Papers by murugesan periyasamy
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Introduction: Epidemics lead to an increase in occupational stress and psychological strain among... more Introduction: Epidemics lead to an increase in occupational stress and psychological strain among healthcare workers. However, the impact of a pandemic outbreak on healthcare systems is yet to be clearly defined. Therefore, this work aims to describe and analyze specific areas of workload among different groups of healthcare workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A sample of N = 8088 persons working in the German-speaking healthcare sector participated in the VOICE/egePan online survey, which addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the second quarter of 2020. We used 15 self-constructed items, based on the work of Matsuishi et al. (2012), to identify potential COVID-19-specific topics. Results: N = 7542 records of healthcare workers were analyzed. Of these, 60.80% reported, retrospectively, an increase in stress since the outbreak of the pandemic. Problem areas tended to be indicated more frequently by the women surveyed than by the men. Nurses...
BMJ Open Quality
BackgroundAt present, there are no validated quantitative scales available to measure patient-cen... more BackgroundAt present, there are no validated quantitative scales available to measure patient-centred quality of care in health facilities providing services for tuberculosis (TB) patients in India and low-income and middle-income countries.MethodsInitial themes and items reflective of TB patient’s perceived quality of care were developed using qualitative interviews. Content adequacy of the items were ascertained through Content validity Index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR). Pilot testing of the questionnaire for assessing validity and reliability was undertaken among 714 patients with TB. Sampling adequacy and sphericity were tested by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett’s test, respectively. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to test validity. Cronbach’s α and test–retest scores were used to test reliability.ResultsA 32-item tool measuring patient-perceived quality of TB distributed across five domains was developed initially based on a CVI and CVR cu...
PLOS ONE, 2022
Background COVID-19 has inundated the entire world disrupting the lives of millions of people. Th... more Background COVID-19 has inundated the entire world disrupting the lives of millions of people. The pandemic has stressed the healthcare system of India impacting the psychological status and functioning of health care workers. The aim of this study is to determine the burnout levels and factors associated with the risk of psychological distress among healthcare workers (HCW) engaged in the management of COVID 19 in India. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 by telephonic interviews using a web-based Google form. Health facilities and community centres from 12 cities located in 10 states were selected for data collection. Data on socio-demographic and occupation-related variables like age, sex, type of family, income, type of occupation, hours of work and income were obtained was obtained from 967 participants, including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, emergency response teams, lab personnel, and others directly involved in COVI...
International Journal of STD & AIDS, 2011
Men who have sex with men (MSM) in India are a core risk group for HIV. Heavy alcohol consumption... more Men who have sex with men (MSM) in India are a core risk group for HIV. Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with increased sexual risk-taking behaviours in many cultures, in particular among MSM. However, no studies to date have explored alcohol use and HIV risk among MSM in India. MSM in Chennai, India ( n = 210) completed an interviewer-administered behavioural and psychosocial assessment. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression procedures examined behavioural and demographic associations with weekly alcohol consumption. Twenty-eight percent of the sample ( n = 58) reported using alcohol at least weekly to the point of being buzzed/intoxicated, which was associated with older age, being married to a woman, being panthi (masculine appearing, predominantly insertive partners) versus kothi (feminine acting/appearing and predominantly receptive partners), weekly tobacco use, unprotected anal sex and unprotected vaginal sex in the three months prior to study enrolment (all ...
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 2022
Background: The present paper describes the key challenges and opportunities of mixed method tele... more Background: The present paper describes the key challenges and opportunities of mixed method telephonic data collection for mental health research using field notes and the experiences of the investigators in a multicenter study in ten sites of India. The study was conducted in public and private hospitals to understand the mental health status, social stigma and coping strategies of different healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.Methods: Qualitative and quantitative interviews were conducted telephonically. The experiences of data collection were noted as a field notes/diary by the data collectors and principal investigators.Results: The interviewers reported challenges such as network issues, lack of transfer of visual cues and sensitive content of data. Although the telephonic interviews present various challenges in mixed method data collection, it can be used as an alternative to face-to-face data collection using available technology.Conclusions: It is im...
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2021
Background Patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) face challenges adhering to me... more Background Patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) face challenges adhering to medications, given that treatment is prolonged and has a high rate of adverse effects. The Medication Event Reminder Monitor (MERM) is a digital pillbox that provides pill-taking reminders and facilitates the remote monitoring of medication adherence. Objective This study aims to assess the MERM’s acceptability to patients and health care providers (HCPs) during pilot implementation in India’s public sector MDR-TB program. Methods From October 2017 to September 2018, we conducted qualitative interviews with patients who were undergoing MDR-TB therapy and were being monitored with the MERM and HCPs in the government program in Chennai and Mumbai. Interview transcripts were independently coded by 2 researchers and analyzed to identify the emergent themes. We organized findings by using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), which outlines 4 constructs that predict te...
BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) patients face challenges adhering to medications, give... more BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) patients face challenges adhering to medications, given that treatment is prolonged and has a high rate of adverse effects. The Medication Event Reminder Monitor (MERM) is a digital pillbox that provides daily pill-taking reminders and facilitates remote monitoring of medication adherence. OBJECTIVE We assessed the MERM’s acceptability to patients and healthcare providers (HCPs) during pilot implementation in India’s public sector MDR TB program. METHODS From October 2017 to September 2018, we conducted qualitative interviews with patients taking MDR TB therapy, who were being monitored with the MERM, and HCPs in the government program in Chennai and Mumbai. Interviews transcripts were independently coded by two researchers and analyzed to identify emergent themes. We organized findings using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), which outlines four constructs that predict technology acceptance: performance expecta...
BACKGROUND 99DOTS is a cellphone-based strategy for monitoring tuberculosis (TB) medication adher... more BACKGROUND 99DOTS is a cellphone-based strategy for monitoring tuberculosis (TB) medication adherence that has been rolled out to more than 150,000 patients in India’s public health sector. A considerable proportion of patients stop using this monitoring approach during TB therapy. We aimed to understand reasons for variability in the acceptance of 99DOTS by TB patients and healthcare providers (HCPs). OBJECTIVE We aimed to understand reasons for variability in the acceptance of 99DOTS by TB patients and healthcare providers (HCPs). METHODS We conducted qualitative interviews with individuals taking TB therapy in the government program in Chennai (HIV co-infected patients) and Mumbai (HIV un-infected patients) across both the intensive and continuation treatment phases. We also conducted interviews with HCPs with various roles in TB care, all of whom were involved in implementing 99DOTS. Interviews were transcribed, coded using a deductive approach, and analyzed with Dedoose 8.0.35 ...
Child Safety, Welfare and Well-being, 2015
AIDS and Behavior, 2014
This is a 2-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 96) of a behavioral intervention (4 group ... more This is a 2-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 96) of a behavioral intervention (4 group and 4 individual sessions) integrating risk reduction counseling with counseling to foster self-acceptance in MSM in India compared to enhanced standard of care (ESOC). Both conditions involved HIV and STI testing and counseling at baseline and 6-months, and assessments of condomless sex at baseline, 3-, and 6-months. A significant condition by time interaction suggested a difference in the rate of change in number of anal sex acts without condoms in the intervention versus ESOC (p \ 0.0001). Post hoc contrasts suggested that the overall difference was due to intervention-response at 3-months. The incidence of bacterial STIs was 17.5 % in the intervention condition and a 28.6 % in ESOC. Addressing self-acceptance and related psychosocial concerns in the context sexual risk reduction counseling for MSM in India was feasible and acceptable. Testing the intervention for efficacy is justified.
Aids and Behavior, Apr 27, 2014
This is a 2-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 96) of a behavioral intervention (4 group ... more This is a 2-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 96) of a behavioral intervention (4 group and 4 individual sessions) integrating risk reduction counseling with counseling to foster self-acceptance in MSM in India compared to enhanced standard of care (ESOC). Both conditions involved HIV and STI testing and counseling at baseline and 6-months, and assessments of condomless sex at baseline, 3-, and 6-months. A significant condition by time interaction suggested a difference in the rate of change in number of anal sex acts without condoms in the intervention versus ESOC (p \ 0.0001). Post hoc contrasts suggested that the overall difference was due to intervention-response at 3-months. The incidence of bacterial STIs was 17.5 % in the intervention condition and a 28.6 % in ESOC. Addressing self-acceptance and related psychosocial concerns in the context sexual risk reduction counseling for MSM in India was feasible and acceptable. Testing the intervention for efficacy is justified.
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Papers by murugesan periyasamy