Papers by Kanchan Mukherjee
International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 2014
Background: Malnutrition is a problem not only in rural area but also among the urban poor. Also,... more Background: Malnutrition is a problem not only in rural area but also among the urban poor. Also, the urban poor are a neglected segment of population in terms of basic services and amenities. Nutrition in children is affected by various determinants including mother's level of knowledge, attitudes and practices. Hence, this study was conducted in an urban slum setting to understand the extent and determinants of malnutrition in children below five years of age. Aims & Objectives: The study objectives were to understand the knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers with respect to nutrition of their under five children and to measure the extent of malnutrition in the sample population of under five children. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional study and data was collected on a sample of 300 children under five years and their mothers selected through cluster sampling technique in Turbhe stores urban slum community of Navi Mumbai. Using a semistructured interview schedule, Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) on nutrition among mothers of these children were assessed and anthropometric measurements were taken. The study used the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for measuring malnutrition. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS, version 20. z score analysis for malnutrition assessment was done using the appropriate WHO software. Results: The knowledge levels of mothers regarding breast-feeding were mixed. Majority (88%) of the mothers were aware that only breast-feeding is required post-delivery, and duration of breast-feeding could be more than six months. there was a gap in knowledge about breast-feeding practice during infant illness. Only 9% of mothers had the correct knowledge to increase breast feeding if the infant was ill and 20% felt breast feeding should be decreased during illness of child. Mothers had very poor knowledge about nutritious food. The attitude score was created using the Likert scale with a minimum score of 16 and maximum score of 64. The mean attitude score was 54.29 with a standard deviation of 5.24. In terms of breast-feeding practices, 74 (24.6%) mothers did not initiate breast-feeding within one hour of birth, and only 21 (7%) mothers increased breast feed frequency during illness of child. Conclusion: The study found gaps in knowledge about breast-feeding practices among mothers and very poor practices related to adequate nutrition for children. Stunting was seen in more than 50 % of children. However, the mothers had a very positive overall attitude about improving nutrition of their children and were willing to learn about it. This provides an opportunity for a targeted intervention among the mothers of these children in the community.
International Journal of Health Systems and Implementation Research, 2019
Background: In India, availability of low cost generic drugs to reduce out-of-pocket expenditures... more Background: In India, availability of low cost generic drugs to reduce out-of-pocket expenditures on medicines by households has been a challenge over the decades. To address this issue, the Government of India revamped the existing Jan Aushadhi Scheme (JAS) launched in 2008, as the Prime Minister's Peoples Medicine Scheme in 2014.Objectives: This study analyses the cost difference of cancer and diabetes medicines under the scheme with its branded counterpart as well as issues related to availability of these medicines in western India. Methodology: It's a cross-sectional study. Telephonic interviews and email correspondence with pharmacists of JAS stores in Mumbai and Thane region. Secondary data from JAS and Medguide India websites has been analysed. Primary data was collected to study the availability of medicines in these stores. Percentage difference, average and standard deviation have been computed. Findings: The findings showed that some medicines for both cancer and diabetes listed under the scheme were available at a cheaper rate in the branded market. Also, prices were not found to be uniform in all JAS stores and supply of cancer medicines was found to be poor. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for a more effective procurement process under the scheme to bring down medicine prices and increase their availability. Price discrepancy for some of the medicines in JAS stores is also a matter of concern. Visibility of these stores needs to be increased to create awareness for accessing these low-cost medicines. Recommendation: This study has four recommendations for a more effective impact of this scheme to reduce the OOP expenditure on medicines in India.
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Papers by Kanchan Mukherjee