Prevalence of refractive errors among school-going children in a multistate study in India.

Aim: Much existing data on childhood refractive error prevalence in India were gathered in local studies, many now dated. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence, severity and determinants of refractive errors among school-going children participating in a multistate vision screening programme across India.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, vision screening was conducted in children aged 5-18 years at schools in five states using a pocket vision screener.

Service utilization and cost of implementing a comprehensive HIV prevention and care program among people who inject drugs in Delhi, India.

Background: WHO, UNODC, and UNAIDS recommend a comprehensive package for prevention, treatment, and care of HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID). We describe the uptake of services and the cost of implementing a comprehensive package for HIV prevention, treatment, and care services in Delhi, India.

Methods: A cohort of 3774 PWID were enrolled for a prospective HIV incidence study and provided the comprehensive package: HIV and hepatitis testing and counseling, hepatitis B (HB) vaccination, syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections, clean needles-syringes, condoms, abscess care, and education.

HIV, Hepatitis B and C among people who inject drugs: high prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C RNA positive infections observed in Delhi, India.

Background: India has large PWID (persons who inject drugs) population estimated at 177,000. PWIDs are at high risk for HIV, Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections. We report the prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV infections and correlates of HIV-HCV co-infection among male PWIDs in Delhi.

'Women at risk': the health and social vulnerabilities of the regular female partners of men who inject drugs in Delhi, India.

Needle and syringe sharing is common among people who inject drugs and so is unprotected sex, which consequently puts their sex partners at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and other blood-borne infections, like hepatitis. We undertook a nested study with the regular female partners of men who inject drugs participating in a longitudinal HIV incidence study in Delhi, India. In-depth interviews were conducted with female partners of 32 men.

High HIV incidence in a cohort of male injection drug users in Delhi, India.

Background: India has an estimated 177,000 injection drug users (IDU) with a national HIV prevalence of 7.14%. Reliable estimates of HIV incidence are not available for this population.

The impact of aging physiology in critical care.

Aging physiology greatly impacts care delivery in the geriatric patient population. Consideration should be given to addressing the patient-specific needs regarding the systemic changes seen in the aging patient. Each major body system presents its own unique challenges to the critical care practitioner, and a comprehensive understanding of these changes is necessary to effectively care for this patient population.

Strategies for recruiting injection drug users for HIV prevention services in Delhi, India.

Background: We utilized multiple recruitment approaches to recruit IDUs in a longitudinal cohort study to examine HIV incidence and behavior change pre- and post-introduction of comprehensive HIV prevention services.

Methods: IDUs were recruited through peer referral, targeted outreach by outreach workers (ORWs) and as walk-in clients at drop-in centers. Participants received monetary compensation for participation (USD 0.

High uptake of HIV testing in a cohort of male injection drug users in Delhi, India: prevalence and correlates of HIV infection.

We report baseline findings from a longitudinal cohort study to examine HIV incidence, high-risk injection and sexual behaviors of 3,792 male injection drug users (IDUs) in Delhi. The majority (95.4 %) accepted HIV testing; HIV prevalence was 21.

Pretreatment loss-to-follow-up after HIV diagnosis from 27 counseling and testing centers across India: findings from a cohort study.

Individuals testing HIV positive were interviewed at testing centers, followed prospectively and interviewed again when they registered at referral antiretroviral therapy (ART) centers (ARTCs). Those who did not register at ARTCs were traced and interviewed in the community. A total of 1057 newly diagnosed people living with HIV (PLHIV; 52% women; mean age, 34.

Increasing postpartum contraception in rural India: evaluation of a community-based behavior change communication intervention.

Context: The Indian family planning program, though successful in increasing contraceptive use among couples who have achieved their desired family size, has not been equally successful in educating couples about the use of contraceptive methods for birth spacing.

Methods: An evaluation was conducted of a behavior change communication intervention integrated into the existing government program to increase knowledge and use of the lactational amenorrhea method and postpartum contraception through counseling by community workers. The intervention, which ran between September 2006 and January 2007, was conducted among 959 pregnant women aged 15-24 who lived in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Relationship between reported prior condom use and current self-perceived risk of acquiring HIV among mobile female sex workers in southern India.

Background: With the evolution of Health Belief Model, risk perception has been identified as one of several core components of public health interventions. While female sex workers (FSWs) in India continue to be at most risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV, little is known about their perception towards risk of acquiring HIV and how this perception depends upon their history of consistent condom use behavior with different type of partners. The objective of this study is to fill this gap in the literature by examining this relationship among mobile FSWs in southern India.

Indicators of mobility, socio-economic vulnerabilities and HIV risk behaviours among mobile female sex workers in India.

This paper examines the relationship between indicators of mobility, socio-economic vulnerabilities, and HIV risk behaviours among 5,498 mobile female sex workers (FSWs) living in the four high HIV prevalence states in India. Female sex workers with greater degree of mobility reported significantly more often than the FSWs with lesser degree of mobility that they experienced physical violence, and consumed alcohol prior to sex. Further, FSWs with greater degree of mobility reported significantly more often than the FSWs with lesser degree of mobility that they had inconsistent condom use in sex with clients, even after controlling for several demographic characteristics and socio-economic vulnerabilities including experiences of violence.

Promoting healthy spacing between pregnancies in India: need for differential education campaigns.

Objective: Birth spacing intervals are relatively short in India. Healthy spacing of 3-5 years between births is an effective way to prevent maternal and child mortality and morbidities. Socio-cultural and structural barriers, including limited awareness, socio-cultural norms, and misconceptions need to be addressed for behavior change.

PCB congener profiles in nestling tree swallows and their insect prey.

Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are widely used as indicators of local polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in North America. Although determining total PCB residues in tissues is useful in environmental monitoring, analysis of PCB congener profiles may reveal sources of contamination and thus prove to be a more refined tool to track contaminants through the food web. To show how differences in PCB congener patterns in birds can be linked to the PCB patterns in their prey, we evaluated PCB congeners in tissues of tree swallow nestlings and their insect prey using principal component analysis and Euclidean similarities.

Spatial, temporal, and dietary determinants of organic contaminants in nestling tree swallows in Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada.

Point Pelee National Park of Canada in southwestern Ontario, an important migratory route and vital breeding area for many birds, has localized areas of organochlorine (OC) pesticide contamination from agricultural production during the 1950s and 1960s. During 2001 and 2002, we investigated movement of persistent contaminants through the food web with the insectivorous tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) as a sentinel. The a priori site classifications, contaminated or reference, were based on soil residues of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its breakdown products (sigmaDDT), dieldrin, and other OC pesticides.

The future is now: implementation of a tele-intensivist program.

Based on overwhelming scientific evidence, The Leapfrog Group focused on 3 practices that have tremendous potential to save lives by reducing preventable mistakes in hospitals. The authors describe these practices and how they served as a driving force to create a "virtual ICU" within a Magnet hospital network. The effort combined services of a board-certified intensivist and technological advancements in telemedicine to ensure the delivery of high-quality care to all critically ill patients throughout the network.