Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Career Choice among Medical Postgraduate Aspirants in Chennai: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Many frontline workers including doctors and nurses have succumbed to the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. In the COVID-19 pandemic, medical postgraduate (PG) aspirants had to deal with a variety of problems, including an increased workload, delay in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG test and counselling. Aim: To assess the effect of COVID-19 pandemic and various factors influencing career choice among medical PG aspirants in Chennai. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in the Department of Community Medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India from August 2021 to September 2021 among 272 medical Postgraduate (PG) aspirants. A Google form questionnaire was sent to students who were in an internship in the past six months or had completed their internship in the past one year. There were 28 multiple choice questions comprising of socio-demographic details (with exception of age) and various factors related to career choice. Five questions were scored yes/no, and 15 questions were scored using 5-point Likert scale. Results: The mean age of the participants was 24.41±1.81 years and there were 129 males and 143 females in total among the study participants. Change in career choice was observed in 39.33% of the participants. The top two choices prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic was General Surgery and General Medicine. Among the participants who had a change in career choice, the mean score of four questions in COVID-19 pandemic domain was higher when compared with participants who had no change. Conclusion: Most of the participants believed that the COVID-19 pandemic limited the learning opportunities for postgraduates and the violence against doctors had an impact on their decision to pursue a particular career. Due to the present pandemic, participants interest in community medicine and infectious diseases has increased

Public Transport or a Landmine: Insecurities, Harassment and its Effect on Mental Health in Women Using Public Transport System in Chennai District, Tamil Nadu

Background: Crimes against women committed while traveling in public transportation is seldom understood, analyzed, and reported. The World Health Organization has stated that any form of violence against women must be considered a public health emergency. As a result of abuse, their overall health is impacted. This study was conducted to find the prevalence of insecurity and characterization of harassment among female passengers while traveling on public transport.Subjects and Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted in the Chennai district, Tamilnadu between November 2023 to March 2024. A total of 270 women above 18 years of age and using public transport for a minimum period of 6 months for daily commuting were included as study participants selected using a simple random sampling method. Data related to Subjective fear of traveling alone in public transport was used as a dependent variable which was collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire comprised of questions related to sociodemographic characteristics, having faced verbal/physical harassment, and having experienced stalking while traveling in public transport, which were used as independent variables. Subjective response to harassment was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Data was analyzed using SPPS version 26. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used to find the predictors that lead to the fear of traveling alone.Results: A total of 270 participants were included in the study. The predictors for developing fear of travelling alone in public transport system were, belonging to a nuclear family (aOR= 2.12; 95% CI= 1.23 to 3.32), women who faced any kind of harassment (aOR= 2.56; 95% CI= 1.76 to 3.84), faced physical harassment (aOR= 3.92; 95% CI= 2.45 to 5.67) and faced verbal harassment (aOR= 4.11; 95% CI= 1.87 to 6.34).Conclusion: It’s not only enough to bring about policies, but the common public must be educated about harassments that happen on public transport. A special task force must be formed to apprehend the assailants

Psychosocial Morbidity Among Doctors Working in Intensive Care Unit in Tertiary Care Hospitals in Chennai - A Cross Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Intensivists routinely works in a demanding, highly complicated environment where mortality and morbidity are common events and errors can lead to series situation in the working place. Doctors and other health care workers used to work in high stressful condition which affects their own physical as well mental health. AIM &OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess psychological factors such as mood status (anxiety, depression and stress) as well as to find out the various influencing factors on psychological health among doctors working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). METHODS: The list of tertiary care hospitals in Chennai were collected and Ten hospitals were selected randomly by lottery method and 15 doctors who were working in Intensive Care Units (ICU) were selected from each hospital by systematic random sampling to arrive at the calculated sample size of 150. The Data was collected using the Pretested semi structured questionnaire and validated Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS-21) Scale. Data was entered in MS Excel and analysed by SPSS version 22. RESULTS: The prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress was found to be 78.6%, 86% and 60.6% respectively among ICU doctors. It was found that, having a history of either diabetes or hypertension was an important predictor for depression with an adjusted odds ratio of 3,48 (95% CI – 1.3-8.8) and person who were working more than 8 hours per day was statistically associated(p<0.05) with stress with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.21 (95% CI – 1.1-5.49). CONCLUSIONS: Routine screening of physical health and mental health for doctors involved in the diagnostic as well as treatment aspects of work towards patients in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) should be conducted periodically