The study examined the quality of COVID-19 vaccine related information over the internet using the DISCERN tool and GQS. Majority of the video belonged to the “News & Politics” category (n=31, 46%), followed by “Education” category (n=23). The mean GQS of the included video was 3.7 ± 0.76. The mean DISCERN score of the included video was 55 ± 9.35 which denotes good quality and reliable information is available regarding COVID-19 vaccine on YouTube. Most videos talked about COVID-19 vaccine safety (n=44) and COVID-19 vaccine efficacy (n=44), followed by vaccine development process (n=14), myths (n=13) and lowest were information on vaccine cost and distribution (n=6).

There is a rapid growth in the availability of health and lifestyle apps in promoting health among the uses. Behavior change techniques along with appropriate guidance facilitate self-management and the change in disease-specific health behavior. However, behavior change techniques (BCTs) used in-app creation are yet to be explored. The review aimed at assessing the general characteristics and mapping of the included BCTs in health and lifestyle-based apps. Method: A search was conducted in February 2021 in India using the Apple App Store database to identify health and lifestyle apps. Keywords used for the search were Nutrition, Obesity, Cholesterol, Diabetes, Hypertension, Exercise, and Yoga.

SMAART Rapid Tracker (Research enabled Action oriented Policy Interventions driven by Data) is an interactive policy informatics platform tracking spread of COVID-19 outbreak and policy actions globally.

The study identified that there has been a spike in the availability of online health-related information so that the population can be up-to-date regarding information pertinent to their disease condition. The study assessed the quality and readability of health information on the internet for Osteoporosis. The websites were selected using keywords like “Osteoporosis”, “Osteoporosis causes”, “Osteoporosis diagnosis”, “Osteoporosis prevention”, and “Osteoporosis management” over Google. DISCERN and Flesch-Kincaid Tools were used to assess 41 websites. The mean DISCERN score (out of 80) was 52.35±6.90 (Good quality). The average DISCERN score was the highest for the .gov websites. Out of the selected websites, only one website had an excellent quality of information. Overall, the information available on the internet was difficult to read with a readability grade above seventh-grade.

The study evaluated the quality and readability of diabetes-related online health information. The websites were gathered by searching for keywords like “Diabetes mellitus”, “Diabetes mellitus causes”, “Diabetes mellitus diagnosis”, “Diabetes mellitus prevention”, and “Diabetes mellitus management” using the search engine Google on 20th June 2020. Validated DISCERN and Flesch-Kincaid Tools and was used by the four raters to assess 37 selected websites. The initial search resulted in a sum of 100 websites. After applying the exclusion criteria of excluding duplicate and journal articles remaining 37 unique websites were included in the final evaluation.

The study evaluated and analysed the design, functionality, effectiveness, and impact of digital apps developed as public health responses to COVID-19.

Early childhood caries (ECC) has reached epidemic proportions affecting millions of children worldwide. Its prevention becomes imperative owing to the significant morbidity and financial implications involved with its treatment. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), launched in India to provide mid-day meals, pre-school education and primary healthcare to children, can be utilised to counsel and deliver oral health education to mothers. The purpose of the study is to compare the effect of an oral health care package (OHCP) with usual care on the change in dental disease status among 1 to 3-year-old children at Anganwadi centres (AWC) in periurban areas of Chandigarh and rural areas of Cuttack, Orissa over a follow-up period of three years. Two geographically distant ICDS blocks would be selected at each of the two study sites and would be randomly allocated to intervention and control group. Closely located AWCs under each of the selected blocks shall constitute the study setting. OHCP would be delivered to the mothers of the 1–6-year-old children enrolled in the AWCs of the experimental group whereas mothers under control group would receive usual care advice available at the AWCs. ECC prevention had conventionally focused upon testing effectiveness of programs targeting behaviour change among the caregivers and children, but surprisingly minimal efforts have been made to seek translation of these efforts into reduction of ECC at the community level. The present study has two components; testing effect of altering maternal and child behavioral aspects on ECC incidence through cohort follow up of 1–3-year-old children for three consecutive years and cross-sectional follow up of all available 1–6-year old children at the selected AWCs at regular intervals to look for change in prevalence of ECC at community level. In other regions of the world surveys of ECC prevalence before and after the intensive educational programs have shown a significant reduction in ECC prevalence. A similar decline can be anticipated through this program.

Human-centered dietary decision support systems are fundamental to diabetes management, and they address the limitations of existing diet management systems. The objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the use of an interactive, telephone-linked, personalized, human-centered decision support system for facilitating the delivery of personalized nutrition care for patients with diabetes. A quasi-experimental trial was conducted between the period of June and December 2018. Study participants were recruited from Community Health Center, Dharamshala, Kangra (urban population), and Model Rural Health Unit, Haroli Block, Una (rural population). Eligible participants included adults aged ≥30 years with controlled or uncontrolled diabetes, those who agreed to participate in the study, those who were available for follow-up interviews, and those with a telephone or computer at home. Diabetic status was determined via a physician’s diagnosis. Individuals with mental or physical challenges that affected their ability to use an electronic diet record, those who were not available for a telephone follow-up, and those who were involved in other protocols related to dietary assessments were excluded. The study participants were randomized into the following two groups: the intervention group (telephone-linked dietary decision support system) and the control group (paper-based diet record). Study participants in the intervention group recorded their daily dietary intake by using a telephone-linked, personalized, human-centered dietary decision support system and received personalized feedback and diet education via SMS text messaging. Study participants in the control group were provided with only a paper-based diet record for documenting their daily dietary intake. Follow-up visits were conducted at 3 and 6 months from the baseline in both groups. Differences in diabetes knowledge, attitudes, and practices will be measured across groups. The collection of baseline data from 800 study participants in both the intervention (n=400) and control groups (n=400), which were stratified by urban (control group: n=200; intervention group: n=200) and rural settings (control group: n=200; intervention group: n=200), has been completed. Follow-up data collection for months 3 and 6 is ongoing and is expected to be completed by October 2019. We anticipate that the intervention group will show significant changes in nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices; satisfaction with care; and overall diabetes management. We also expect to see urban-rural differences across the groups. The uniqueness of our nutrient data capture process is demonstrated by its cultural and contextually relevant features—diet capture in both English and Hindi, diet conversion into caloric components, sustained diet data collection and participant adherence through telephone-linked care, and auto-generated reminders.

Road traffic accidents stand as one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity across the globe. The reasons for the high burden of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in developing countries are increasing in the number of motor vehicles, poor enforcement of traffic safety regulations, inadequacy of health infrastructure and poor transport facility. However, the systematic collection of road traffic data is not well developed in many developing countries including India and under-reporting of RTIs and deaths are common. Hence, surveillance of RTIs is recommended to assess the burden, to identify high-risk groups, to establish an association with probable risk factors and to plan interventions to control the RTIs. The broad objective of this study is to establish an electronic-based comprehensive and integrated RTI surveillance system, to assess the burden of RTIs, its risk factors and outcomes across rural and urban settings in India. This study with the support of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is progressing in three cities (Chennai, Delhi and Jaipur) and two rural areas (Chittoor and Tehri-Garhwal). At each centre, major sources of data can be categorized under two categories including health facilities and community. In urban areas, one trauma centre, one private hospital and a community of 10000-population are included in the study. In rural areas, a district hospital, a private nursing home and two sub-centres areas of different primary health centres at each site are included for the surveillance. Passive surveillance is done at the trauma centres/district hospitals, while active surveillance is done in private hospitals/nursing homes, sub-centres and communities. Before establishing the surveillance system, situational analysis has been undertaken. Surveillance-related software was developed during the preparatory stage. This electronic surveillance platform allowed to gather data electronically across multiple sites. This internet-enabled surveillance platform has several modules to capture and analyse the data. The present study provides a model of surveillance including both passive and active surveillance to cover maximum number of RTIs. This study further provides the first comprehensive epidemiology of RTIs. The results of these studies will contribute to the setting of research and investment priorities to tackle the burden of RTIs.

World Bank estimates of extreme poverty in 2010 were that over 32.7% of the Indian population lived on less than $1.25 a day, down from more than 50% in 1994. According to World Bank report 2016, 1 out of 5 people living in India is poor. Poverty rate in urban area is 14% while poverty rate in rural area is 25%. In rural area low income categories are mainly casual labor while in urban area low income categories are mainly self employed and casual labor or daily wagers. The data shows that Poor and Non-Poor both of the categories spent maximum proportion of their income in food. Furthermore, the Poor spent 56% of their income in food while the Non-Poor spent 47% of their income in food. This numbers clearly depicts that the Poor spends more on food than Non-Poor. Subsidies given on food by the government for the poor can save some portion of their income which they can spend in health, education or others.