Unintentional Child Injury in Rural and Urban Siddlagatta, Karnataka, India: A Community-Based Survey.

Introduction: Despite Indian children constituting approximately 31.4% of the population aged 0 to 14, a comprehensive exploration of childhood injuries within this demographic remains limited. This study aimed to examine the occurrence of unintentional injuries among children aged six months to 18 years in the Siddlagatta area and assess associated risk factors.

Health system resilience: Ensuring TB services during COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala, India.

COVID-19 pandemic has affected TB case detection and continuity of care globally. Kerala, the southern Indian state has experienced a reduction in TB notification during second and third quarter of 2020. Through (1) causal analysis (2) meticulous planning and establishment of systems (3) locally customised guidelines (4) better management of resources (5) integration with other programs and (6) good partnership with private sector, Kerala was able to catch up the TB notification and ensure that TB services remain intact even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

STEPS - a patient centric and low-cost solution to ensure standards of TB care to patients reaching private sector in India.

Background: More than half of the TB patients in India seek care from the private sector. Two decades of attempts by the National TB Program to improve collaboration between the public and private sectors have not worked except in a few innovative pilots. The System for TB Elimination in Private Sector (STEPS) evolved in 2019 as a solution to ensure standards of TB care to every patient reaching the private sector.

Health-Related Suffering and Palliative Care in Breast Cancer.

Purpose Of Review: Breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. By the suffering that it causes in various domains of life, breast cancer seriously impacts the quality of life of affected individuals and causes a major burden of suffering in the community. The objectives of the review were to understand the health-related suffering in patients with breast cancer and to identify the scope of palliative care in improving the quality of life of patients with breast cancer.

"Relax City Homecare team; protocols are ready for you" - A Quality Improvement Project Conducted on Behalf of the City Homecare Unit Team at the Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences.

Context: The city homecare unit (CHU) of the Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences was dissatisfied with the quality of care provided to their patient population.

Aims: This study aims to improve the average satisfaction score of CHU during their daily homecare services.

Settings And Design: The improvement project for the CHU activities was conducted with a prospective plan-do-study-act design, with stepwise application of improvement tools.

STEPS: A Solution for Ensuring Standards of TB Care for Patients Reaching Private Hospitals in India.

Background: In India, the private sector diagnoses and treats more patients with TB than the public sector. Gaps in the TB care cascade were observed more among the patients diagnosed in the private sector.

Concept: The System for TB Elimination in Private Sector (STEPS) model evolved as a solution to address gaps in the quality of care for patients in the private sector by ensuring standards of TB care.

TB patient support systems in Kerala: A qualitative analysis.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death due to infectious diseases in the world. Kerala a southern state in India aims to eliminate TB in the near future. In order to achieve its goal Kerala is providing various social support services to TB patients to ensure their smooth transition as they pass through the treatment cascade.

The Palliative Care-Promoting Access and Improvement of the Cancer Experience (PC-PAICE) Project in India: A Multisite International Quality Improvement Collaborative.

Mentors at seven U.S. and Australian academic institutions initially partnered with seven leading Indian academic palliative care and cancer centers in 2017 to undertake a program combining remote and in-person mentorship, didactic instruction, and project-based learning in quality improvement (QI).

Lung Health Care pilot project trims patient pill load and antibiotic prescription in primary health care settings in Kerala, India.

Introduction: Kerala, the southern Indian state piloted Lung Health Care Project (LHCP) which is a locally adopted version of WHO recommended Practical Approach to Lung health (PAL). The current study assessed the impact of the project on the prescribing practices of doctors and consumption of antibiotics and other drugs.

Methods: This study compared performance of primary health care institutions with regard to drug prescriptions and consumptions before and after the implementation of the project.

Higher risk of developing active TB among adult diabetics exposed to TB during childhood: A study from Kerala, India.

Introduction: Factors associated with tuberculosis (TB) in Kerala, the southern Indian state that notifies approximately 33 microbiologically confirmed new cases per 100,000 population every year for the past two decades, are still unclear. We did a community-based case-control study in Kollam district, Kerala, to identify the individual-level risk factors for TB.

Methods: Structured questionnaire was applied to 101 microbiologically confirmed new TB cases registered under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program and 202 age- and gender-matched neighborhood controls without present or past TB.

Practical Pharmacology of Methadone: A Long-acting Opioid.

Methadone is a naturally long-acting analgesic with unique pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties compared to other opioids, available now in India, to treat severe pain. It has the potential to dramatically relieve suffering among patients with serious illness who are living with persistent physical pain. However, clinicians must appreciate its unique pharmacologic properties and its use in clinical practice safely and effectively.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a potentially serious disorder attacking millions of people around the world. Many of these individuals are undiagnosed, and even though diagnosed often exhibit a poor compliance with the use of continuous positive airway pressure at nights, a very effective nonsurgical treatment. A variety of surgical procedures have been proposed to manage and treat OSA.

Sexual Functioning in Men Living with a Spinal Cord Injury-A Narrative Literature Review.

Background: Sexual dysfunction is a major concern for Indian men living with a spinal cord injury.

Objectives: To examine the literature related to sexuality traumatic cord injury and its impact on sexual functioning.

Materials And Methods: Databases using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) 2000-2012, Medline 1989-2012, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) 1989-2012 and Google Scholar were the search engines used used for literature review.

Acute dapsone poisoning in a 3-year-old child: Case report with review of literature.

Dapsone (DDS-diamino diphenyl sulphone) is a sulfone antibiotic being used for a variety of clinical conditions. Poisoning in children by DDS is rarely reported. Poisoning in acute cases will be frequently unrecognized due to relative lack of severe signs and symptoms.

Views and attitudes towards sexual functioning in men living with spinal cord injury in kerala, South India.

Context: Sexual dysfunction is a major concern for Indian men living with a spinal cord injury. Few first-hand reports exist about the experience of living with an altered sense of sexual identity and the inability to express sexual concerns.

Aims: In this qualitative study, the authors explore views and attitudes towards sexual functioning in men living with a spinal cord injury in Kerala, India.

Acute ammonium dichromate poisoning in a 2 year-old child.

Hexavalent chromium compounds are most commonly used in printing, dyeing, plastics and rayon manufacturing. Poisoning in children by ammonium dichromate, an odorless and bright orange-red crystal, are rarely reported. Acute poisoning will result in death due to multi-organ failure.

Creation of Minimum Standard Tool for Palliative Care in India and Self-evaluation of Palliative Care Programs Using It.

Background: It is important to ensure that minimum standards for palliative care based on available resources are clearly defined and achieved.

Aims: (1) Creation of minimum National Standards for Palliative Care for India. (2) Development of a tool for self-evaluation of palliative care organizations.

Outcome of tuberculosis treatment in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in the revised national tuberculosis control programme in Malappuram District, Kerala, India.

Settings: Kerala State, India has reported the greatest dual burden of Tuberculosis (TB) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Malappuram district in Kerala has monitored and recorded DM status and its control from 2010 under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP).

Objectives: To assess, under programme conditions, comprehensiveness of recording DM status among TB cases and the TB treatment outcomes among DM patients (disaggregated by glycemic control) and compare with-non DM patients.