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1993 - VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1-2
95.29.1 - English - Anoop I. BENJAMIN and Prema ZACHARIAH Nutritional status and feeding practices in under-3 years old children in a rural community in Ludhiana, Punjab
A study of 182 children, aged under three years old, in a village in Ludhiana District in the Punjab highlighted the fact that 26.9% of them were suffering from malnutrition, a third of which showed a moderate lack of proteins. The examination identifies various socio-demographic factors associated with this problem. The majority of mothers (57.7%) breastfeed their children exclusively for four to six months. The 23% of children who receive only mother's milk during the first seven to nine months of their lives are the least affected by the lack of protein. All babies under the age of six months are breastfed; 69.7% of them are given no other food at all, but they are all lacking in protein and in calories. Besides the necessity of developing a polyvalent programme to combat malnutrition by acting on its various components, mothers should be advised to breastfeed their children, to the exclusion of anything else, from the day their baby is born till it reaches the age of seven to nine months and, thereafter, to give them adequate feeding based around a plentiful supply of calories rather than giving them as much protein as possible. (INDIA, CHILD NUTRITION, BREAST FEEDING, MALNUTRITION)
95.29.2 - English - Kurudi P. NEERAJA and M.PRAKASAMMA Utilisation of immunisation services among under-five children in a selected Sugali tribal area of Ananthapur district
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the degree of utilisation of the immunisation services in a particularly underprivileged ethnic community in India and to identify the causes of non-utilisation. The parents of children aged under five years old were interviewed (255 mothers and 545 children) with regard to the use they make of the immunisation services and a check was made to see whether their children's left arm showed sips of the BCG vaccination. The degree of the mothers' awareness is highly correlated with their level of education, but not with their age, their occupation, the family type nor income; it is average in 70.20% of cases, non-existent in 16.47%, low for 10.98% and high in only 2.39% of those interviewed. Child immunisation is, of course, strongly related to the degree of awareness and the education level of the mothers. While there are many children who have still not received the major vaccinations, this is due, amongst other things, to the lack of medical equipment at dispensaries, the lack of information given to the population, the child being absent when the medical team visits, the child going for the vaccinations too late, etc. (INDIA, VACCINATION, PROGRAMME EVALUATION)
95.29.3 - English - Superna GOEL Nutritional problems in India
In spite of the well-known scientific theories, based on the clinical and experimental approach to nutrition, it is now recognised, thanks to wide-ranging surveys, that the source of the feeding problems in India resides in poverty and social inequality. The epidemiological pattern of illnesses due to bad nutrition has changed: the alarming manifestations of serious and spectacular clinical symptoms have given way to chronic morbidity and malnutrition. Infections of various types and the poor health status of both mothers and children are issues of some considerable proportion. It is imperative that nutritional problems should be seen from a totally realistic angle, with all their interrelationships, and not as isolated food deficiencies. The author examines various data in order to highlight the link which exists between the overall living conditions and energy and protein intake, on the one hand, and iron, vitamin A and iodine deficiencies, on the other. (INDIA, MALNUTRITION, POVERTY)
95.29.4 - English - S. SUREENDER and K. MOULASHA MTP in India: An observation
The authors of the present study attempt to evaluate the frequency of abortion between 1976-1977 and 1988-1989 in the main Indian States and concentrate their examination on those abortions which were carried out at between 12 and 20 weeks into gestation and on the main reasons which women gave for having an abortion. The data used were provided by the Report on Family Welfare which was published by the Indian Government. The frequency of abortion is declining from year to year, as is the use of abortion at very advanced stages of pregnancy. The failure of a contraceptive method remains the main reason given by women who are requesting an abortion. The authors recommend that the government and the NGOs should unite their efforts in order to make it known that family planning methods are far superior to abortion (except where it cannot be avoided) when family size is to be restricted. The quality of family planning services must be improved and, in those cases where an abortion would appear inevitable, an effort must be made, in health education services, followed by mass media services and midwives, to advise women to make use of abortion services at as early a stage as possible. (INDIA, INDUCED ABORTION, MASS EDUCATION)
95.29.5 - English - B.M. SINGH and Satinder VASHIST Assessment of training needs of Anganwadi workers in relation to infant feeding
A questionnaire was submitted to 82 Anganwadi auxiliaries from the Preventive and Social Medicine Programme, working in the field in a rural environment in the New Delhi area, in order to test their knowledge with regard to breastfeeding and weaning. Almost all of them gave correct anwers with respect to beginning breastfeeding, the importance of colostrum, the superiority of mothers' milk over manufactured milk, the age at which a baby can start to eat semi-solid foods and the link between cleanliness of a feeding bottle and diarrhoea. But various other incorrect answers were given by a considerable proportion of the women interviewed (40%-60%) and the authors conclude that the training of these auxiliaries with regard to feeding a baby should be revised. (INDIA, PARAMEDICAL PERSONNEL, BREAST FEEDING, VOCATIONAL TRAINING)
95.29.6 - English - Prem CHAUDHARY Sulabh Swasthya Yojana: An impact and attitude study
The Sulabh Swasthya Yojana programme, launched in an area in Rajouri district, was the subject of an evaluation study which is described in the present article. In particular, the programme's impact was measured as well as the population's changing attitudes towards primary health care, public hygiene and family planning services. The population's attitude has, in effect, developed positively from several points of view: family planning education, prenatal and postnatal care, health care for young girls, toilets, smokeless "chulhas", managing a vegetable garden, etc. These trends were observed in the villages taking part in the programme as well as in the associated villages and those not taking part. (INDIA, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, PROGRAMME EVALUATION)
1993- VOLUME 16, NUMBER 3-4
95.29.7 - English - A.K. PRATINIDHI, V.A. KAKRANI, M.V. TALWALKAR and A.M. GUPTE Evaluation of district family welfare activity by 30 cluster sampling method
The 30-cluster sampling method was used in the present study in order to evaluate the efficiency of the family planning programme at district level. Out of the 30 clusters chosen in Pune district, 12 were urban and 18 were rural. Overall, 688 women were interviewed. The study showed that the proportion of women who adopt a permanent method of family planning is practically the same in urban environments as it is in rural areas, but the use of temporary methods is much more frequent in urban areas. (INDIA, CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE, PROGRAMME EVALUATION)
95.29.8 - English - P.N. GARG, T.S. BEHL and Sunil MAHAJAN A study of AIDS awareness in health workers working in PHC, Gharuan, district Ropar
A health education programme, essential for the prevention of AIDS, can be implemented using the existing infrastructures and with the help of the mass media. The authors of the present article show to what degree it is necessary to inform health agents (who play the role of trainers) on all aspects of the disease, to regularly update their knowledge and to motivate them in order that they dedicate themselves body and soul to the programme for the greater benefit of the society to which they belong and to the service of which they have dedicated themselves. The authors observed that the agents' kowledge is very poor and that their training requires to be improved. They also believe that the health education programme should be integrated into the primary health care programme in order to improve its chances of success. (INDIA, AIDS, PARAMEDICAL PERSONNEL, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, HEALTH SERVICES)
95.29.9 - English - P. PANDA, A.I. BENJAMIN and P. ZACHARIAH Health status of under-fives in a Ludhiana slum
A transversal study was carried out on 237 children aged under five years old in 205 families, chosen at random from amongst the 902 children aged under five years old in the 1,512 families living in the "municipal dump" area of Ladhiana. It demonstrated that the majority of these children belong to families of migrants who originally came from three of the five "Bimaru" States, mainly in Bihar. Almost half of these children have an illiterate father and the average per capita income of the family is 176 rupees per month. Only 27% of the children have been properly vaccinated, while 28% of them never have been. 19% of both boys and girls suffer from serious malnutrition and diarrhoeal diseases are the main cause of morbidity. Public hygiene measures and drinking water supplies are therefore required urgently in this underprivileged urban area. (INDIA, POVERTY, CHILDREN, HEALTH CONDITIONS, MORBIDITY)
95.29.10 - English - N.N. SARKAR Legally induced abortion in India
The author is proposing a re-evaluation of legally induced abortion from the perspective of the national family planning programme. Between 1980 and 1988, the number of such abortions increased from 388,405 to 584,870. They are, in the main, carried out on women aged between 20 and 30 years old. The motivation behind between 35 to 50% of these abortions is contraceptive failure. Only 15% are carried out during the second quarter of gestation. In 50 to 56% of cases, abortion is not followed up by a request for sterilisation or an IUD. The fact that young women are using abortion shows that the concept of a smaller family size is gaining ground. Couples of reproductive age are in great need of training in the correct way to use contraceptive methods. (INDIA, LEGAL ABORTION, TRENDS, CONTRACEPTION FAILURES)
1994 - VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1-2
95.29.11 - English - Prasanta K. MAJUMDAR, Ramji TIWARI, Basant RAM and B.N. BHATTACHARYA Study on utilisation of maternity and child health services in rural Jammu, India
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the degree of use made of the maternal and child health services in the rural areas in Jammu (India). 2,337 married women of reproductive age were interviewed, belonging to 2,063 households sampled in 28 villages divided into three categories: villages with a primary health centre; villages which only have a health post and villages which have neither one nor the other. It was noted that the proximity of a health centre had a positive influence on the awareness of the population with regard to mother and child health services, as well as information on these services and their use. Education level and per capita income are positively associated with information on these services, the type of services available and the degree of utilisation. Age, caste and religion, on the other hand, have no particular effect. The cover rates for various vaccinations for children aged under three years old are both very high and close to the maximum. (INDIA, MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH, HEALTH SERVICES, RURAL POPULATION, VACCINATION)
95.29.12 - English - S. PONNURAJ and SANKARAPANDIAN
Analysis and assessment of knowledge about AIDS among students of Gandhigram rural university
This is an evaluation of the level of kowledge about AIDS amongst 307 male students and 292 female students in Gandhigram Rural University (Tamil Nadu). More than half of the student community is not well informed on the way in which AIDS is transmitted. Female students have greater knowledge, as do students from urban areas and those in the faculties of medicine and agriculture. Age, sex, means of information and the study programme are variables which have an effect on the level of students' knowledge on AIDS. (INDIA, AIDS, COLLEGE STUDENTS, INFORMATION)
95.29.13 - English - A.I. BENJAMIN, P. PANDA and P. ZACHARIAH Maternal and child health services in Dehlon block of Ludhiana district: Results of the ICDS evaluation survey
A transversal sample survey was undertaken in the Dehlon block of Ludhiana district within the framework of the ICDS Programme (Integrated Child Development Services) in order to evaluate the efficiency of the project after three years in operation. The article describes the state of health of those who benefit from the programme, that is children from birth to six years old and pregnant and breastfeeding women in the block. The services provided to the members of the most underprivileged castes were found to be sadly lacking. Furthermore, the lack of coordination amongst the agents from the department responsible for the ICDS programme and those in the health sector seems to be creating serious obstacles to the proper implementation of the programme. (INDIA, MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH, HEALTH SERVICES, PROGRAMME EVALUATION)
95.29.14 - English - S.K. KUTHIALA Caring for the elderly: New dimension in India
The author studies the changes which affect the status of the elderly in India. With the transformation of the traditional practices of caring for the elderly, the rapid increase in their numbers could become a serious social issue in the first quarter of the next century, especially for urban families. It is to be hoped that these changes will take place slowly and that the majority of the elderly will be taken into care by their families. If this is not the case, and if most peoples' attitudes and behaviour change with regard to the elderly, caring for the old could become a national responsibility. In the perspective of such a scenario, it would be appropriate for the Indian government to give serious consideration to the problem of the elderly. (INDIA, AGED, SOCIAL POLICY)
95.29.15 - English - N. AUDINARAYANA Correlates of maternal and child immunization: A cross-country analysis
The immunisation of pregnant women and children aged less than one year old is one of the best indicators of mother and child health. In the present article, the author attempts to analyse whether specific socio-economic, ecological health and communication variables have an impact on the degree of immunisation of mothers and children aged less than one. These variables include the rate of female literacy, the per capita GNP, the rate of urban population, the number of radio and television sets, the proportion of childbirths with medical personnel present, the rate of access to health services, the percentage of pregnant women covered by TT2 vaccination and the percentage of children aged one year old who have been completely vaccinated against TB, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and chickenpox. (MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH, VACCINATION)
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