Community diagnosis for a slum population under the field practice area of a government medical college, New Delhi: community-oriented primary care exercise for undergraduate students

Abstract

Background: Rapid urbanization has led to the increase in a group of people called ‘Urban poor’ dwelling as a community in ‘Slums’, worldwide. Slums manifest deprivation that transcends income poverty. Hence, we conducted this Community-oriented primary care (COPC) exercise, to give medical students a greater understanding of the situation of individual patients in the slum and to formulate a community diagnosis.Methods: The current study was done at Tyagaraj Nagar Jhuggi in the South district of New Delhi, during Community-oriented primary care (COPC) exercise of undergraduate medical students in their 4th semester over a period of 20 days, using a predesigned proforma for collecting data on health events and determinants of health, from families. 35 households were chosen by systematic random sampling.Results: Out of 179 community members studied, 33 (18.43%) were afflicted with morbidity, which consists of common cold with cough, generalized body pain and joint pain. The sex ratio was found to be 826, literacy rate was 76.9% in the study area, 44.11% of the households were having sanitary latrines owned by them, 68.6% had a closed drainage system 63% of the families used clean fuel for cooking and unmet need of contraception was 85% among eligible couples.Conclusions: Investments in women’s access to various contraceptive preferences are urgently needed to help increase the contraceptive prevalence rate. Health Education and awareness campaigns on prevention of potential mosquito, fly breeding sites, hand hygiene, avoidance of firewood as fuel, establishing smoke outlet and solid waste management should be arranged.