Cost-effective analysis of hepatitis A vaccination in Kerala state, India.

Several hepatitis A outbreaks have recently been reported in Kerala state, India. To inform coverage decision of hepatitis A vaccine in Kerala, this study aimed to examine the cost-effectiveness of 1) hepatitis A vaccination among children aged 1 year and individuals aged 15 years, and 2) serological screening of individuals aged 15 years and vaccination of susceptible as compared to no vaccination or vaccination without serological screening. Both live attenuated hepatitis A vaccine and inactivated hepatitis A vaccine were considered in the analysis.

Shifting roles of community health workers in the prevention and management of noncommunicable disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a crucial role in the prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the implementation of crisis-driven responses that involved shifts in the roles of CHWs in terms of delivering services for people with NCDs. Strategically aligning these shifts with health systems is crucial to improve NCD service delivery.

Leptospirosis in India: insights on circulating serovars, research lacunae and proposed strategies to control through one health approach.

Leptospirosis is one of the most neglected zoonotic infections of public health concern worldwide and a remerging infection in tropical countries such as India. The infection least explored disease and the epidemiological and other critical data are scarce for the disease rate reported and to control the infection. Leptospirosis as sapronosis is as underrated as the infection itself, and this article aims to explore the significance of this aspect of the disease.

Epidemiology of Coronavirus Disease 2019 during the Second and Third Wave in Chennai, India: An Analysis of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Surveillance System, February 2021-February 2022.

Introduction: Analysis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance system in the first wave indicated that the data-driven approach helped in resource allocation and public health interventions.

Objectives: We described the epidemiology of COVID-19 cases in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, from February 2021 to February 2022.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the COVID-19 surveillance data from Chennai City, Tamil Nadu, India's Greater Chennai Corporation.

Barriers to engagement in the care cascade for tuberculosis disease in India: A systematic review of quantitative studies.

Background: India accounts for about one-quarter of people contracting tuberculosis (TB) disease annually and nearly one-third of TB deaths globally. Many Indians do not navigate all care cascade stages to receive TB treatment and achieve recurrence-free survival. Guided by a population/exposure/comparison/outcomes (PECO) framework, we report findings of a systematic review to identify factors contributing to unfavorable outcomes across each care cascade gap for TB disease in India.

Quality of comprehensive assessment among severely ill TB patients referred after triaging in southern India.

To reduce TB deaths, Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state, implemented the first state-wide differentiated TB care strategy starting April 2022. Triage-positive severely ill patients are prioritised for comprehensive assessment and inpatient care. Routine program data during October-December 2022 revealed that documentation of total score after comprehensive assessment was available in only 39%, possibly indicating poor quality of comprehensive assessment.

Need for operational simplicity and timely disbursal of benefits-a qualitative exploration of the implementation of a direct benefit transfer scheme for persons with tuberculosis in India.

Background: Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) is a direct benefit transfer scheme of the Government of India introduced in 2018 to support the additional nutritional requirements of persons with TB (PwTB). Our recent nationwide evaluation of implementation and utilization of NPY using programmatic data of PwTB from nine randomly selected Indian states, reported a 70% coverage and high median delay in benefit credit. We undertook a qualitative study between January and July 2023, to understand the detailed implementation process of NPY and explore the enablers and barriers to effective implementation and utilization of the NPY scheme.

Global estimate of burnout among the public health workforce: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Burnout is an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress. We conducted this review to estimate the pooled global prevalence of burnout among the public health workforce.

Methods: We conducted this review as per the PRISMA 2020 guidelines.

Oral dysbiosis and risk of gastrointestinal cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

Background: Poor oral health and oral dysbiosis were found to be associated with cancers, especially of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. But the cause-and-effect relationship and the effect of the risk are not yet known due to scarcity of literature. Understanding such risk relationship can contribute to an integrated multi-disciplinary approach for GI cancer prevention.

How can TB Mukt Panchayat initiative contribute towards ending tuberculosis in India?

Community Engagement (CE) for disease control and health has been tested for a long time across the globe for various health programmes. Realizing the need for true multisectoral action and CE and ownership for ending TB on an accelerated timeline, the Government of India launched a nationwide campaign for 'TB (meaning 'TB free village council' in Hindi language) on 24 March 2023, banking on the system of local self-governments in the country. Though it is an initiative with huge potential to contribute to India's efforts to end the TB epidemic, it is not without a few shortcomings.

Global seroprevalence of scrub typhus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Scrub typhus, a neglected disease, is a significant health concern in the Tsutsugamushi triangle of the Asia-Pacific and has raised global concerns due to recent cases occurring outside this region. To estimate the global prevalence of scrub typhus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases for observational studies on scrub typhus.

Process evaluation of a complex, multilevel, multicomponent scheme for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in Tamil Nadu, India: A mixed-methods protocol.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India, necessitating development of multilevel and multicomponent interventions. (MTM) is a complex multilevel, multicomponent intervention developed and implemented by the south Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The scheme aims to deliver services for preventing and controlling diabetes, and hypertension at doorstep.

An outbreak of H1N1 Influenza A among the students and staff of school X, Kozhikode, January 2020.

Background: An outbreak of fever and cough was notified to public health authorities by the management of school X among their students, Kozhikode district, Kerala, on Jan 1, 2020. We conducted an outbreak investigation to confirm the diagnosis, describe the case patients by time, place, and person, and propose appropriate recommendations.

Materials And Methods: We defined a probable case of influenza as any student or staff of school X, Kozhikode district with a fever and cough between Dec 30, 2019, and Jan 14, 2020.

Prevalence of Noncommunicable Disease (NCDs) risk factors in Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu STEPS Survey (TN STEPS), 2020.

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for nearly 75% of all deaths in Tamil Nadu. The government of Tamil Nadu has initiated several strategies to control NCDs under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Reform Program (TNHSRP). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of NCD risk factors and determine the predictors of diabetes and hypertension, which will be helpful for planning and serve as a baseline for evaluating the impact of interventions.

Discovery, development, and deployment of a user-centered point-of-care digital information system to treat and track hypertension and diabetes patients under India Hypertension Control Initiative 2019-2022, India.

Background: Hypertension affects 28.5% of Indians aged 18-69. Real-time registration and follow-up of persons with hypertension are possible with point-of-care digital information systems.

Diagnostic Utility of Swept-Source OCT-Based Biometry and Fundus Photographs Compared to Spectral Domain OCT in Center-Involving Diabetic Macular Edema.

Purpose: This study was aimed to evaluate the agreement between the swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT)-based biometry, fundus photographs, and their combination, in comparison to the gold standard spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) for the detection of center-involving diabetic macular edema (CI-DME).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study involving 55 subjects (78 eyes) diagnosed with diabetic macular edema (DME) detected clinically and on SD-OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG). Post-mydriatic 45-degree color fundus photograph (Crystal-Vue NFC-700), 1 mm macular scan obtained from SS-OCT-based biometry (IOL-Master 700), and macula cube scan obtained from SD-OCT was used to detect and grade DME into CI-DME and NCI-DME.

Adverse outcomes in patients hospitalized with pneumonia at age 60 or more: A prospective multi-centric hospital-based study in India.

Background: Limited data exists regarding risk factors for adverse outcomes in older adults hospitalized with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in low- and middle-income countries such as India. This multisite study aimed to assess outcomes and associated risk factors among adults aged ≥60 years hospitalized with pneumonia.

Methods: Between December 2018 and March 2020, we enrolled ≥60-year-old adults admitted within 48 hours for CAP treatment across 16 public and private facilities in four sites.

An educational intervention for improving knowledge, attitude, and practice of dietary salt intake among individuals with hypertension in public sector secondary care facilities, Agra, India, 2021.

We conducted a pre-post intervention study to determine knowledge, attitude, and practice toward dietary salt intake before, immediately, and 1-month after nurse-led one-on-one counseling. We purposively selected three public health facilities in Agra, India, and enrolled all eligible hypertensive patients aged 18-60 under treatment for ≥6 months. Of the 153 patients at the 1-month follow-up, counseling improved knowledge (4% vs.

Health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of EuroQol (EQ-5D) utility scores.

Introduction: Evaluating the Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) holds significant importance in clinical and research settings. The EQ-5D is a widely recognized tool for comprehensive measurement of HRQoL using utility values. This study aims to systematically review and synthesize EQ-5D utility values from existing literature on patients with PD and their caregivers.

Face mask use in the city of Chennai, India: Results from three serial cross-sectional surveys, 2021.

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.