The Risk Status of Waiting Areas for Airborne Infection Control in Delhi Hospitals

Singh, Raja

doi:10.7759/cureus.23211

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A pertinent factor making this study unique is that it has been performed using India's transparency lay, i.e., the Right to Information Act, 2005 [16], which ensures that the information is most reliable. This has been used in previous studies from other government institutions in India [17][18][19]. This is because the information has been provided by the educational institutions themselves, that too by a senior ranking officer of the institution responsible for the actual implementation, and is provided under seal and signature of the educational institution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliance with the provisions related to higher educational institutes of anti-tobacco/smoking law by institutes of national importance in India.

Singh

2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

India formulated an anti-tobacco and anti-smoking law in 2003 in response to its resolutions in the United Nations bodies. This law has been detailed subsequently to make it focussed on educational institutions, which are supposed to perform on-ground action. The first is to put up signboards prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products within 100 yards, the second is prohibiting smoking within the campus, and the third is implementing the law and collecting fines from the offenders. The focus of this paper is on Indias premier educational institutions called the Institutions of National Importance by the Indian legislature. These are Indias public institutions which have a focus of the government in making them high quality. The paper checked for the compliance of the Indian anti-smoking and anti-tobacco laws in 79 of these institutions. The Right to Information Act, 2005, Indias transparency law, was used to file applications for information, and certified information from the institutions was collected and reported. The results show an overall weak compliance with the law. Indias health regulators and educational watchdogs must implement anti-smoking and anti-tobacco laws strictly in Indian educational institutions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliance with the provisions related to higher educational institutes of anti-tobacco/smoking law by institutes of national importance in India.

Singh

2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A pertinent factor making this study unique is that it has been performed using India's transparency law, i.e., the Right to Information Act of 2005, which ensures that the information is most reliable [18]. This has been used in previous studies from other government institutions in India [19][20][21]. The information is reliable because it has been provided by the educational institutions themselves, that too by a senior ranking officer of the institution responsible for the actual implementation, and is provided under seal and signature of the educational institution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliance With Higher Education-Related Tobacco Control Law Provisions by Institutions of National Importance in India

Singh¹

2023

Cureus

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionIndia formulated an anti-tobacco and anti-smoking law in 2003 in response to its resolutions in the United Nations' bodies. This law has been detailed subsequently to make it focussed on educational institutions, which are supposed to perform on-ground action in a decentralized manner. The first step is to put up signboards prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products within 100 yards, the second is prohibiting smoking within the campus, and the third is implementing the law related to collecting fines from the offenders as well as the presence of vendors within 100 yards. Additional information on awareness activities was also sought. The focus of this paper is on India's premier educational institutions called the "Institutions of National Importance" by the Indian legislature. These are India's premier public institutions which have the maximum focus of the Indian government by making them of high quality, and noncompliance with the tobacco control law in these institutions should be taken seriously. MethodsThe paper checked for compliance with the Indian Tobacco Control Law in 79 of these Institutions of National Importance. The requirement for information to be collected from institutions was first derived from the legal act and the rules. Then, the Right to Information Act of 2005, India's transparency law, was used to file applications for information, and certified information from the institutions was collected and reported. ResultsOnly 39.2% of the institutions had the requisite boards prohibiting sales within 100 yards of the institutions. The requirement of having boards prohibiting smoking fared a little better at 73.4% of institutions complying but was not universal. A total of 43% of institutions denied the information pertaining to the collection of fines, either by not providing a requisite reply or stating that this was not part of the record. The information regarding the presence of vendors was not universally supplied with 65.8% of institutions stating the same to not in record or not within the purview. With respect to the awareness activities though, 72.2% of the institutions stated to have some awareness activity for tobacco control and cessation. ConclusionThe results show an overall weak compliance with the law. India's health regulators and educational watchdogs must implement anti-smoking and anti-tobacco laws strictly in Indian educational institutions as this is where young people are found. Something as simple as the installation of signboards by educational institutions cannot be overlooked by them. The law must become stricter with deterrence. This must be most intense in the Institutions of National Importance which form the premier institutions in India and become the role model for other institutions in India.

show abstract

Studying the Double Paradox in Air Conditioning at Indian Airports for Airborne Infection Prevention and Filtration of Harmful Suspended Particulate Matter

Singh¹

2022

Cureus

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Airports are hubs of diverse human interactions. During pandemics, they may serve as centers for the spread of airborne infection. Appropriate methods for the prevention of the spread of airborne infections must be integrated into the air conditioning systems of airports. Along with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation and other sanitization methods, dilution ventilation can be the easiest and most available method for the prevention of airborne infection, which means the intake of outside air into the indoors, which flushes out the aerosolized droplets containing pathogens. Though this process has been adopted by multiple buildings in reaction to the pandemic, it may present the challenge of intake of high concentration of suspended particulate matter in the intake air, a major air pollutant in developing countries, which may enter through the air conditioning systems. Appropriate filtration is necessary so that along with dilution ventilation for airborne disease prevention, the risk of suspended particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micron or PM 2.5 induced lung issues is also reduced. Methodology The Right to Information Act, 2005, was used to file applications for information on the details of the air conditioning systems in Indian airports. The 58 airports in the study were also listed according to the list of cities that fall under the criteria for non-attainment of good air quality standards. Results Out of 58 airports considered, 27 fell in the ‘non-attainment’ of good air quality list. On appraisal of filter systems, it was found that 23 had an intake of fresh air but only five had filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 10 and above in their air conditioning systems, as is recommended for filtration of suspended particulate matter. Conclusion It can be concluded that most airports did not have the appropriate filter required for filtering PM 2.5 , which is a major pollutant in Indian cities. In light of coronavirus disease 2019, where dilution ventilation through the intake of outdoor air is suggested, it may also lead to the entry of air with high particulate matter into the indoors.

show abstract

The Risk Status of Waiting Areas for Airborne Infection Control in Delhi Hospitals

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

Compliance with the provisions related to higher educational institutes of anti-tobacco/smoking law by institutes of national importance in India.

Compliance with the provisions related to higher educational institutes of anti-tobacco/smoking law by institutes of national importance in India.

Compliance With Higher Education-Related Tobacco Control Law Provisions by Institutions of National Importance in India

Studying the Double Paradox in Air Conditioning at Indian Airports for Airborne Infection Prevention and Filtration of Harmful Suspended Particulate Matter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About