BACKGROUND:Effective surgical site infections (SSIs) surveillance improves patient outcomes and ensuring evidence-based prevention strategies. However, data generated by surveillance programs is hindered by data of patients lost to follow-up (LTFU), which introduces bias. AIM:This study was conducted to evaluate and reduce LTFU rates among lower-segment cesarean section (LSCS) patients enrolled in SSI surveillance. METHODS:This prospective observational study analyzed 5,057 LSCS surgeries (962 elective and 4,095 emergent) from February 2021 to December 2021 (baseline phase) and December 2022 to September 2024 (intervention phase). Women who underwent LSCS procedures were enrolled in an SSI surveillance program, with follow-up data collected through structured protocols. Targeted interventions, including enhanced communication methods, expanded contact information collection, and patient engagement, were implemented to address identified barriers. Chi-square tests and regression was assessed between the occurrence of LTFUs, demographics, and procedure types FINDINGS: LTFU rate in the baseline phase was 10.9% (125/1152), with key reasons including incorrect data (0.88%), network/issues (1.4%), non-communicative behavior of patients (1.2%) and patient related logistics (0.5%) (e.g. poverty). After interventions, the LTFU rate decreased to 2.2% (85/3905) in the intervention phase (P<0.05, OR=5.470, 95% CI 4.117-7.267). CONCLUSION:This study highlights the multifactorial nature of LTFU during SSI surveillance, influenced by individual, systemic and environmental factors. Targeted interventions, such as improved communication strategies, tailored patient engagement, leveraging technology and robust data collection protocols, significantly enhanced follow-up rates. These findings provide actionable insights to optimize SSI surveillance and mitigate LTFU-related challenges in healthcare settings.

BACKGROUND:Hospital acquired infection (HAIs) remain a major global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although hand hygiene (HH) is one of the most effective measures to prevent HAIs, healthcare workers' (HCWs') compliance remains suboptimal, and patient participation in infection prevention and control is limited. This study assessed patients' perceptions of HAIs and HH, and identified factors associated with their willingness to remind HCWs to adhere to HH practices. METHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Chandigarh, India, among 240 general ward patients selected through systematic sampling. Data were collected using a validated structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS:Over half (53%) of participants were aware of HAIs, yet only 35% had received education from HCWs on infection prevention. While 78% believed that reminding HCWs to perform HH could reduce infection risk, only 6.7% had ever reminded nurses and 2.1% had reminded doctors. Reluctance stemmed from hierarchical barriers, fear of offending staff, and assumptions of adequate compliance. CONCLUSIONS:Despite positive attitudes, actual patient engagement in HH promotion was minimal. Targeted education and institutional support are essential to empower patients as active partners in infection prevention.

BACKGROUND:Respiratory physiotherapists (RPs) are an integral part of healthcare workers delivering care to intubated patients. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of awareness campaigns on hand hygiene (HH) compliance among RPs. METHOD:An observational single-center study was conducted between 2015 and 2022 in different ICU types in both adult and paediatric settings. The hand hygiene compliance rates were monitored prospectively and the quality improvement interventions included various hand hygiene campaigns and awareness sessions with RPs. Compliance was calculated as a percentage of events over total opportunities observed. RESULTS:There was a significant increase in compliance rates for all five moments of HH (p-value: <0.05). Overall, mean compliance rate in ICUs was significantly higher than wards for Moment 1 (p-value: 0.0045), Moment 4 (p-value: 0.0372) and Moment 5 (p-value: 0.0036) by 24.2%, 22.7% and 21.5% respectively. Also, paediatric ICUs had higher HH compliance than adult ICUs for Moment 1 (87.5% vs 61.1%; p-value: 0.0459) and Moment 4 (93.7% vs 79.3%; p-value: 0.0255). A significant increase in HH compliance was observed in post-COVID-19 period compared to pre-COVID-19 period with respect to Moment 1, 2 and 5. CONCLUSION:This study adds to the almost non-existent literature on this important category of healthcare workers working in respiratory ICUs. Our results project an increase compliance after the HH awareness programmes over the years among RP which is critical to prevent spread infection by multidrug resistant organisms among the hospitals.

Background: Hand hygiene compliance (HHC) monitoring is almost always done in daytime. Documentation of HHC in health care workers (HCWs) is limited during odd hours and nighttime. The objective of the study was to determine diurnal variation in HHC in different categories of health care workers in tertiary care hos-pital in North India.Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted in 3 COVID-19 intensive care units (ICUs) with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Dedicated infection control nurses monitored HHC among various HCWs (doctors, nursing staff, technicians, hospital and sanitary attendants) during day and nighttime, in 20-minute durations. The difference in HHC by-professional category and for each WHO moment was assessed using x2 test and P value.Results: A total of 705 opportunities were observed over a period of 7 days, with overall compliance of 53%. Day and nighttime compliance was recorded to be 60.7% and 42.1%, respectively (P < .001). HCC was highest amongst resident doctors with little diurnal variation. However, nurses and housekeeping staff exhibited sig-nificant diurnal variation. The compliance at "after" moments was much higher than "before" moments in all professional categories. Conclusion: There was a significant decrease in compliance during nighttime, amongst all HCWs, with maxi-mum variation exhibited by nursing staff. The present study underlines the importance of monitoring HHC at odd hours, to elicit a more accurate picture round the clock. Health care facilities monitoring compliance only during the daytime may substantially overestimate HHC.(c) 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

BackgroundProspective data on hand hygiene compliance in pediatric emergency department (PED) settings is limited. We studied the impact of quality improvement measures on the overall and health care personnel wise hand hygiene compliance rates in a busy PED.MethodsThe baseline hand hygiene compliance rates were audited from May–July 2018. The quality improvement interventions included various structural changes to the environment, administrative changes, education and training. During the interventions, auditing was continued for 2 months (August – September 2018). Statistical Process control charts were created.ResultsWe observed a significant increase in overall compliance rates from 31.8 to 53.9% (p < 0.001). These improvements were observed in the children (29.6 to 46.4%, p < 0.001) as well as neonatal area (35.7% to 59.7, p < 0.001) of PED as well as amongst various health care personnel and in four out of the five moments of hand hygiene.ConclusionHand hygiene compliance improved significantly in a busy PED of a lower middle-income country following quality improvement interventions. Such improvement was observed amongst all categories of health care personnel and different types of hand hygiene opportunities. This study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of simple quality improvement interventions in a challenging hospital environment.

Wearing a facemask is essential to prevent respiratory infections, especially in the COVID scenario. However, the front of a mask gets frequently contaminated. We observed that there is a tendency in our healthcare workers (HCWs) to touch the front of masks they were wearing. A prospective study to document and improve this behaviour was conducted. The study was undertaken in two phases (June and September 2020). Training classes emphasising the danger of this were conducted. Details such as area of posting, category of HCW and number of times the mask or face were touched as well as the total number of times it was touched were noted. Out of 357 HCWs observed in two phases, mask touching decreased from 58.3% (3.1 times in the observation period) to 39% (2.4 times) in June and September, respectively (P < 0.0003). Mask touching behaviours are common and can be reduced in HCWs by training and awareness sessions.

Objective: Gastrointestinal colonization has been proposed as an important risk factor for subsequent Acinetobacter Blood Stream Infection (ACB-BSI) septicemia, however its association in neonates remains unproven. Material and methods: In this cohort study, we obtained rectal swabs from all neonates, admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) within 48 hours of their stay. Their rectal swabs were repeated at weekly intervals until they either develop ACB-BSI or were shifted out of NICU (whichever was earlier). Results: A total of 250 rectal swabs were obtained from 155 neonates. Nineteen neonates were colonized with Acinetobacter baumanii (24 positive rectal swabs). Out of these 19 neonates, 4 (21%) developed ACB-BSI. Amongst 136 noncolonized neonates, 8 (5.8%) developed ACB-BSI. Gut colonization with Acinetobacter baumanii was associated with a significantly higher risk of subsequent ACB-BSI [RR 3.6 (95% CI 1.210.7), p-value 0.02]. Out of 12 isolates of ACB, 11 (4 isolates in cases and 7 in controls) were extremely drug resistant. Three of four neonates, who developed ACB-BSI after gut colonization, died. Conclusions: Rectal colonization with ACB showed a significant association with subsequent risk of Acinetobacter baumanii blood stream infection in neonates admitted in NICU. A very high incidence of extremely drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumanii was reported.

Man has a strange attribute and that is to learn and earn. For both the purposes man travels to other places across the globe. Sometimes he returns to his native city and sometimes he settles in different country. If he settles in foreign country he remits some amount of his earnings to his relatives back home. So with the mobility of labour remittances are an integral part of domestic product. These resources play an important part in the development process of the country. It is considered as boon for the economy. But in recent times when corona virus is creating havoc in the country the other side of the coin is visible. Since this disease is transmitted through the people coming to India from other countries like U.K., Italy and China Indians are suffering. The poorest of poor are hit. They are feeling a great problem to make both ends meet. The economy is locked down. The people have lost jobs and rendered poor. The country is feeling difficult to cope with the situation. In these times remittances are consider as bane for the economy. During such times some precautions are to be taken. The people who are coming into India must be screened at airports.

Cholesterol is a type of fat that is found in our blood, which is produced by liver. Hereby this research will be done on elderly in an old folk home called as Panti Jompo Werdha Tresna. The samples that was taken was both female and male, age varies around 60 years old to 80 years old. Blood was taken together with height and weight to make the correlation between all this two variables.The study design for this research is descriptive study. 20 blood samples have been taken. From the data that obtained in the results it is concluded that if the elderly with high body mass index (BMI) tend to have high total cholesterol. Mean serum cholesterol in the study population was 195.25±32.48 mg/dL(>199 mg/dL) in 60% of the investigated men and 53.3% of the investigated women. As a conclusion, in this study found that the prevalence of excess body weight and age is not associated with the prevalence off increasing total cholesterol compare to other studies. Maybe it is because of total population that is taken in this study is very less compare to others. So the results do not really show the prevalence in population. It is advisable to do some research on the elderly with a higher number of samples so that it can represent the condition within population. Keywords : Cholesterol, Body Mass Index, Age

Emergence of information and communication technology has ushered a new era in modern civilization in which digitalization has almost become a useful alternative, because it has influenced every aspect of human life especially our education. Information and Communication Technologies possess an invaluable potential to alter and positively change education of children, teachers, teacher educators and others. ICT ensures innovative and reliable modes of tackling effectively the challenges downgrading the educational system of our country. In mathematics teaching and learning, teachers’ beliefs about mathematics learning with or without using technology are considered to be important because it could influence teaching and learning, and curriculum reform. Mathematics education in educational institutions is witnessing dedicated reforms directed toward the integration of technology in mathematics courses at all levels. There is growing demand for sustained cooperation and collaboration amongst mathematicians, technicians, educators in the formulation, research and implementation of not only the syllabus but methodology on use of technology in mathematics education also. Keywords: Education, e-learning, ICT policies, Mathematics software, Reforms Technology.

OF THE THESIS Presented to the faculty of Education and Information Science PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA In Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATION Supervisor Investigator Dr. Raminder Singh Harvinder Kaur Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Punjabi University Regional Centre, Bathinda – 151 001 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & COMMUNITY SERVICE, PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA 2012 The research study entitled ‘GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN PUNJAB WITH REFERENCE TO EXPANSION, QUALITY AND SOCIETAL NEEDS’ has been conducted to study the policy perspectives in secondary teacher education in India after independence, expansion pattern of secondary teacher education in India in general and in Punjab in particular after independence and the quality of secondary teacher education programme in Punjab. The study also includes the analysis of views and perceptions of teacher trainees, parents, teacher educators and principals about various issues related to secondary teacher education like expansion, quality, social relevance of privatization, equality of opportunities in teacher education and demand and supply of secondary teachers. The impact of various policies and programmes of the central as well as the state government has been critically analyzed with regard to implementation and outcome of these policies and programmes. A document analysis of the various policy documents, five year plans and the norms and standards for secondary teacher education set by NCTE has been carried out. Besides, secondary data from various sources has been pooled up and analyzed to study the various trends and patterns of expansion in secondary teacher education in Punjab vis-a-vis at the national level. The quality of secondary teacher education programme in Punjab has been studied on the basis of primary data collected by conducting the institutional surveys of 42 secondary teachers education institutions of Punjab selected randomly on the basis of proportionate sampling. The investigator has personally visited the respondents to collect their views and perceptions on the various issues related to the secondary teacher education through interviews. These views and perceptions have been analyzed by following the technique of content analysis. The study of policy perspective indicated that many of the recommendations made by various commissions and committees regarding secondary teacher education from time to time have been implemented by the Government of India. After independence, in order to provide secondary teacher education a number of public institutions were established by the central as well as the state government. Various five years plans also laid stress on teacher education in the country. Outlays were ear marked for teacher education related programmes over different five year and annual plan periods. The establishment of NCTE in 1973 in the country has been a milestone in the journey of development of secondary teacher education in India. As envisaged in the National Policy of Education (NPE), 1986 and its programme of Action (PoA), a centrally sponsored scheme of restructuring and reorganization of teacher education was launched in 1987 to create a sound institutional infrastructure for pre-service and in-service training of secondary school teachers and for provision of academic resource support to secondary schools. In the year 1976 NCTE was conferred a statutory status with autonomy and accreditation powers. As per the provisions of NCTE Act 1993, Four Regional Committees for Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Regions have also been set up at Jaipur, Bangalore, Bhubneshwar and Bhopal respectively. Thus, it has been found that, though NCTE has played a very significant role as a regulatory authority for the development of teacher education in the country, yet it has been criticized for not being able to check the malpractices and commercialization of teacher education by the self-financed secondary teacher education institutions. The analysis of secondary data has shown that during the last six decades after independence, teacher education has come a long way from its initial bleak structure to gain identity as a complex network of institutions and programmes. The expansion of preservice secondary teacher education in India in general and in Punjab in particular has been quite impressive. It has also been concluded that in the flush of enthusiasm for quantity, quality of secondary teacher education has largely been sacrificed. It has been further noted on the basis of the primary data collected that some of the self-financed institutions of secondary teacher education in Punjab have been overcharging the fees, but they have not been providing the required infrastructure and other facilities to the teacher trainees. The analysis of the views and perceptions of the respondents has showed that majority of them have criticized the privatization and commercialization of secondary teacher education as they have opined that the introduction of private initiative in secondary teacher education has diluted the quality of education.