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Biomedical subjects

C S Pandav

Publications and source records attributed to C S Pandav.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
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Screening for chronic impairments using medical interns in rural Haryana, India.

BACKGROUND: With the increase in life expectancy, prevalence of impairments and disabilities are expected to increase in India. However, there have been very few studies to estimate the magnitude of the problem in rural India. This is essential, if appropriate rehabilitation services are to be planned in the country. METHODS: The study was done in the rural field practice area of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Ballabgarh, Haryana. The survey was conducted by successive batches of interns posted at Ballabgarh as a part of their compulsory rotating internship programme. The diagnostic criteria were based on history and simple clinical examination done at the domiciliary level. RESULTS: A total population of 25,509 in twelve villages were screened. The total impairment rate was 5.4% with no significant men/women difference. The prevalence of physical impairment was 4.7 per 1000 population. The prevalence of corneal opacity in children below 15 years of age was 4.7 per 1000. Prevalence of cataract was almost 35% in the population over 60 years of age and 15% in the population between 45 to 60 years. Auditory impairment was 19.6 per 1000 as ascertained by history. Three-fourths of this was conductive deafness and was found mainly in people above 60 years of age. CONCLUSION: Utilizing the rural field practice areas of medical colleges for collection of data on issues of national health importance would not only strengthen the health system in the country but also improve medical education. There is a need for a comprehensive preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative approach to disabilities in India.

Adolescent↗
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Typhoid fever vaccines.

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Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
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Radioiodine kinetics and thyroid function following the universal salt iodization policy.

BACKGROUND: Universal salt iodization was introduced in Delhi in 1989. The present study quantifies the change in iodine kinetics as a result of this. The previous values were reported 10-30 years earlier, when Delhi was iodine deficient. METHODS: Thirty subjects (18 men and 12 women, 17-48 years of age) who were residents of Delhi and had no thyroid disorder, were recruited from our outpatient clinic in 1999. The 24-hour urinary excretion of iodine and the iodine content of salt consumed at home by these subjects were estimated. Kinetic studies of iodine using radiotracer 131I were done to determine thyroid iodine clearance, renal iodine clearance, percentage uptake and absolute iodine uptake by the thyroid gland, and plasma inorganic iodine. RESULTS: The median 24-hour urinary iodine excretion was 341.3 micrograms. The mean (SD) thyroid uptake of radioactive iodine was 4.9 (2.3)% at 2 hours and 19.1 (8.0)% at 24 hours. The median calculated plasma inorganic iodine was 1.36 micrograms/dl, absolute iodine intake 6.5 micrograms/hour and thyroid iodine clearance was 4.8 ml/minute (geometric means 1.68 micrograms/dl, 8.5 micrograms/hour and 8.1 ml/minute, respectively). The serum thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone were within normal limits. CONCLUSION: Compared to the values reported 10-30 years ago when the population was iodine deficient, the present urinary iodine excretion, plasma inorganic iodine and absolute iodine intake have increased, while the percentage thyroid uptake of iodine ingested and thyroid clearance have decreased. The lack of change in the serum thyroid hormone levels after 10 years of universal salt iodization indicates that iodine consumption has had no adverse effect on thyroid function in these normal individuals. These changes are consistent with the increase in iodine consumption. Since the iodine ingestion in a community may change with time, assessment of iodine kinetics should be done periodically in different regions of the country.

Adolescent↗
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Injection use in a village in north India.

BACKGROUND: Injections can transmit infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and precipitate poliomyelitis. Complications such as injection abscesses and nerve damage may also occur. It is estimated that 50% of the injections given in developing countries are unsafe. However, limited information is available from India. We planned a pilot study to assess the prevalence of injection use and the knowledge of the community and private medical practitioners (PMPs) about injection use. METHODS: One in every four houses in the village under study was selected by systematic random sampling. One adult (> 18 years) respondent in the family was asked questions about family members receiving injections in the past 6 months. Nine PMPs were interviewed about their knowledge and practices regarding injection use. RESULTS: In the past six months, 1280 family members in 285 houses received 1575 injections (2.46 injections per person per year). About 35% had received at least one injection in the past 6 months. Children below 5 years received 3.1 injections/child/year of which about 60% were preventive. On their last visit to a health facility, 55% of the subjects were given injections using disposable syringes. About 45% of the 285 respondents knew that diseases could be spread by improper use of injections. While 18% of the respondents said they would prefer injections, 54% preferred oral medications if both were equally effective. After being told the average cost of disposable needles and syringes, 92% of the respondents were willing to buy them. None of the 9 PMPs practising in the village were formally trained in modern medicine. On the day of observation, 18 of 58 patients (30%) seen by PMPs were given injections. Three injections were observed and though they were all given with disposable syringes, the technique of administration did not follow standard guidelines in any. Two PMPs did not know of any disease transmitted by injections. The syringes were usually thrown in a nearby drain or outside the village. Four PMPs said that patients themselves did not ask for injections. CONCLUSION: The use of injections in the study area was high. The PMPs were not only giving a high number of injections but the technique of administration was also wrong. The community was less likely to ask for injections on their own but was willing to buy disposable syringes and needles. The awareness about the risk of injections was low.

Adult↗
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Ethical issues in public health policy.

Ethics in public health policy is given the least importance and rarely discussed. Resolving ethical issues in public health is often an arduous task as these are complicated and require careful handling. Using four case studies, we discuss issues pertaining to pertussis and brain damage, water fluoridation and dental caries, infection with the human immunodeficiency virus and the right to marriage, and the debate surrounding universal salt iodization. The core issue in all these examples pertains to the relevance of ethics in public health policy.

Decision Making↗
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Consensus and conflicts in health sector reforms in India: a Delphi study.

BACKGROUND: Health sector reforms have generated much debate in India, especially in the context of economic liberalization. The World Bank intensified this debate in 1993 when it tried to redefine the role of the public and private sectors in healthcare. The Government of India has recently announced the National Health Policy. We are not aware of any formal exercise by which a consensus has been reached or conflicts in the issues related to health policy have been assessed. We present the results of such an exercise conducted in the format of a Delphi study. METHODS: Based on a review of the current literature, a 9-domain, 56-item questionnaire was prepared. This was sent to a panel of 132 respondents with diverse backgrounds, from the grassroots workers to policymakers by surface or electronic mall. They were asked to identify the three top priorities and to give their degree of agreement to the statements. The results of the first round were analysed and sent back to the respondents for reconsideration. Consensus was defined as the presence of > or = 75% of the respondents in agreement whereas conflict was said to be present if > 35% of the respondents were on either side of the divide. During the subsequent round, the respondents were also asked to give three suggestions on how to approach the previously identified top three priorities. RESULTS: Half (66) of the original list of panelists replied to the questionnaire. The three priorities identified and later ratified were: improving the quality of care of the primary healthcare system, improvements in medical education and setting up a disease surveillance system. Other areas of consensus identified were: setting up a formal channel of interaction with the private health sector, instituting cost recovery systems in the government sector, setting up a technology assessment commission and bringing accountability into the system. Conflicts were in continuation of subsidy in medical education, the role of and need for health insurance and the role of health professionals vis-a-vis Panchayati Raj institutions. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated, on a small scale, the feasibility of assessing consensus on a wide range of issues. The approach is replicable, cost-effective and ensures that the scope of involvement is widened. Also, there is likely to be a greater feeling of self-involvement in the decisions made which would therefore meet with less resistance from the system during implementation.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare in a north Indian village.

BACKGROUND: Information on healthcare expenditure at the family or household level is important for the planning and management of health services. It is particularly relevant for health insurance agencies to estimate the amount of premium for initiating a universal health insurance system. METHODS: Of 800 families in a village, 160 were selected by systematic random sampling. Of these, 156 families were followed up for a period of 12 months (September 1998 to August 1999) by making monthly visits. Responses from each family, as given by the head of the family, were recorded with the help of an interview schedule administered in the local language. The interview schedule covered any morbidity among the family members in the past one month and the out-of-pocket expenditure incurred on the same. RESULTS: The private health sector was utilized in 59.4% of total episodes. Utilization of the private sector was directly associated with a higher socioeconomic status (p = 0.002). Of the total expenditure on non-hospitalized cases, 83.6% was incurred in the private sector. The mean per capita annual out-of-pocket expenditure on health was Rs 131. The median expenditure per episode was Rs 15. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that out-of-pocket expenditure is more than the government expenditure on health. There is a need for systems such as health insurance to protect the poor from high medical costs.

Family Characteristics↗
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Cost of health services provided at a primary health centre.

BACKGROUND: Information on the cost of health services is essential for good planning and management and leads to an efficient use of resources. Very little information on this is available in India. We estimated the distribution of costs incurred on the Primary Health Centre, Chhainsa, Haryana by the type of service provided and their average unit costs. METHODS: We calculated the total costs incurred in running the primary health centre for one year using standard costing methods. This cost was apportioned under different heads on the basis of time and space utilization. The number of activities carried out, between April 1991 and March 1992, was obtained from the monthly reports of the centre maintained by the health assistant and supervised by the medical officer. RESULTS: The total cost incurred for one year was Rs 777,020 (US$ 24,250). Curative care accounted for 32% of the total costs followed by communicable disease control (17%), child care (17%), maternal care (11%) and family welfare (10%). An expenditure of Rs 24 was incurred on each outpatient. The cost of giving full primary immunization to a child was estimated at Rs 131, while Rs 127 was incurred on providing antenatal, natal and postnatal care to each pregnant woman. Tuberculosis-related activities in the community cost Rs 3 per head per year and malaria-related activities Rs 2 per head per year. The cost incurred annually on family welfare services to an eligible couple was Rs 19. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the cost estimates from this primary health centre are comparable with the estimates from other developing countries. These cost estimates may be used to determine user fees by health agencies or for premiums for community health insurance schemes.

Capital Expenditures↗
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Costing of a salt iodine monitoring laboratory in India.

BACKGROUND: Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) are an important public health problem in India and can be prevented by fortifying common salt with iodine. For the iodation programme to be effective, it is necessary to monitor the iodine content of salt. The National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme recommends that one salt iodine monitoring laboratory should be set up in each district. We calculated the cost of setting up such a laboratory in the year 1993. METHODS: We estimated that approximately 6000 samples of salt would be sent annually by health workers to the district laboratory as part of the routine report system. We calculated the capital cost of the laboratory to include land, buildings and equipment. The recurrent costs included salaries, chemicals and reagents, and maintenance assuming a uniform discount of 10%. RESULTS: A total of Rs 81,550 would be needed for one such laboratory annually, of which Rs 73,500 (89%) would be recurrent costs. This comes to Rs 13.60 per sample tested or 5 paise per head per year in a district with an average population of 1.7 million. If the building is already available and the staff in position only need to be trained, then Rs 16,040 per year (equipment, chemicals and operating costs) would be required. This comes to 1 paise per head per year. CONCLUSIONS: Setting up a salt iodine monitoring laboratory, a vital component for the salt iodation programme, has modest cost implications, especially if the building and staff already exist. This is likely to be the case in most of the districts.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
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Cost analysis of a primary health centre in northern India.

BACKGROUND: Cost data are useful in health planning, budgeting and for assessing the efficiency of services. However, such data are not easily available from developing countries. We therefore estimated the cost incurred for the year 1991-92 on a primary health centre in northern India, which is affiliated to an academic institution. METHODS: The total costs incurred included the capital costs for land, building, furniture, vehicles and equipment as well as the recurrent costs for salaries, drugs and vaccines, diesel and maintenance. Except for land, where the 'opportunity cost' was calculated, the current market rates were considered for all other factors. A discount rate of 10% was used in the study. RESULTS: A total of Rs 777,015 (US $24,282) was incurred on the primary health centre in the study year, 80% being recurrent costs. Salaries constituted 62% of the total costs. A sum of Rs 30 (US $0.94) per head per year on primary health care was being incurred. CONCLUSION: Salaries constitute the bulk of the cost incurred on health. Approximately Rs 28 (40%) of the Rs 69 spent per head per year on health services by the Government of India is incurred on providing primary health care services.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗