Conducting tobacco control surveys among schoolchildren in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: A feasibility study.

Most of the world's 300 million smokeless tobacco (ST) users live in South Asia but ST policies for that region are poorly researched, developed and implemented. Longitudinal studies to understand the uptake and use of ST and smoking, and influences on these, such as health promotion strategies, are lacking. We planned to conduct longitudinal surveys among secondary school students in three countries with the highest ST burden: Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to explore ST and smoking uptake, use and health promoting strategies.

Development of Measures for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Stigma: Introduction to the Special Supplement on Stigma Measurement Tools.

People who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH) often experience stigma and discrimination in their daily lives. Qualitative research describing their lived experiences has provided useful, in-depth insights into the pervasiveness of stigma. Quantitative measures could facilitate further investigation of the scope of this phenomenon.

Anti-retroviral therapy adherence in India (2012-18): A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: India has 2.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). The objective of this study was to ascertain the extent of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) adherence and reasons for nonadherence among PLHIV in India.

Prevalence and patterns of post-COVID-19 symptoms in recovered patients of Delhi, India: a population-based study.

Background: Post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms were widely reported. However, data on post-COVID-19 conditions following infection with the Omicron variant remained scarce. This prospective study was conducted to understand the prevalence, patterns, and duration of symptoms in patients who had recovered from COVID-19.

Coalition for Global Hearing Health Hearing Care Pathways Working Group: Guidelines for Clinical Guidance for Readiness and Development of Evidence-Based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs.

Editor's Note: The following article discusses the timely topic Clinical Guidance in the areas of Evidence-Based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs. This article aims to discuss areas of services needed, guidance to countries/organizations attempting to initiate early hearing detection and intervention systems. Expert consensus and systematic/scoping reviews were combined to produce recommendations for evidence-based clinical practice.

How healthy is the health budget of : 2023-24?

Political will is the key to public health policy-making and a major driving force for the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in any nation. To achieve UHC, the Indian government laid down National Health Policy in 1983 and updated it in 2002 and recently in 2017. This recent policy emphasized increasing healthcare spending and economic growth.

Pattern of Smokeless Tobacco Initiation and Use among School Going Adolescents in Delhi, India: A Mixed Method Study.

Introduction: With growing trends in tobacco consumption, it has been observed that the age of initiation is gradually decreasing. To combat the deep-rooted problem of the Society, we need to target the adolescents at the time of their first consumption of tobacco forms. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the pattern of smokeless tobacco use among school going adolescents in senior secondary schools with the assessment of the sociodemographic factors responsible for initiation of smokeless tobacco use by adolescents.

Risk of secondhand smoke exposure and severity of COVID-19 infection: multicenter case-control study.

Introduction: Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is an established causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic lung disease. Numerous studies have evaluated the role of tobacco in COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality but missed the opportunity to assess the role of SHS. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine whether SHS is an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection, severity, mortality, and other co-morbidities.

Role of family physicians in providing primary healthcare during COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the World Health Organization, over 41 million cases of COVID-19 and 1 million deaths have been reported globally. More than 7 million cases of coronavirus have been reported in India alone. The growing number of cases of coronavirus worldwide poses numerous challenges to the country's current healthcare delivery system, especially in developing nations such as India.

Challenges and solutions adopted by frontline health managers in the management of routine health services during the COVID-19 pandemic at the grassroots level in India: A qualitative quest.

Background: The public health emergency due to COVID-19 has placed an immense burden on the health care system. The strain for provision of health care services has also extended to routine services. The future impact of this decline in facility provision can be seen in morbidity and mortality indicators of the country.

Compliance Assessment of Tobacco Products to Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act in India with Reference to Third Amendment Rules, 2020.

Objective: Tobacco use is associated with mortality in low- and middle-income countries including India with dual burden of smoking and smokeless tobacco (SLT). Aligning with the FCTC, India has made substantial amendments in strengthening graphic warning under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) for sections 7,8 9 and "Specified warning". Compliance assessment studies are necessary to understand current status of implementation for packaging laws.

Non-compliant packaging and illicit smokeless tobacco in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: findings of a pack analysis.

Introduction: Illicit smokeless tobacco (ST) trade has seldom been documented despite ST use in at least 127 countries across the world. Based on non-compliance with packaging regulations, we report the proportion of illicit ST products from samples on sale in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan where 85% of global ST users reside.

Methods: We purchased unique ST products from tobacco sellers in two purposively selected administrative areas (division/district) in each of the three countries.

Menstrual hygiene management and its determinants among adolescent girls in low-income urban areas of Delhi, India: a community-based study.

Objectives: Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in developing countries is linked to human rights, social justice, and the education and empowerment of young girls. The objective of this study was to assess menstrual hygiene practices and their determinants among adolescent girls, including school dropouts, and the effects of pad distribution programs in urban resettlement areas of Delhi, India.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2019 to February 2020 in urban resettlement colonies and 2 villages of Delhi among 1,130 adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 years, who were interviewed face to face.

Occupational Noise Induced Hearing Loss in India: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: India has over 50 million workers employed in industries with exposure to very high sound levels, predisposing them to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis by using the following criteria: (1) Observational or experimental studies conducted in India; (2) English language studies; (3) Published during January 2010-December 2019; (4) Primary outcome: proportion of participants detected with NIHL. We reviewed bibliographic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and DOAJ) and Google Scholar, and extracted the relevant data.

Validation of the Decision model of the Burden of Hearing loss Across the Lifespan (DeciBHAL) in Chile, India, and Nigeria.

Background: There is no published decision model for informing hearing health care resource allocation across the lifespan in low- and middle-income countries. We sought to validate the Decision model of the Burden of Hearing loss Across the Lifespan International (DeciBHAL-I) in Chile, India, and Nigeria.

Methods: DeciBHAL-I simulates bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and conductive hearing loss (CHL) acquisition, SNHL progression, and hearing loss treatment.

Addressing stigma and discrimination in the Covid-19 pandemic: a public health ethics issue.

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to stalk the globe, ever since the first outbreak in December 2019. Variants of concern and fear of subsequent pandemic waves continue to challenge every nation. The virus has caught communities off-guard many times with grave consequences.

Effect of a Text-Messaging Intervention on Oral Self-Care Practices in Antenatal Women in Delhi, India: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of a mHealth (text message) intervention compared with a structured health educational session on the oral care and hygiene practices of pregnant women.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized control trial, parallel design superiority trial, with a 1:1 allocation ratio. A total of 76 pregnant women up to 20 weeks of gestational age and capable of reading mobile phone text messages were recruited during August-October 2020 from the antenatal clinic of a primary health center in a low-income urban agglomeration in Delhi, India.

Health budget in light of pandemic: Health reforms from mirage to reality.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has triggered changes and reforms in the health sector in India. As the pandemic points to a gap in the industry, it has led to the creation of new opportunities to solve problems. To help the country repair the damage caused by the virus pandemic, the Government of India announced that in the health budget 2021, promotion of health and well-being will be one of the six pillars.

Newer variants of COVID-19, newer challenges of whole-genome strategy in India: A public health perspective.

The sudden upsurge in the newly emerging COVID-19 variants acted as a catalyst for India to scale up the viral Genomic surveillance in order to understand the nature and trends of the newer variants of concern and strengthen public health interventions across the country. The Government of India has proposed the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium to expand the whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of this virus. However, in a vast country like India introduction and implementation of any new strategies amidst the already existing barriers due to COVID-19 will be a herculean task.