it was found to have statistically significant association with adequate gestational weight gain, exclusive breastfeeding, proper weaning practices and consumption of iron and folic acid supplements. Conclusion: The study shows the need to provide health education regarding the danger signs of pregnancy and importance of adequate prenatal care to all pregnant women and expectant mothers, to make them aware of when and how to seek medical care, which in turn could reduce the overall maternal morbidity and mortality.