Vaccination and associated factors among tribal children of 1 year age in nine Indian districts: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To report on vaccination status by 12 months of age among tribal children from nine districts of India.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study of 2631 tribal women having a child aged 12 months or below from nine Indian districts with a considerable proportion of the tribal population. Socio-demographic details, reception of various vaccines by 12 months of age, mother's antenatal care utilisation and health system-related details were collected through a pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire from mothers. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with complete vaccination by 12 months of age.

RESULTS

Only 52% of children were fully vaccinated by the age of 12 months among the tribal populations; 11% did not receive any vaccine, and 37% of the tribal children received some vaccines. The age-appropriate vaccination was unsatisfactory as only 75% of the infants received all birth dose vaccines, and only 60.5% received all doses by 14 weeks. Only 73% were vaccinated against measles. Illness of the child, home births and communication gaps concerning vaccination were the main reasons for an infant not being vaccinated appropriately. Frequency of health worker's visits to the village, hospital birth, reception of advice on vaccination and educational status of the head of the households were significantly associated with full vaccination status.

CONCLUSION

A relatively low proportion of children were fully vaccinated among the tribal populations. Health systems factors, mainly the outreach services and advice by the health workers, were positively and significantly associated with a child being fully vaccinated by 12 months of age. Improving outreach services is crucial to improve vaccination coverage in tribal areas, and there is a need to address the social determinants in the long run.

Assessment of Workload of ASHAs: A Multi-stakeholder Perspective Study for Task-sharing and Task-shifting

The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) programme has proven to be cost-effective and successful in addressing the growing shortage of health workers and reaching the vulnerable. ASHA’s contribution towards the improvement in maternal and child health and other health programmes at the community level is reported and acknowledged widely in literature. However, nearly 16 years into the introduction of ASHA, challenges in terms of workload, fatigue, poor work–life balance and low levels of compensation have emerged.

Aim:

To assess the workload on ASHAs, impact of their responsibilities on their quality of life and the potential for structured task sharing/shifting among other healthcare workers.

Methodology:

The study used a mixed-method approach with data and source triangulation. A multi-stage random sampling method was used to collect the data. Qualitative research was carried out to explore ASHAs’ and stakeholders’ perspectives, and a thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo-12. ASHAs’ quality of life was also measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO QOL)-BREF. The study was carried out in three districts of Karnataka: Mysuru, Raichur and Koppala.

Results:

The majority of ASHAs reported that they experience work burden in terms of population coverage, extended hours of work and additional tasks. Lack of access to transportation, inadequate support from other healthcare personnel and delayed payment of incentives add to them often feeling overworked and underpaid. The research also elicited perspectives on ASHAs’ work from different stakeholders. Findings from the study emphasise the necessity for sharing/shifting of selected tasks among other frontline health workers based on complexity and capabilities.

Impact of Spirulina Chikki Supplementation on Nutritional Status of Children: An Intervention Study in Tumkur District of Karnataka, India

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of Spirulina Chikki supplementation on the nutritional status of children (6 months-6 years).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study design was adopted to assess the changes in nutritional status among the children (after 12 months of intervention period). The bassline and endline assessment were carried out from September 2020 to August 2021, respectively.

SETTING

Total 106 villages (108 Anganwadi Centers in nine circles) from Tumkur District were covered.

METHODS

Children aged 6 months-6 years were the study subjects. Anthropometric measurements viz., height, weight, and mid-arm circumference were collected from total 971 and 838 children during baseline and endline assessments correspondingly. The information on children's health and nutrition status was gathered from the mothers of sampled children. WHO's Anthro and AnthroPlus software were utilized to estimate the anthropometric measurements (Stunting, wasting, and underweight) of study participants.

RESULTS

The study found apparent disparities in the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among the male and female children. There was a significant decline viz., 4% (28.6%-baseline to 24.5%-end line) in the prevalence of severe wasting. Also, severe stunting dropped by 6% at end line (30%-end-line to 24%-baseline). Improvement in nutritional status was evident among both female male children in all three indicators stunting, wasting, and underweight. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurement shows substantial improvements from baseline to end line: SAM (5.3-0.6%), MAM (23-9%), and normal (72-91%). The study discloses significant improvements in the nutritional status among those children who consumed spirulina chikkis/granules for a longer duration viz., 9-10 months as compared to those who consumed for lesser duration.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings reveal improvement in nutritional status among the beneficiaries who consumed spirulina chikki/granules as per the recommended quantity (amount) during the intervention period. Post intervention, spirulina chikki supplementation for nutritional intervention is implied to address large scale malnutrition among young children.

Substantial effect of phytochemical constituents against the pandemic disease influenza-a review

Background

Influenza is an acute respiratory tract infection caused by the influenza virus. Vaccination and antiviral drugs are the two methods opted to control the disease. Besides their efficiency, they also cause adverse side effects. Hence, scientists turned their attention to powerful herbal medicines. This review put focus on various proven, scientifically validated anti-influenza compounds produced by the plants suggested for the production of newer drugs for the better treatment of influenza and its related antiviral diseases too.

Main body

In this review, fifty medicinal herb phytochemical constituents and their anti-influenza activities have been documented. Specifically, this review brings out the accurate and substantiates mechanisms of action of these constituents. This study categorizes the phytochemical constituents into primary and secondary metabolites which provide a source for synthesizing and developing new drugs.

Conclusion

This article provides a summary of the actions of the herbal constituents. Since the mechanisms of action of the components are elucidated, the pandemic situation arising due to influenza and similar antiviral diseases can be handled promisingly with greater efficiency. However, clinical trials are in great demand. The formulation of usage may be a single drug compound or multi-herbal combination. These, in turn, open up a new arena for the pharmaceutical industries to develop innovative drugs.

Tracing the evolution of the literature on knowledge management in inter-organizational contexts: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

Based on the growing interest devoted to knowledge management (KM) in inter-organizational contexts, the purpose of this paper is to systematize existing literature and understand how it developed over time, thus tracing its roots and evolution to unveil gaps and suggest new promising areas for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used bibliographic techniques to analyze a sample of 85 studies along three main periods (1998-2010, 2011-2014 and 2015-2019). In particular, this study focused on co-occurrences of keywords to identify the most dominant themes, as well as connections among these themes.

Findings

Overall, the review shows the main outlets that have published papers on the topic of KM in inter-organizational contexts, as well as the theoretical background this research builds on. The temporal analysis exhibits the core topics that have persisted and grown consistently over time as the links between KM, innovation and networks. In addition, the review highlights new emerging themes, such as the human and social side of KM, and new interesting contexts of study (e.g. coopetition and open/user innovation), which opens exciting avenues for new research opportunities.

Originality/value

This study illustrates the conceptual structure of the field in three distinct periods and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the key topics and their interrelatedness within the area of KM in inter-organizational contexts. Both researchers and practitioners can profit from the study because it reveals consolidated topics while identifying areas that still need to be investigated to foster KM in inter-organizational settings.

An Ideology of IT Occupational Culture

Many have conjectured that people in the IT occupation are different from non-IT business users and that such differences can lead to negative organizational outcomes. This study investigates how to measure these differences by developing a new, expanded theoretical framework of IT occupational culture (ITOC). This framework includes: Artifacts, Values, and Tacit Assumptions. Values form the core of any culture, and a cohesive set of cultural values is termed an "ideology." Using a mixed methodology, research was conducted in two parts to develop and measure an ideology of ITOC. A qualitative investigation based on interview data provided evidence of six core values in the ideology: Autonomy in Decision-Making, Structure in Environment, Precision in Communication, Innovation in Technology, Reverence for Technical Knowledge, and Enjoyment at the Workplace (ASPIRE). The quantitative investigation sought to validate the values and ultimately reduced the number of values to five based on factor analysis of survey data: Autonomy in Decision-Making, Structure/Precision, Innovation in Technology, Reverence for Technical Knowledge, and Enjoyment at the Workplace. IT respondents rated these values significantly higher than non-IT business personnel. Our findings have implications for practitioners and researchers and can provide a path to bridge the gap between IT and business users.

Opposite Ends of the Same Stick? Multi-Method Test of the Dimensionality of Individualism and Collectivism

The construct of individualism–collectivism (IND-COL) has become the definitive standard in cross-cultural psychology, management, and related fields. It is also among the most controversial, in particular, with regard to the ambiguity of its dimensionality: Some view IND and COL as the opposites of a single continuum, whereas others argue that the two are independent constructs. We explored the issue through seven different tests using original individual-level data from 50 studies and meta-analytic data from 149 empirical publications yielding a total of 295 sample-level observations that were collected using six established instruments for assessing IND and COL as separate constructs. Results indicated that the dimensionality of IND-COL may depend on (a) the specific instrument used to collect the data, (b) the sample characteristics and the cultural region from which the data were collected, and (c) the level of analysis. We also review inconsistencies, deficiencies, and challenges of conceptualizing IND-COL and provide guidelines for developing and selecting instruments for measuring the construct, and for reporting and meta-analyzing results from this line of research.