Mobilities and leisure in later ages: The role of religious tourism in the lives of low-income older women in India.

Background And Objectives: With the expansion of low-income urban areas in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), the recognition of leisure opportunities for older women remains under-researched. This study uses a mobility framework to explore access to leisure for older adults in a low-income neighbourhood in Bengaluru, India.

Research Design And Methods: This ethnographic study included participant observations, 33 in-depth interviews with older adults, and key informants, supplemented by archival research to explore leisure mobility.

Role of traditional ecological knowledge in shaping climate resilient villages in the Himalaya.

Climate change has diverse effects on the mountainous regions, necessitating an inclusive approach that considers local socioeconomic circumstances, traditional knowledge, and scientific and technological advancements to develop effective coping strategies. The absence of thorough knowledge hampers the integrated progress of socio-ecological systems by limiting the implementation of community-based approaches in the Himalayan region. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) enables indigenous communities to preserve and manage their natural resources and biodiversity under diverse environmental conditions, which is crucial for achieving specific targets for sustainable development.

The Effect of Clinical Decision Support Tools on Physicians' Practices.

Objective: The objective of this research is to assess the impact of clinical decision support (CDS) tools on the practices of Indian physicians.

Methods: Descriptive statistics and frequency distributions are used to assess the data.

Results: Through a primary survey, it was found that about 69% of the physicians frequently use clinical decision tools in their practice.

Environmental impact analysis of crop residue burning in Madhya Pradesh: A multivariate comparison across key crops.

This study quantified the environmental impacts of residue burning of major produced and burned crops in Madhya Pradesh, central India. The environmental impacts were quantified using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) coupled with Monte Carlo simulation of 1000 iterations. Crop wise marginal impacts of the crops have been quantified using Multivariate regression model.

Changes in Prevalence of Childhood Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in India: A Secondary Analysis of GATS Survey (2009-2017).

Background: Children are susceptible to early life inequalities stemming from their limited control over their environment and their physical incapability to handle the health and developmental consequences of smoke exposure. Additionally, their lack of awareness regarding the detrimental effects of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure on their well-being emphasizes the crucial need to comprehend the extent of SHS exposure among the younger population.

Objective: The study aims to analyze the magnitude and factors influencing SHS exposure among children under 15 years, along with the shifts in SHS exposure in India and its states between 2009-10 and 2016-17.

Perceptions of safety during everyday travel shaping older adults' mobility in Bengaluru, India.

Background: In the context of socially sustainable urban development, comfortable, safe, and accessible public transport is crucial to motivating people to travel more sustainably. Using the framework given by Masoumi and Fastenmeier (2016) to examine the concepts of safety and security, we explore how perceptions of safety about different transport modes shaped the mobility of older adults in Bengaluru, India.

Methods: In-depth telephonic interviews were conducted with 60 adults, aged 50 years and over, residing in urban Bengaluru, using a semi-structured in-depth interview guide to explore the perceptions of safety in different transport modes.

Unpacking the role of transport inequalities among older adults for accessing healthcare in Bengaluru, India.

Mobility, access to transport and healthcare play a crucial part in healthy ageing. However, these often posechallenges for older adults in the global South. This study applies the three concepts of 'motility' (access, competence and appropriation), to explore transport inequalities and barriers to access healthcare services for older adults in Bengaluru, India.

The impact of public-private investment in energy on environmental degradation: evidence from major investment countries.

The objective of the present study is to explore the impact of public-private investment in energy, foreign direct investment, urbanization, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on environmental degradation in major investment countries during the period 1998Q4-2018Q4. In doing so, the cross-sectional dependence test and CIPS panel unit test were employed to identify the cross-sectionally dependency and the integrational properties/stationarity among the variables. Furthermore, we opted for Westerlund (2007) panel cointegration test to check the long-run association among the variables.

Intersections of informal work status, gender and tuberculosis diagnosis: Insights from a qualitative study from an Indian setting.

Background: There is evidence that more than one third of tuberculosis (TB) cases in India go undiagnosed each year and it is more pronounced among female patients. While there are studies available on the socioeconomic, cultural and gender-related dimensions of TB diagnosis delays among female patients in India, intersections of gender, informal work and diagnosis delays are not sufficiently studied. The present study aims to fill this gap by examining the TB diagnosis delay that are linked to the contingencies of working in informal arrangements for women from lower socio economic background.

Contribution of low birth weight to childhood undernutrition in India: evidence from the national family health survey 2019-2021.

Background: Infants born with low birth weight (LBW), i.e. less than 2500g, is considered an important factor of malnutrition in Asia.

Inequality in time to first antenatal care visits and its predictors among pregnant women in India: an evidence from national family health survey.

For countries with high maternal mortality and morbidity, on-time initiation of antenatal care (ANC) is indispensable. Therefore this paper aims for studying the median survival time (MST) of first ANC among pregnant women as well as understanding the contextual factors that influence a mother's decision to access ANC services in India. The study used cross-sectional survey data obtained from the NFHS-4 conducted in 2015-2016.

Harnessing Demographic Dividend Before it is Lost Forever in India.

Based on the secondary data taken from Population Census, and the Employment-Unemployment Surveys and Periodic Labour Force Survey of the National Sample Survey, it is found that Indian economy is passing through a critical phase of economic development in which it is likely to lose its demographic advantage. Because, in India while about 4.5 million people were leaving agriculture every year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic years, the non-farm sectors job was not growing adequately to accommodate the persons leaving agriculture, and the newly educated non-farm job seekers.

Contribution of socio-economic and demographic factors to the trend of adequate dietary diversity intake among children (6-23 months): evidence from a cross-sectional survey in India.

Background: The present study aims to estimate the factors contributing to the change adequate diversified dietary intake (ADDI) from 2005-06 to 2015-16 among children aged 6-23 months in India.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a large representative survey data. Data from the National Family Health Survey 2005-06 and 2015-16 was used.

Disaster management in India: are we fully equipped?

Disasters occur with almost unpredictable probability, even though some ideas about the regions of incidence and likely impact on likelihood are available in the scientific literature. In this lecture, I have taken a full view of six disasters that include hydro-geological, meteorological, climate based like floods and droughts as well as the biological holocaust of Covid-19 pandemic. The approach followed in this lecture is to analyse the occurrences, incidence, history and devastation caused by the disaster.

Perceptions of change in the environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for environmental policy.

COVID-19 lockdown measures have impacted the environment with both positive and negative effects. However, how human populations have perceived such changes in the natural environment and how they may have changed their daily habits have not been yet thoroughly evaluated. The objectives of this work were to investigate (1) the social perception of the environmental changes produced by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and the derived change in habits in relation to i) waste management, energy saving, and sustainable consumption, ii) mobility, iii) social inequalities, iv) generation of noise, v) utilization of natural spaces, and, vi) human population perception towards the future, and (2) the associations of these potential new habits with various socio-demographic variables.

Being sick to a cancer patient: pathways of delay in help seeking and diagnosis of cancer in India.

There is evidence that cancer mortality and morbidity could be reduced when the disease is diagnosed and treated at an early stage. The paper examines the pathways of delay of cancer diagnosis in an Indian setting. It draws on a qualitative study conducted among cancer survivors and family members of cancer patients in the city of Bengaluru, South India.

Traditional food knowledge of local people and its sustainability in mountains of Uttarakhand State of India.

With homogenisation of various cultural groups due to outside forces and the effect of globalisation, many traditional foods, as developed by various cultural groups, have been lost or on the verge of elimination. In this context, the present study aims to examine and document the traditional food knowledge of local people in Uttarakhand State of India. Interviews and interactions with the local people resulted in documentation of 38 cuisines traditionally prepared by the local people of selected study regions in Uttarakhand.

Contextual factors influencing the urban mobility infrastructure interventions and policies for older adults in low- and middle-income countries: a realist review.

Transportation is among the key aspects that influence active ageing. This realist review intends to understand the mechanisms of urban mobility infrastructure interventions and policies in low- and middle-income countries for older adults and to identify factors, which influenced the success or failure of interventions. We followed the steps suggested by Pawson and colleagues for a realist review.

Observational study of feasibility and acceptability of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device as a long-acting reversible contraceptive in a primary care setting in India.

Objectives: The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (LNG-IUD) is a well-accepted contraceptive across developed countries, yet there is limited experience in use and acceptance amongst women living in low-resource, developing country settings. We studied the feasibility of providing the LNG-IUD through a primary care service, and its acceptability amongst women living in a low-income, rural-tribal community in India.

Study Design: We conducted an observational study of feasibility and acceptability at four health facilities (three rural, and one urban) in Rajasthan, India.

Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems.

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world.

A benchmark study on economic impact of Neem Coated Urea on Indian agriculture.

The policy of mandatory production and distribution of Neem Coated Urea (NCU) was implemented by the Government of India since 2015. In this article, authors have made an attempt to explore the benefits of NCU recognized by the producers of six major crops such as paddy, maize, sugarcane, tur, jute and soybean across six major states viz., Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Assam.

Understanding the Socio-Economic Vulnerability in Child Malnutrition Between Migrants and Non-Migrants Children (12-59 Months) in India: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study.

India has witnessed increasing trends in internal migration over the last three decades. In India, migrant children are not a homogeneous group and their reasons for movement and vulnerabilities vary across socio-economic stratum. For some children, migration may open possibilities and is associated with expanding social and economic spheres, but for many others, it may bring serious risks.

Barriers to treatment adherence for female Tuberculosis (TB) patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: Qualitative evidence from front-line TB interventions in Bengaluru City, India.

Background: Available evidence shows that India's ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response has adversely affected the national tuberculosis elimination program.

Objectives: The study attempted to understand the barriers to successful treatment adherence for female tuberculosis (TB) patients due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Methods: The study draws on qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with patients and TB health visitors from Bengaluru city before and during the pandemic period using a grounded theory approach.

Spatial inequalities in skilled birth attendance in India: a spatial-regional model approach.

Background: Despite a significant increase in the skilled birth assisted (SBA) deliveries in India, there are huge gaps in availing maternity care services across social gradients - particularly across states and regions. Therefore, this study applies the spatial-regression model to examine the spatial distribution of SBA across districts of India. Furthermore, the study tries to understand the spatially associated population characteristics that influence the low coverage of SBA across districts of India and its regions.