Study of the clinical manifestations and risk factors in people affected during the first Kyasanur Forest Disease outbreak in Goa, India: A mixed method study.

Background Objectives: Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) is a tick-borne, zoonotic viral hemorrhagic fever, previously known to be endemic to the state of Karnataka, India. The first outbreak of KFD in Goa state was reported in the Sattari taluka, in North Goa in 2015. This study aimed to investigate the outbreak and report the clinical manifestations and risk factors in people diagnosed with KFD.

Reducing the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: WHO Recommendations.

With population ageing worldwide, dementia poses one of the greatest global challenges for health and social care in the 21st century. In 2019, around 55 million people were affected by dementia, with the majority living in low- and middle-income countries. Dementia leads to increased costs for governments, communities, families and individuals.

Epidemiology and Clinical Profile of Snakebites in Goa and Surrounding Areas.

Background: Clinico-epidemiological profile of snake envenomation varies in different regions; however, data from India is inadequate. This study was planned to obtain such data from Goa, to help in quick identification of envenomation, prompt treatment and help in building a national database.

Methods: In this prospective observational study,all patients presenting to emergency department between April 2016 to August 2017 with history of snakebite and meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled and analysed.

Redesigning care for older people to preserve physical and mental capacity: WHO guidelines on community-level interventions in integrated care.

Islene Araujo de Carvalho and coauthors discuss the WHO guidelines on integrated care for older people.

Preventing Late-Life Depression: Lessons in Intervention Development From Goa, India.

We describe the development of an intervention strategy for the indicated prevention of depression in older adults living in Goa, India. Of particular novelty, the intervention is deliverable by lay health counselors and is grounded in problem solving therapy for primary care and brief behavioral treatment for insomnia. We have named the intervention "DIL" (the Hindi word for "heart" and an acronym for "depression in late life.

Prevalence and determinants of hypertension in apparently healthy schoolchildren in India: A multi-center study.

Background Hypertension in children is often under recognized, especially in developing countries. Data from rural areas of developing countries is particularly lacking. Objectives To study prevalence of hypertension and its determinants in apparently health school children from predominantly rural populations of India.

Intervention development for the indicated prevention of depression in later life: the "DIL" protocol in Goa, India.

Because depression is a major source of the global burden of illness- related disability, developing effective strategies for reducing its incidence is an important public health priority, especially in low-income countries, where resources for treating depression are scarce. We describe in this report an intervention development project, funded by the US National Institute of Mental Health, to address "indicated" prevention of depression in older adults attending rural and urban primary care clinics in Goa, India. Specifically, participants in the "DIL" ("Depression in Later Life") trial were older adults living with mild, subsyndromal symptoms of depression and anxiety and thus at substantial risk for transitioning to fully syndromal major depression and anxiety disorders.

Echocardiographic prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in Indian school children using World Heart Federation criteria - A multi site extension of RHEUMATIC study (the e-RHEUMATIC study).

Objectives: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) continues to be major public health burden in developing world. Echocardiographic screening in school children has shown that subclinical RHD cases are several times more than clinical cases. Recent reports have used World Heart Federation (WHF) criteria.

Socioeconomic patterning of chronic conditions and behavioral risk factors in rural South Asia: a multi-site cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Our aim was to examine relationships between markers of socioeconomic status and chronic disease risks in rural South Asia to understand the etiology of chronic diseases in the region and identify high-risk populations.

Methods: We examined data from 2271 adults in Chennai, Goa and Matlab sites of the Chronic Disease Risk Factor study in South Asia. We report age-sex adjusted odds ratios for risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, fruit-vegetable use and physical activity) and common chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, overweight, depression, impaired lung and vision) by education, occupation and wealth.

Aging and well-being in Goa, India: a qualitative study.

Objectives: The population of India is aging rapidly. This demographic shift brings with it a host of challenges to the health and well-being of older adults, including the increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases, among them depressive disorders. In this paper, we report on qualitative research intended to inform the development of a locally acceptable and appropriate intervention to improve the well-being of older adults in Goa, India and, specifically, to prevent late-life depression.

Calibrating EASY-Care independence scale to improve accuracy.

Background: there is currently limited support for the reliability and validity of the EASY-Care independence scale, with little work carried out in low- or middle-income countries. Therefore, we assessed the internal construct validity and hierarchical and classical scaling properties among frail dependent older people in the community.

Objective: we assessed the internal construct validity and hierarchical and classical scaling properties among frail dependent older people in the community.

Reference Equation for Six Minute Walk Test in Healthy Western India Population.

Introduction: The Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) is used to assess disease progression and survival in chronic cardiopulmonary disorders. However, variability is noted in the six minute walk test distance (6MWD) in different populations.

Aim: We aimed to develop a reference equation for 6MWD in healthy Western India population and compare the results with previously published Indian and Caucasian reference equations.

Complications in Advanced Diabetics in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Retrospective Registry-Based Study.

Introduction: Diabetes is a major public health problem in our country and complications of diabetes are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. There is a need to quantify the complications in order to improve our strategies for prevention and management.

Aim: To measure the prevalence of complications in type 2 diabetics following up at a tertiary care centre and to study its association with the socio-demographic and clinical parameters.

Associations between active travel and adiposity in rural India and Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Data on use and health benefits of active travel in rural low- and middle- income country settings are sparse. We aimed to examine correlates of active travel, and its association with adiposity, in rural India and Bangladesh.

Methods: Cross sectional study of 2,122 adults (≥18 years) sampled in 2011-13 from two rural sites in India (Goa and Chennai) and one in Bangladesh (Matlab).

Identifying common impairments in frail and dependent older people: validation of the COPE assessment for non-specialised health workers in low resource primary health care settings.

Background: Frail and dependent older people in resource-poor settings are poorly served by health systems that lack outreach capacity. The COPE (Caring for Older PEople) multidimensional assessment tool is designed to help community health workers (CHWs) identify clinically significant impairments and deliver evidence-based interventions

Methods: Older people (n = 150) identified by CHWs as frail or dependent, were assessed at home by the CHW using the structured COPE assessment tool, generating information on impairments in nutrition, mobility, vision, hearing, continence, cognition, mood and behaviour. The older people were reassessed by local physicians who reached a clinical judgment regarding the presence or absence of the same impairments based upon clinical examination guided by the EASY-Care assessment tool.

Prevention of depressive disorders in older adults: An overview.

Prevention of depressive disorders is one of the most important challenges for health care in coming decades. Depressive disorders in all age groups have a high disease burden and are associated with huge economic costs, and current treatments are only capable of taking away one-third of the (nonfatal) disease burden of depression under optimal conditions. Prevention may be one alternative strategy that may help in further reducing the disease burden of depression.

Spirituality, Religiosity, and Health: a Comparison of Physicians' Attitudes in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

Background: One of the biggest challenges in the spirituality, religiosity, and health field is to understand how patients and physicians from different cultures deal with spiritual and religious issues in clinical practice.

Purpose: The present study aims to compare physicians' perspectives on the influence of spirituality and religion (S/R) on health between Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

Method: This is a cross-sectional, cross-cultural, multi-center study carried out from 2010 to 2012, examining physicians' attitudes from two continents.

Scrub typhus in patients reporting with acute febrile illness at a tertiary health care institution in Goa.

Background & Objectives: Scrub typhus is one of the differential diagnoses of haemorrhagic fevers especially if associated with jaundice and/or renal failure. Goa State in the western region of India has been witnessing increased incidence of such fevers, therefore, the present study was undertaken to identify whether scrub typhus is the aetiological agent.

Methods: Adult patients presenting with undiagnosed febrile illness between June 2009 to October 2010, were evaluated.

Early intervention to reduce the global health and economic burden of major depression in older adults.

Randomized trials for selective and indicated prevention of depression in both mixed-aged and older adult samples, conducted in high-income countries (HICs), show that rates of incident depression can be reduced by 20-25% over 1-2 years through the use of psychoeducational and psychological interventions designed to increase protective factors. Recurrence of major depression can also be substantially reduced through both psychological and psychopharmacological strategies. Additional research is needed, however, to address the specific issues of depression prevention in older adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).