Classroom intervention to improve behavioral intention toward regular physical activity among adolescents.

Background: During adolescence, a critical phase in human life, the groundwork for a healthful future is established. Physical inactivity poses a significant risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and related mortality worldwide. To assess adolescents' behavioral intentions regarding regular physical activity, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) examines 'Attitude,' 'Subjective norm,' and 'Perceived behavioral control.

Home-Isolation Care in Newly COVID-19-Positive Elderly Patients: A Caregiver-Centric Explanatory Framework.

This community-based study aimed to identify the effect of different behavioral factors of family caregivers on the decision for home-isolation-based treatment of a new COVID-19-diagnosed elderly individual. It also explored the facilitators and barriers contributing to the decision-making process. A mixed-methods design was adopted to study the role of behavioral constructs such as risk tolerance, risk aversion, regret aversion, loss aversion, self-efficacy, and risk perception in healthcare-seeking decisions.

School-based intervention on behavioral intention of adolescents regarding healthy diet in India.

Introduction: Adolescence is a distinctive period of life when intense physical, psychological, and cognitive development occurs. A healthy diet helps prevent various forms of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The current study aimed to assess the change in behavioral intentions (measured based on the TPB) toward healthy dietary practices through health promotion intervention among adolescents studying in selected schools in an urban area of West Bengal, India.

Perceived behavioral control regarding regular physical activity and healthy diet: An observational study among school-going adolescents in an urban area of West Bengal, India.

Background: Healthy children are the foundation for a healthy and developing nation. Perceived behavioral control (PBC), comprising control belief and perceived power, is a person's perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behavior of interest. For facilitating regular physical activity and regular healthy dietary practices among the adolescents, PBC is an important construct to develop and implement appropriate interventions.

A cross-sectional study on assessment of perceived threat to cervical cancer using health belief model among women in a slum area of Kolkata.

Background: Despite the implementation of various cervical cancer preventive strategies by the Government of India, there is a scarcity of knowledge and consequent low utilization of cervical cancer screening services among women in India. This contributes to the burden of cervical cancer among Indian women. This study was conducted to assess perceived threat-regarding cervical cancer among women and to identify its explanatory factors in a slum area of Kolkata.

Treatment of Unspecific Back Pain in Children and Adolescents: Results of an Evidence-Based Interdisciplinary Guideline.

Using a structured approach and expert consensus, we developed an evidence-based guideline on the treatment and prevention of non-specific back pain in children and adolescents. A comprehensive and systematic literature search identified relevant guidelines and studies. Based on the findings of this literature search, recommendations on treatment and prevention were formulated and voted on by experts in a structured consensus-building process.

Etiology, Risk Factors, and Diagnosis of Back Pain in Children and Adolescents: Evidence- and Consensus-Based Interdisciplinary Recommendations.

Using a structured approach and expert consensus, we developed an evidence-based guideline on the diagnosis of back pain and the treatment of non-specific back pain in children and adolescents. The first part comprises etiology, risk factors, and diagnosis. The second part, published in the same issue, includes treatment and prevention.

Determinants of Treatment Adherence Among Patients Living With Noncommunicable Diseases: A Mixed-Method Study in a Rural Area of West Bengal.

The multisectoral impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can impair treatment adherence of patients with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This mixed-method study, conducted from November 2020 to January 2021, assessed the quantum of their treatment adherence and its determinants in rural West Bengal. Quantitative data were collected from 213 NCD patients while qualitative exploration for barriers of treatment adherence was conducted as 6 in-depth Interviews.

Role of Threat and Coping Appraisal in Protection Motivation for Adoption of Preventive Behavior During COVID-19 Pandemic.

With more than 100 million cases and over 2 million deaths globally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to remain a major threat. Identifying the behavioral factors influencing preventive behaviors for COVID-19 are crucial in devising public health policies to promote essential strategies to combat the pandemic in an efficient manner. The current study was therefore conducted to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 preventive behaviors and measure their association with behavioral constructs like threat perception, response efficacy, and self-efficacy, as per socio-demographic background.

Health Care Seeking Behavior in a Scheduled Tribe Community in India: A Mixed Methods Research Using the Framework of Andersen's Behavioral Model.

India's scheduled tribe population very often bears the brunt of inequity in accessing health care. The mixed-method research assessed the health care seeking behavior (HSB) of a tribal community residing in the eastern fringes of Kolkata metropolis. An adult, preferably the head, in 209 households was interviewed followed by qualitative interviews with relevant stakeholders.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents with chronic pain.

Objective: Despite high comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain evident in adult populations, little research has been conducted in the pediatric population to assess this association. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of trauma and PTSD in pediatric patients with chronic pain. Additionally, investigation into whether the Child Report of Posttraumatic Symptoms (CROPS) is a valid PTSD screening tool for this patient population and identification of an appropriate clinical cutoff for screening PTSD was undertaken.

Efficacy of adding interoceptive exposure to intensive interdisciplinary treatment for adolescents with chronic pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Fear of pain plays an important role in the maintenance of chronic pain. It may be reduced through exposure therapy. This 2-arm parallel samples randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate whether interoceptive exposure (IE) therapy enhances reductions in fear of pain (primary outcome), pain (pain intensity, pain-related disability, and school absence), and emotional characteristics (anxiety and catastrophizing) when implemented as an adjunctive treatment in the context of intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment for pediatric chronic pain patients.

Determinants of menstrual hygiene among school going adolescent girls in a rural area of West Bengal.

Background: Menstrual hygiene is a neglected issue in rural India. Lack of menstrual hygiene in adolescent girls can make them susceptible to various morbidities, for example, reproductive tract infection and urinary tract infection and their long-term consequences, for example, cervical cancer, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. This study aims to find out the determinants of menstrual hygiene among the school going adolescent girls in a rural area of West Bengal.

Personal vis-a-vis social responsibility for disparities in health status: An issue of justice.

Health inequities are disparities which can be avoided through rational actions on the part of policymakers. Such inequalities are unnecessary and unjust and may exist between and within nations, societies, and population groups. Social determinants such as wealth, income, occupation, education, gender, and racial/ethnic groups are the principal drivers of this inequality since they determine the health risks and preventive behaviors, access to, and affordability of health care.

The role of sanitation in malnutrition--a science and policy controversy in India.

Over the past decade, India's economic growth has been remarkable - yet almost half of India's children under 5 remain stunted. The National Food Security Bill is the country's response to this critical situation. Studies reveal that Indian children are chronically undernourished, not only because of lack of food but also because of recurring gastrointestinal infections.

Inpatient-based intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment for highly impaired children with severe chronic pain: randomized controlled trial of efficacy and economic effects.

Pediatric chronic pain, which can result in deleterious effects for the child, bears the risk of aggravation into adulthood. Intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) might be an effective treatment, given the advantage of consulting with multiple professionals on a daily basis. Evidence for the effectiveness of IIPT is scarce.

Influence of parental occupation on access to specialised treatment for paediatric chronic pain: a retrospective study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine patients' travel distances to a tertiary paediatric pain clinic and to analyse the association between travel distance and the parents' occupational skill level and the patients' pain characteristics.

Patients And Methods: The retrospective study consisted of 2,248 children assessed at the first evaluation. All children (0-20 years) who visited the clinic during a 5-year period (2005-2010) were enrolled in this study.

Social determinants of good hand-washing practice (GHP) among adolescents in a rural Indian community.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 5 randomly selected villages to assess prevalence of good hand-washing practice (GHP) among adolescents, and describe the social determinants. The prevalence of adolescent GHP was 32.1% (95% CI = 27.

Health promotion for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases: unfinished agenda.

The magnitude of Non Communicable diseases demands urgent attention. Common, preventable risk factors underlie most NCDs. These include behavioural risk factors and metabolic risk factors.