Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development

Praveen N Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Community Medicine, SIMS Shimoga, 577201, IN

Abstract

A descriptive retrospective cross -sectional study using existing data from a one-year birth registers of 6928 postnatal women was done at District McGann hospital, Shimoga, India. The objective was to study the risk profile of the mothers who delivered low birth weight (LBW) babies and their contribution to the problem. Mothers without formal education were 4 times more likely to give birth to LBW neonates than those who had attained higher education. There was a linear decrease in low birth weights of newborns as fraternal educational level increased. There was no statistically significant difference among parents' occupations regarding LBW of their newborns. Unmarried mothers were more likely to give birth to LBW babies as compared to their married counterparts and the difference was statistically significant. Hypertension, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia disease complex had the highest prevalence and population attributable risk of low birth weight. Other complications and diseases which contributed to high prevalence of LBW included anaemia, thromboembolic diseases, tuberculosis, malaria and other infections. Prevalence of LBW was high in women with premature rupture of membrane, placenta praevia and abruption of placenta. LBW was strongly associated with gestational age below 37 weeks and also with malnutrition. There was a statistical significant difference between the proportions of LBW infants from mothers who did not receive antenatal care and those who attended for the services. There is need of increasing promotion of reproductive health services in relation to safe motherhood at community level in order to reduce risk factors of LBW.

Keywords

Postnatal Women, Low Birth Weight, Risk

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Praveen N Kumar ¹, S. Parameshwar ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Community Medicine, Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences, Shimoga, Karnataka, IN
2 Department of General Medicine, Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences, Shimoga, Karnataka, IN

Abstract

To understand health care workers' perceptions towards a disease outbreak, a survey was conducted in 5 districts of Karnataka, India between August 2009 and December 2009, to understand the factors that may influence their ability and willingness to report to duty in such an event. The data suggest that nearly half of health care workers are not likely to report to duty during an outbreak. The stated likelihood of reporting to duty was significantly greater for clinical than technical and support staff, and perception of the importance of one's role in the district's overall response was the single most influential factor associated with willingness to report for work. The perceived risk among the health care workers was shown to be associated with several factors peripheral to the actual hazard of this event. Lacunae in knowledge identified serve as barriers to outbreak response and must be specifically addressed to enable effective local public health response to this significant threat.

Keywords

Perceptions, Outbreak, Health Care Staff

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