Message design strategies to raise public awareness of social determinants of health and population health disparities.

Context: Raising public awareness of the importance of social determinants of health (SDH) and health disparities presents formidable communication challenges.

Methods: This article reviews three message strategies that could be used to raise awareness of SDH and health disparities: message framing, narratives, and visual imagery.

Findings: Although few studies have directly tested message strategies for raising awareness of SDH and health disparities, the accumulated evidence from other domains suggests that population health advocates should frame messages to acknowledge a role for individual decisions about behavior but emphasize SDH.

Molecular characterization of shiga like toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates from pigs oedema.

Background & Objective: An oedema outbreak occurred in a Guwahati pig farm. Escherichia coli isolates from different necropsy samples collected from the dead piglets with oedema were characterized to confirm the virulence.

Methods: Haemolytic E.

Health problems and disability of elderly individuals in two population groups from same geographical location.

Objective: To compare morbidity, disability (ADL-IADL disability) along with behavioral and biological correlates of diseases and disability of two elderly population groups (tea garden workers and urban dwellers) living in same geographical location.

Methods: Two hundred and ninety three and 230 elderly from urban setting and tea garden respectively aged > 60 years were included in the study. Subjects were physical examined and activity of daily living instrumental activity of daily living (ADL-IADL) was assessed.

Japanese encephalitis in Assam, northeast India.

Japanese encephalitis is one of the major public health problems in Assam, northeast India. We aimed to elucidated the clinical and epidemiological profile of the disease during several outbreaks in Assam in 3 consecutive years. Cerebro-spinal fluid and or serum samples of 348 out of 773 clinically-suspected viral encephalitis patients admitted to different hospitals during the period June to August of 2000 to 2002 were tested for detection of JE specific IgM antibody, employing MAC ELISA test at RMRC (ICMR), Dibrugarh.

A cholera epidemic in a rural area of northeast India.

Sporadic cases of acute diarrhoea with high morbidity occur commonly in rural areas of northeast India, throughout the year. At times they take epidemic form and one such outbreak occurred with attack and case fatality rates of 11.6% and 0.