Delphi Survey of Items for the Test of Stuttering Screening in Children (TSSC).

Purpose: Stuttering is a fluency disorder that mostly begins in childhood and affects many people in our societies. No standardized screening tools are available to check for stuttering in the Indian school-going population. Thus, the study aimed at developing a screening tool to identify children who stutter among the school-going population using a Delphi-based approach.

Association between Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) index and neurocognitive function among people living with HIV-a cross sectional study in coastal South India.

Background: HIV is an infectious disease affecting 36.7 million people worldwide. In recent times, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has become accessible to the majority of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and this has transformed the course of infection to one that is chronic, characterized by fewer diseases pathognomonic of AIDS.

Measurement of adherence to home-based exercises among community-dwelling stroke survivors in India.

Objectives: To develop an adherence questionnaire specific to stroke and measure the level of adherence to home-based exercises among community-dwelling stroke survivors.

Methods: We developed and validated the "Stroke-Specific Measure of Adherence to Home-based Exercises" (SS-MAHE). We measured the exercise adherence among 92 community-dwelling stroke survivors in a cross-sectional study.

In-Patient Mortality among PLHIV: A 7-Year Hospital-Based Retrospective Study in Coastal South India.

Background: With the wide usage of highly active antiretroviral therapy, the morbidity and mortality due to HIV have declined gradually. The aim of our study was to determine the cause of mortality among HIV-infected patients and the factors causing early death.

Methods: Using medical records of 73 inpatients who are dead, data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 19 (IBM SPSS Statistics).

Profile of cervical cancer patients attending Tertiary Care Hospitals of Mangalore, Karnataka: A 4 year retrospective study.

Objectives: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical profile of women presenting with cervical carcinoma and to identify factors associated with the timing of presentation and prognosis.

Materials And Methods: A record-based descriptive study was carried out from 1 February to 31 March 2014 at Tertiary Care Hospitals of Mangalore. The study population included women who were diagnosed with cervical carcinoma from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013.

Pretreatment elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein as a predictor of malarial complications.

Introduction: Complications of malaria can develop suddenly and unexpectedly. Although various parameters have been associated with severity of malaria, they have not been studied as predictors of these events. Many of the malarial complications are inflammatory in nature, and C-reactive protein (CRP) and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) could be early markers of these complications and might precede and predict the development of complications.

Fertility Desires and Intentions among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Southern India.

Introduction: The desire of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to have children can have significant public health implications. Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART) has increased the life expectancy of PLWHA as a result of which they may consider child bearing. There are hardly any studies from India addressing the fertility desires among PLWHA.

A systematic review of community-based health insurance programs in South Asia.

Background: Community-based health insurance (CBHI) has been evolving as an effective means of healthcare financing in many countries of South Asia. A systematic review in this context would give a comprehensive report of the performance of these schemes in terms of improving the health-seeking behaviour of the beneficiaries enrolled for the schemes.

Methods: Important databases like PubMed, Elsevier, SocINDEX (EBSCO), Cochrane Reviews, Medline and Scopus were reviewed along with relevant portals-Google Scholar, www.

Caregiver Burden among Adults Caring for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Southern India.

Introduction: In India, family caregivers provide bulk of care to People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Caregiver burden refers to the physical, emotional and financial hardships associated with providing care to a diseased individual. Attending to the needs of PLWHA can place a significant burden on family members.

Level of Satisfaction Among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) Attending the HIV Clinic of Tertiary Care Center in Southern India.

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is an important issue for the health care sector. Hospitals routinely collect patient satisfaction data so that they can improve the quality of their services. There is a dearth of research in the field of satisfaction among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in India.

Association between occupational history of exposure to tobacco dust and risk of carcinoma cervix: A case-control study.

Context: Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women in India. There is thus a need to identify unexplored risk factors such as occupational exposure to tobacco dust to justify its increasing trend so as to recommend suitable preventive measures.

Aims: The aim was to study the association between occupational exposure to tobacco dust with development of carcinoma cervix.

HIV Status Disclosure Among People Living with HIV in the Era of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART).

Introduction: As patients with HIV live longer due to Combination Anti-Retroviral Therapy (cART) serostatus disclosure becomes an important issue. Disclosure can have both positive and negative outcomes. Disclosure of HIV status has been associated with better adherence to medication and reduction in levels of psychological distress.

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy and its Determinants among Patients Attending a Tertiary Health Care Centre in Mangalore, India.

Background: The burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) is on the rise especially in developing countries like India. Due to its chronic nature DM tends to cause many debilitating complications and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of them. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of DPN among patients attending a tertiary care hospital and to identify the determinants associated with it.

Knowledge of first aid skills among students of a medical college in mangalore city of South India.

Background: The adequate knowledge required for handling an emergency without hospital setting at the site of the accident or emergency may not be sufficient as most medical schools do not have formal first aid training in the teaching curriculum.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge of medical students in providing first aid care.

Subjects And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during May 2011 among 152 medical students.

Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among People Living with HIV.

Background: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is now considered as a manageable chronic illness. There has been a dramatic reduction in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related morbidity and mortality due to antiretroviral therapy. A high level of adherence (>95%) is required for antiretroviral therapy to be effective.

Antihypertensive therapy: nocturnal dippers and nondippers. Do we treat them differently?

Hypertension is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Management of hypertension is generally based on office blood pressure since it is easy to determine. Since casual blood pressure readings in the office are influenced by various factors, they do not represent basal blood pressure.

Client satisfaction with HIV counseling services: a cross-sectional study from south India.

Background: Client satisfaction is a good predictor of performance of health programs. Hence, clients' perception and satisfaction studies provide insight to improve the program.

Purpose: To assess clients' perception and satisfaction with Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) for HIV in an operational setting.

Study of home-monitored night blood pressure and its correlation with left ventricular hypertrophy in treatment-naive hypertensive patients.

Introduction: 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring is a well-validated tool that can reveal the patient's nocturnal dipping pattern. However, to the best of our knowledge, the role of home BP monitoring in identifying nocturnal dipping has not been studied.

Methods: We evaluated the nocturnal BP of 30 treatment-naive subjects using a home BP monitoring device.