Journal of Global Public Health

Introduction: Alcohol was a part of meal as well as staple in many cultural diets. In addition it was used in celebration of birth and other ceremonies. The use of drug, including alcohol began as a part of tribal ritual. As people became aware of tension reducing and relaxation properties of these substances their use for this purpose increased. In early times alcohol was used to cleanse wounds, as an anesthetic and as an ingredient in salves and tonics. Alcohol was considered to be a divine drink, but gradually its use become more and more common in public leading to opening of the liquor shops in almost every part of universe. People started an indiscriminate use of alcohol leading to various health problems in them and their families. About 2 billion people worldwide consume alcoholic drinks. Over 76 million people are currently affected by alcohol used disorder such as alcohol dependence and abuse. According to 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 86.4% people ages 18 or older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime. Aims: This study aims to, 1. To assess the prevalence of alcoholism among people residing in village Lakhnour, Mohali. 2. To find the association between the prevalence scores of alcoholic subjects with their demographic variables. Materials and methods: A descriptive study was conducted to assess the prevalence of alcoholism among men residing in village Lakhnour, Mohali, Punjab. After getting permission from the area in-charge, a survey was done using a AUDIT questionnaire including socio-demographic variables. Lakhnour is a village of 168 houses with a population of 1080. Out of 168 houses, 76 houses have alcoholics. Random sampling technique was used and the data was collected from 76 subjects in the age group of 30–80 yrs in the month of October 2018. The total score is 40 and it is divided into low risk (0–7), moderate risk (8–15), high risk (16–19) and very high risk (>20) alcoholics. A written consent was obtained from the subjects before conducting the study. The collected data was analysed by using descriptive statistics. Results: The results shows that most of the alcoholics are males (100%) in the age group from 30-40 yrs (35%), are farmers (38.1%) and have family income of Rs.10,000–Rs.20,000 (77.6%). Majority of the men 34 (44.7%) are high risk alcoholics, 32 (42.1%) are very high risk alcoholics and 10 (13.1%) are moderate risk alcoholics. The study also shows that there is no significant association between the prevalence scores of alcoholic subjects and their demographic variables at the level of p> 0.05 significance. Conclusion: Alcohol damages the liver, heart, pancreas, lungs and kidneys. People who consume it are more prone to infections and have poor immunity. They tend to suffer from hypertension, obesity, diabetes, kidney failure, prostate and urology cancers. Hence alcoholism is a serious threat to the health of the country and proper action is needed at the grass-root level.

Keywords: Alcohol; Prevalence; Consumption, Risk factor.

A pre-experimental one group pre-test post-test research design was used for the study. 30 sample taken from Little Pearls High school, Hyderabad were selected by simple random sampling technique. Sociodemographic data were assessed using structured questionnaire. Knowledge assessed by structured questionnaire as pre-test followed by structured teaching program implemented and then again knowledge assessed by structured questionnaire as post-test. Data were analysed and interpreted by descriptive and inferential statistics. Results and Conclusion: The analysis revealed that overall pre-test scores on knowledge related to traffic rules among children were mean 42.63 (SD = 97.47), whereas in post-test highest mean was observed 85.26 (SD = 229.5) with a paired “t” value 14.96 which is highly significant. There is a significant association between demographic variables and knowledge score. Keywords:

Knowledge; Structured teaching program; Traffic rules; Students.

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is one of the important goals of any health care institution. While the health care industry is going through a rapid transformation to meet the needs of its clientele, it is not always easy to measure their satisfaction level, as it depends on many factors such as behaviour of doctor and other health staff, cost and quality of clinical and laboratory services, hospital infrastructure, physical comfort, emotional support and respect for the patient and their attenders etc. Present study was undertaken to study the level of patient satisfaction and its determinants, with a view to improve quality of patient care, in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted over a period of three months i.e. from 01 January 2019 to 31 March 2019. Using purposive sampling method, a total of 90 patients were randomly selected by lottery method from different Indoor Clinical departments, except Paediatric ward. A semi -structured questionnaire was used comprising of 30 items to measure core dimension of patient satisfactions. Scoring was done using five-point Likert scale, with 1 and 5 indicating the lowest and highest levels of satisfaction, respectively. Results: The overall satisfaction level of patients in present study was found to be 73.5%. Majority (82.2%) of the patients expressed satisfaction over the assistance given at registration desk while three fourth (88.8%) of the patients were happy with time devoted by the doctor to attend them in the wards. Patients were also satisfied with the behaviour of the doctors and other staff. However, 71.1% of the patients were dissatisfied with the taste and Quality of food and its available canteen facilities. Conclusion: Present study brings out that patients were satisfied with the quality of professional services in the hospital and behaviour of doctors, nursing and paramedical staff.

Keywords: Patient; Satisfaction; Hospital services; Behaviour.

Background: “Blue Whale Challenge”, is a social network phenomenon which has allegedly been claimed to be an online “suicide game” aiming adolescents and young adults. The story of the Blue Whale challenge began with Rina Palenkova, an adolescent from South-eastern Russia who posted a selfie on 22 November 2015, with a black scarf wrapped around her mouth and nose with her middle finger up at the camera looking as if it’s covered with dried blood. The photo’s caption read: “Nya bye” “which in Russian language means“good bye “The next day, she took her own life. Later in May 2016, an article in Russian newspaper reported many suicides among teenagers and linked these to a Russian-based VK social network. Thereafter nearly 130 claims of suicide have been made so far linked to the “Blue whale game” all over the world, including India. Present study was undertaken to assess the impact of this deadly game of “Blue Whale Game” among the adolescent students in Thrissur, Kerala. Material and methods: Present study was a cross sectional study conducted among adolescent students of 06–12 grade of Vidya Vihar Central School, Kakkasery, Thrissur. A total of 189 students were enrolled in the study. Results: Present study revealed that 74.5% of students used internet every day for 2–6 hours. Further, 84.7% of them were willing to take the challenges while 94.2% of them were willing to take the risk. The study brings out a negative impact of social media and internet use on academic performance as well as outdoor activities among the study subjects. Conclusion: The study brings out an urgent need to educate our children about the potential hazards of indiscriminate use of internet and malicious social networking sites.

Keywords: Blue whale Challenge; Social Media; Internet; Suicide.

Introduction: Health-care system in a society must be built around the term of equity so that each individual should have equal opportunities for maintaining good health, but human societies are characterized by unevenness at every aspect, and it has even not spared the health-care system. Planning for health services provision depends on the health needs and Health Seeking Behavior of the population. Aim of study: The study is intended to assess the utilization of health services among population residing in selected rural community of district Faridkot. Methodology: Quantitative research approach with descriptive research design was used. 200 adults residing in selected village were selected through two stage cluster random sampling technique. Tools used were Socio-demographic data sheet and interview schedule to assess utilization of health services from study subjects after seeking willingness. Analysis was done by using the descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Study reported that out of 200 study subjects residing in village Bajakhana, majority of study subjects i.e. 63.5% (127) were sick and 36.5% (73) study subjects were not sick in the last one year. From 127 study subjects who were sick, maximum 86.6% (110) of study subjects had taken treatment and rest of 13.3% (17) study subjects had not taken treatment. Age, religion, qualification, occupation and marital status of adults showed statistically significant impact on utilization of health care services Conclusion: Study concluded that health care seeking behavior varies with age, educational status, occupation, marital status and religion. Government services were preferred than the private services by study population.

Keywords: Assess, Health Services, Utilization, Rural Community.