Objective: The objective of present study was to examine the non-adherence among tuberculosis patients to antitubercular drugs and the factors associated with non-adherence. Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted in department of pharmacology Government Medical College, Kathua in collaboration with the district tuberculosis centre, Kathua for a period of four months. TB Patients on treatment for last 8 w were included in the study. The pre validated questionnaire was provided to patients and their responses were analysed. Morisky’s Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-4) was used to assess adherence/non-adherence to antitubercular drugs. Results: Total 72 patients were included in trial and out of which 60(83.33%) were males and12 (16.66%) were females and the maximum were between 40-50y (38%) of age, mostly illiterate (50%) and from lower socioeconomic status (38%). Out of 60 male patients, 48(80%) showed adherence to anti-tuberculosis drugs, while remaining 12(20%) were non-adherent. Whereas 10females (83%) were adherent and 2 (16.66%) were non-adherent. Forgetfulness (42%), followed by illiteracy (21.4%) and longer distance from health institute (14%) were main reasons for non-adherence. Conclusion: Present study has shown non-adherence is maximum among males, illiterate, low socioeconomic group, longer distance from the health institution.

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Background: Adverse effects are usually dose dependent and can be influenced by patient characteristics including age and gender and these confounding factors should be considered in clinical practice and in the interpretation of research data. Selection of an antipsychotic drug should be on an individual patient basis. Patients should be involved in prescribing decisions and this should involve discussion about adverse drug reactions and their severity. Objective: Current study was carried out with the aim to look into the severity with which the adverse drug reactions were associated with various antipsychotics used in our day to day practice. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective observational study conducted over a period of one year in the Outpatient Department of Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHNS), Government Medical College Srinagar. An assessment of severity was done using modified Hartwig and Siegel scale. Results: A total of 100 ADRs of different types were observed in 77 patients out of total 177 patients included in our study, with an overall prevalence of about 43.5%. Most (83.0%) of the ADRs were mild in severity while ADRs moderate in severity were found in only 17 (17.0%) according to modified Hartwig and Siegel scale. None of the reported ADRs belonged to 'severe' or 'lethal' category. There was no statistically significant relationship between development of ADRs with age (p=0.8) or sex (p=0.6) of the patients included in the study. Conclusion: Although with the utilization of antipsychotics, the prevalence of ADRs in our study was as high 43.5%, most of them (83%) were mild in nature and only 17% of them were of moderate severity and none of our patients showed the development of any severe ADR which would lead them to discontinue the therapy.

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Objective: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and its association with negative emotions may increase their risk forthe development of mental health disorders. The main objective of the study was to assess the awareness, stress, anxiety, and depression amonghypertensive patients attending cardiac outpatient department (OPD).Methods: This study was conducted in cardiac OPD of Super Speciality Hospital associated with Government Medical College, Jammu, for a period of1-month commencing from 1st October to 31 October 2015. Hypertensive patients were given a questionnaire regarding socio-demographic profile,risk factors, and awareness for high blood pressure, and prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression was assessed using a structured validatedquestionnaire DASS-21 [depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21].stResults: It was observed that most (72.5%) of the patients were aware of symptoms and its complications and regarding psychological symptomsmild to severe depressive symptoms were present in 10%, anxiety in 70%, and stress in 10% of patients.Conclusion: There is need of psychiatric evaluation and counseling in these patients and support services to be made available to these patients.Keywords: Hypertension, Awareness, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Depression; anxiety and stress scale-21.