La Rge-scale Awareness Campaigns Research Articles

Stigmatized attitudes of medical staff toward people who use drugs and their determinants in Japanese medical facilities specialized in addiction treatment.

Stigma within healthcare settings significantly impact the lives of people who use drugs (PWUD). Given the lack of quantitative data on stigma toward PWUD in healthcare settings and the unknown factors that contribute to it in the Japanese context, this study aimed to investigate the current status of stigma toward PWUD and its determinants. We conducted a survey in five specialized addiction medical facilities across three prefectures in Japan. The survey included questions related to stigmatizing attitudes toward PWUD, knowledge about illicit drug use, and personal and professional interactions with PWUD. A substantial portion of respondents rejected the notion that drug addiction can be overcome through sheer willpower or attributed it solely to moral failings. However, the majority still considered them untrustworthy and viewing drug use as unacceptable and incomprehensible. Many respondents perceived PWUD as dangerous, despite the limited occurrence of hostile behavior from PWUD in clinical practice. A considerable proportion of respondents did not seek support for their own or their relatives' drug-related issues, and less than half had collaborated with recovered PWUD, which serves as potential indicators of reduced stigma. While healthcare professionals recognized that involving law enforcement does not contribute to the recovery of PWUD, a considerable number still believed it was necessary to report them to the authorities. Healthcare professionals in specialized addiction medical facilities demonstrate strong stigmatizing attitudes toward PWUD. Comprehensive educational programs and large-scale awareness campaigns are necessary to address and mitigate stigma in this context.

Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Cigarette Smokers and Use of Alternative Nicotine Delivery Systems in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. This research has been conducted to assess smokers’ knowledge and behavior vis-à-vis combustible smoking cessation, prevalence, and risk, and the use of alternative nicotine delivery systems to quit smoking. Methods. A mixed-method approach utilizing cross section primary survey data and comprising descriptive and s-KAP index analysis has been adopted to ascertain the relationship between dependent and independent s-KAP variables; the principal component analysis methodology has been used to determine the use of alternative nicotine delivery systems. Results. Most of the smokers were aged between 15 and 35 years. A predominant 69.8% of the smokers came from middle-class background. Moreover, 71.3% were unaware of any alternative Tobacco Harm Reduction product. A majority of the respondents (68.2%) were keen to quit smoking. However, when asked why they had not succeeded, 52.9% reported addiction to nicotine as the main impediment. In Pakistan, lack of smoking cessation services is the weak link in the fight against the tobacco epidemic. Smokers are generally unaware of the Tobacco Harm Reduction products available in Pakistan; moreover, only 10.9% of the respondents were willing to spend more than Rs. 4000 per month on Tobacco Harm Reduction products. The average s-KAP score for young adults below the age of 20 was much lower than the national average but improved with the level of education. Interestingly, the score of smokers who had ever tried to quit smoking was slightly higher than that of those who had never tried to quit. Conclusion. There is intent to quit combustible smoking but the policy and infrastructure necessary for successful quitting are missing. Pakistan needs to concentrate on two fronts: a large scale awareness campaign against the use and harms of combustible smoking and simultaneously providing affordable and accessible smoking services across the country. Pakistan should look at the use and regulation of safer nicotine products in the UK. The country should carefully weigh the options of ensuring how to incorporate the use of safer nicotine delivery systems in its tobacco control efforts.

The Effectiveness of a Large-Scale Flood Risk Awareness Campaign: Evidence from Two Panel Data Sets.

In the context of integrated flood risk management, governments and public agencies aim to strengthen flood risk reduction and insurance at the household level. They often employ awareness campaigns in order to educate the public about flood risk and possible coping strategies. However, the effectiveness of these awareness campaigns has hardly been examined empirically, and the available analyses come to ambiguous conclusions. Evaluations based on longitudinal data of actual household behavior are missing. In this study, we perform two independent empirical analyses to assess whether a large-scale awareness campaign in Germany affected private flood protection or insurance behavior. We thereby exploit the fact that different federal states initiated the campaign at different points in time between 2009 and 2017. In the first analysis, we use a longitudinal data set of a national sample of 6,729 household heads in the years 2012 and 2014 and focus on three federal states that launched the campaign in 2013. In the second analysis, we use flood damage and insurance penetration data at the federal state level from 2002 to 2018 (N = 256). Based on a fixed effects difference-in-differences estimator, we do not find that the campaign had a significant effect on households' behaviors, damage, or insurance penetration. The results show that large-scale flood risk awareness campaigns, as they are currently conducted in many countries, have a limited effectiveness in terms of strengthening actual flood protection or insurance behavior of households.

Knowledge and attitude towards cervical cancer among reproductive age group women in Gondar town, North West Ethiopia

BackgroundCervical cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Nearly 83% of the world’s new cases and 85% of all cervical cancer-related deaths occur in developing countries. It is primarily caused by human papilloma virus (HPV); a sexually transmitted pathogen that could be prevented with safe sexual practice and using vaccines among others.The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of reproductive age group women towards cervical cancer and its prevention in Gondar town.MethodsA descriptive community based cross-sectional study was carried out. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was employed for data collection. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Descriptive statistics like frequency, mean and percentage were computed using SPSS version 20 software program.ResultsSeven hundred and seventy women (n = 770) participated with a response rate of 100%. More than half, (65.1%) of the participants claim hearing of cervical cancer. However, majority (> 80%) of them lack knowledge that HPV is a causative agent of cervical cancer which is extremely worrying as the most important way to prevent cervical cancer is blocking HPV infection. Of those who had heard of it, only 107 (21.4%) said they have heard about Pap smear test. From them, less than half, 47 (43.9%) said that an apparently healthy woman should undergo the test at least three times in her life. This means in addition to the lack of information about the test, majority of those who had heard about it didn’t know how many times they should have the test in their life. Overall, only 153 (19.87%) of the participants were found having a good knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention.ConclusionThe overall knowledge of women towards cervical cancer was inadequate. On the other hand, those who had heard about it had a somewhat encouraging attitude. Mass media was the major source of information. But, any public health problem cannot be solved in isolation. Hence, initiating large-scale awareness campaigns is recommended.

Assessing the awareness and care of people with diabetes related to Ramadan fasting; a-cross sectional study from Pakistan.

To assess the awareness level and care of people with diabetes related to Ramadan fasting across the country. This cross-sectional survey was conducted by Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology, between November 2016 to March 2017, using convenient sampling. The physicians involved in the care of people with diabetes were invited to participate. A preformed validated questionnaire was used to conduct face to face interview on one to one basis. Altogether 2187 people with diabetes were enrolled. Knowledge related to Ramadan fasting was poor (35.64%), misconceptions were common (57.02%), and unsafe practices (55.62%) were highly prevalent. One third (31.9%) of the subjects did not receive pre-Ramadan education while medications adjustments were not made in nearly half of the study population. In this cross-sectional survey, we observed lack of awareness, misconceptions and unsafe practices among fasting people with diabetes across the country. Large scale awareness campaign is needed as comprehensive care is not widely available.

Health awareness and consequences of consanguineous marriages: a community-based study.

This community-based study was done to assess the awareness of people regarding the ill effects of consanguinity and to observe its association with various sociodemographic variables and complications among children. Houses were chosen by systematic random sampling method and any married person in each household was interviewed. Only 35 (18.7%) out of 187 participants were aware of health hazards associated with consanguineous marriages. The prevalence of consanguineous marriages was found to be 23 (12.3%). History of consanguineous marriage was seen significantly more among illiterates (P = .05) and respondents with parental history of consanguinity (P < .001). The mean age at marriage was found to be significantly lower among women married consanguineously (P = .05). Congenital anomalies (P = .02) and low birth weight (P = .05) was seen significantly more among children with parental history of consanguinity. Large-scale awareness campaigns are needed to address the ill effects of this seemingly innocuous cultural practice.

Status, Occurrence, Distribution of Some Mammals of North Gujarat, India

Abstract North Gujarat region of western India is least explored for its mammalian diversity especially small to medium sized mammals which are usually solitary and largely nocturnal. Present study has been carried out to know the occurrence, status and distribution of such mammalian fauna residing in the region, to assess threat to their habitat and preparing a strategy for their conservation. Surveys were intensively carried through various methodologies such as direct encounter, sign surveys and secondary information. The study resulted by noting 28 species of mammals (excluding Chiroptera and Rodentia) in the region; out of which 14 species were studied extensively for their distribution and occurrence in the region. The study shows that 25% of the species are common in the region by their occurrence where as 48% species are uncommon to rare. Sign index of each species reflects their fair distribution in various habitats. Human activities mainly transport, mining, grazing, tree cutting and lopping are to be discouraged in the area to protect these mammals. The forest patches can be protected through making conservation corridors and expanding the boundaries of the protected areas. Moreover, large scale awareness campaigns, research and monitoring may prove very effective to conserve these rare species of mammals in the unique ecosystem of north Gujarat.

A study of the knowledge and attitude towards pulse polio immunization in semi urban areas of South India

The government of India launched the pulse polio immunization (PPI) programme in 1995 with the aim of eradicating poliomyelitis by the end of 2000. Despite this, 733 children with polio were reported in 2009 alone. Therefore, there is a need to understand the reason underlying such high numbers of cases after so many years of programme implementation. This study was performed to assess the knowledge of the general population about poliomyelitis and PPI and their attitude and practice towards PPI. This cross-sectional study was undertaken in two semi- urban areas of Mangalore city. Only houses in which children under five lived were included in the study. Data was collected by interviewing any adult member of the household using a pretested questionnaire. The literacy rate of study participants was 99%. Only 35(10.9%) participants knew the correct mode of transmission of polio. More than one quarter of the study population were under the misconception that polio is a curable disease. The primary source of information about PPI in majority of participants was the television (n = 192; 60%). Two-hundred and eighty eight (90%) participants knew that the purpose of PPI was to eradicate polio. Only 128 (40%) participants knew that polio drops can be given to children with mild illnesses and an identical number of participants knew that hot food stuff should not be given for at least half an hour following vaccination administration. Misconceptions such as PPI causing vaccine overdose was identified among 7 (2.2%) participants, it is a substitute for routine immunization was believed among 30 (9.4%) participants and that oral polio vaccine prevents other diseases was seen among 76 (23.7%) participants. The educational status of the participants was significantly associated with their awareness level (χ(2) =13.668, DF=6, P=0.033). This study identified a few important misconceptions associated with polio and PPI which need to be addressed by large scale awareness campaigns in order to achieve polio eradication in the near future.

A comparative study to assess the awareness of palliative care between urban and rural areas of Ernakulum district, Kerala, India

Aim:To assess the knowledge and attitude toward palliative care among people residing in urban and rural areas.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted among 185 urban and 165 rural households. Senior-most member of the household present was interviewed using a questionnaire. Only those people who have heard about palliative care were included in the study.Results:Out of 350 people, 47 (13.4%) have heard about palliative care. Of these 38 (20.5%) belonged to urban and 9 (5.4%) belonged to rural areas (P < 0.0001).Twenty-nine (15.7%) participants in urban and 7 (4.2%) in rural areas had some knowledge about palliative care (P = 0.0002). Source of information for 25 (53.2%) participants was newspapers followed by television 17 (36.2%). Thirty-three (86.8%) participants in urban and 7 (77.8%) in rural areas felt that palliative care helps in improving quality of life. Twenty (52.6%) participants in urban and 4 (44.4%) participants in rural areas felt that palliative care can be better provided at homes than hospitals. Thirty (78.9%) urban participants felt that bad news about the patient's condition needs to be told to the patient first and then to their family members. In case of rural participants majority 7 (77.8%) said vice versa (P = 0.0039).Conclusion:Overall awareness of palliative care was poor. This calls for large-scale awareness campaigns. As home-based palliative care was preferred by many, home visits by care providers and training of family members of patient's needing palliative care needs to be practiced widely.