Introduction: The Government of Tamil Nadu, India, mandated wearing face masks in public places to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We established face mask surveillance and estimated the prevalence of appropriate mask use (covering the nose, mouth, and chin) in the slums and non-slums of Chennai at different time points in 2021.
Methods: We conducted three serial cross-sectional surveys in the outdoors and indoors of Chennai in March, July, and October 2021.
Background: Wearing a mask is one of the simplest ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Studies reported poor mask compliance in Greater Chennai Corporation, India. Hence, we described the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding mask use among adults (≥18 years) in Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu, India.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: At present, there are no validated quantitative scales available to measure patient-centred quality of care in health facilities providing services for tuberculosis (TB) patients in India and low-income and middle-income countries.
Methods: Initial themes and items reflective of TB patient's perceived quality of care were developed using qualitative interviews. Content adequacy of the items were ascertained through Content validity Index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR).
We estimated the effectiveness of two doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Covishield) vaccine against any COVID-19 infection among individuals ≥45 years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A community-based cohort study was conducted from May to September 2021 in a selected geographic area in Chennai. The estimated sample size was 10,232.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe the characteristics of contacts of patients with COVID-19 case in terms of time, place and person, to calculate the secondary attack rate (SAR) and factors associated with COVID-19 infection among contacts.
Design: A retrospective cohort study SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Contacts of cases identified by the health department from 14 March 2020to 30 May 2020, in 9 of 38 administrative districts of Tamil Nadu. Significant proportion of cases attended a religious congregation.
Introduction: Delaying care-seeking for tuberculosis (TB) symptoms is a major contributor to mortality, leading to worse outcomes and spread. To reduce delays, it is essential to identify barriers to care-seeking and target populations most at risk of delaying. Previous work identifies barriers only in people within the health system, often long after initial care-seeking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the establishment of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and new food safety regulations, a precedent has been set to prevent foodborne illness in India. The objective of the authors' study was to identify knowledge gaps among food handlers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to establish priorities for future intervention. A 44-question survey was administered to 156 food handlers at 36 restaurants in Chennai between April and June of 2011.
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