Maternal Health in Haryana: Evidences from NFHS

The paper is based on National Family Health Survey (NFHS) Haryana data collected during third and fourth round of survey. In terms of maternal health care indicators like ANC, IFA consumption, TT, assisted births, institutional births and PNC, Haryana performed better than India for parameters like TT, assisted deliveries and PNC; at par for IFA tablets and lower for ANC and institutional deliveries. Punjab was ahead of Haryana in terms of all these parameters. All these maternal health care indicators had a positive relationship with the raise in the educational level of the women. With the education the awareness level of women gets enhanced and they understand the importance of vital factors than their uneducated counterparts. Our policy planners and programme implementers should keep this important point well in mind that education is the key to easy eradication of all these problems and education of women will assist in achieving better results

Functioning of ASHAs under National Health Mission in Punjab: An Appraisal

The present paper ascertains the functional efficacy of ASHAs and suggests measures for the optimization of their functioning in Punjab. For carrying out the study, different phases included random selection of three districts followed by two health blocks from each district and three sub centres from each block and subsequently one village from each sub centre. List of eligible women who had delivered a baby during the last three months prior to the survey was prepared and at last stage, five women from each village were selected at random. The findings revealed that the norms, including the age limit, educational qualification, residence and marital status set for the selection of ASHAs revealed clear adherence of the NHM guidelines. However two-thirds of the ASHAs were covering a population of more than 1,000 persons. About 90 percent of the ASHAs couldn’t specify their job responsibilities promptly on the activities related to spreading health awareness among adolescents, promoting hygiene practices, generating awareness on preventive measures on RTI/STI, HIV/AIDS, tobacco and alcoholism. About 94 percent of ASHA workers had received drug kit. However there were delays in the replenishment of drugs. As per NHM guidelines, no drug kit has AYUSH medications in it. Inter-sectoral collaboration among the ASHAs, ANMs, PRImembers and AWWs was more or less satisfactory even though ASHAs intervention in VHSNC meeting was not encouraging due to non-cooperation of other stakeholders. For strengthening of the ASHA programme, it is essential that the factors discouraging them are addressed properly

Maternal Health in Haryana: Evidences from NFHS

The paper is based on National Family Health Survey (NFHS) Haryana data collected during third and fourth round of survey. In terms of maternal health care indicators like ANC, IFA consumption, TT, assisted births, institutional births and PNC, Haryana performed better than India for parameters like TT, assisted deliveries and PNC; at par for IFA tablets and lower for ANC and institutional deliveries. Punjab was ahead of Haryana in terms of all these parameters. All these maternal health care indicators had a positive relationship with the raise in the educational level of the women. With the education the awareness level of women gets enhanced and they understand the importance of vital factors than their uneducated counterparts. Our policy planners and programme implementers should keep this important point well in mind that education is the key to easy eradication of all these problems and education of women will assist in achieving better results.</jats:p

Functioning of ASHAs under National Health Mission in Punjab: An Appraisal

The present paper ascertains the functional efficacy of ASHAs and suggests measures for the optimization of their functioning in Punjab. For carrying out the study, different phases included random selection of three districts followed by two health blocks from each district and three sub centres from each block and subsequently one village from each sub centre. List of eligible women who had delivered a baby during the last three months prior to the survey was prepared and at last stage, five women from each village were selected at random. The findings revealed that the norms, including the age limit, educational qualification, residence and marital status set for the selection of ASHAs revealed clear adherence of the NHM guidelines. However two-thirds of the ASHAs were covering a population of more than 1,000 persons. About 90 percent of the ASHAs couldn’t specify their job responsibilities promptly on the activities related to spreading health awareness among adolescents, promoting hygiene practices, generating awareness on preventive measures on RTI/STI, HIV/AIDS, tobacco and alcoholism. About 94 percent of ASHA workers had received drug kit. However there were delays in the replenishment of drugs. As per NHM guidelines, no drug kit has AYUSH medications in it. Inter-sectoral collaboration among the ASHAs, ANMs, PRImembers and AWWs was more or less satisfactory even though ASHAs intervention in VHSNC meeting was not encouraging due to non-cooperation of other stakeholders. For strengthening of the ASHA programme, it is essential that the factors discouraging them are addressed properly.</jats:p

Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a pandemic has been validated as an extreme clinical calamity and has affected several socio-economic activities globally. Proven transmission of this virus occurs through airborne droplets from an infected person. The recent upsurge in the number of infected individuals has already exceeded the number of intensive care beds available to patients. These extraordinary circumstances have elicited the need for the development of diagnostic tools for the detection of the virus and, hence, prevent the spread of the disease. Early diagnosis and effective immediate treatment can reduce and prevent an increase in the number of cases. Conventional methods of detection such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and chest computed tomography scans have been used extensively for diagnostic purposes. However, these present several challenges, including prolonged assay requirements, labor-intensive testing, low sensitivity, and unavailability of these resources in remote locations. Such challenges urgently require fast, sensitive, and accurate diagnostic techniques for the timely detection and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. Point-of-care biosensors that include paper- and chip-based diagnostic systems are rapid, cost-effective, and user friendly. In this article nanotechnology-based potential biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis are discussed with particular emphasis on a lateral flow assay, a surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based biosensor, a localized surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor, Förster resonance energy transfer, an electrochemical biosensor, and artificial intelligence-based biosensors. Several biomolecules, such as nucleic acids, antibodies/enzymes, or aptamers, can serve as potential detection molecules on an appropriate platform, such as graphene oxide, nanoparticles, or quantum dots. An effective biosensor can be developed by using appropriate combinations of nanomaterials and technologies.</jats:p