MAKE MOST OF THE KNOWLEDGE NETWORK, JOIN ACADEMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Under nutrition and over nutrition both are considered as malnutrition in a particular population. Still under nutrition is a major health problem of Bangladeshi children. The aim of the study was to investigate the factors influencing malnutrition among 6 to 10  years old children in rural area of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression model were used in this study. The prevalence of under nutrition among school going children was 6.4% and over nutrition was 14.8%. Multinomial logistic regression model demonstrated that under nutrition was the common phenomenon of children especially for girls, living in poor family. Undernourished parent’s children were more likely to get under nutrition than their counterparts. On the other hands over nutrition was common for boys and living in rich family. These results suggest that there are dual burden of malnutrition among primary school children in Rajshahi district of Bangladesh that requires attention.

KEYWORDS: Malnutrition. Multinomial logistic regression. School going children. Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

HIV is a serious and non-curable disease with grave consequences. The treatment options are scarce and educational programs limited. Specific behavior patterns are associated with high risk of transmission of HIV infection; therefore, it is imperative that people should have adequate knowledge of different modes of its transmission and overall impact of the disease on personal and social health of an individual. HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age (aged 15-44 years). In 2016, new infections among young women (aged 15-24 years) were 44% higher than men in the same age group (UNAIDS, 2017). The present study was carried out to find out the knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS among the young women of Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. Data was collected from 320 women belonging to the age-group (15-35 years). The data constituted the inputs used for the empirical analysis of the study, obtained through the administration of interview schedule. The findings show that the awareness of HIV/ AIDS is high, but the negative attitude towards HIV/AIDS among the Jaintia women is a major hindrance in controlling the spread of this deadly disease. Socio-cultural misconceptions about the disease and towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) were observed to take precedence over medical facts. The study population was also found to be at risk for infection as practice of safe sex was inconsistent and poorly maintained. Accurate and reliable information on HIV/AIDS is needed for the dissemination programmes. To help mitigate misconceptions, the study identified a need for connecting local communities with reliable sources of information pertaining to HIV/AIDS and to mobilise the communities to adopt safe sex practices.

KEYWORDS: Knowledge. Attitude. Women. HIV/AIDS. Jaintia Hills. Meghalaya.

The present paper aims to comprehend the level of awareness, prevalence of usage and barriers of family planning methods. A cross-sectional study was done among 350 ever married women aged 15-49 years residing in various localities of Kamrup district, Assam. The present findings shows that about 60 percent of Karbi women are aware of family planning methods and have knowledge of oral pills (59.6%), female sterilization (55.9%) and barrier method condom (44%). However, it is observed that the women of all reproductive age-groups had birth interval of less than 18 months which indicates high unmet need. The contraceptive behaviour of Karbi women is low due to poor comprehensive knowledge about modern contraceptives and misconceptions relating to its side effects. A proper education on the benefits of family planning methods and a change in their attitude would improve their health.

KEYWORDS: Karbi women. Urban area. Kamrup (Metropolitan) district. Assam. Family planning. Contraceptive methods. Birth interval.

Globalization has had a powerful impact on individuals and societies. Some have argued that Nepal entered the age of globalization only in the 1980 – after Nepal began to liberalize rules of international trade. Globalization however, also began to impact on individuals and societies in Nepal because of expanding presence of international development agencies there. One such expansion of international agencies was in the community forestry sector. This paper explores how the internationally shaped community forestry program in the Gorkha District of Nepal and the associated Community Forest User Group (CFUG) there, is empowering local women. Although forest conservation programs started during the 1960s, the initiation of community forestry program in 1993 helped convert number of the nationalized forests into community forests that were handed over to and managed by local communities. The transformation of the ownership and management regime shifted the privilege and responsibility of managing local forests to the local community and the members of the CFUG. The initial intent of the program was to protect forest and wildlife and mitigate the hazards caused by deforestation. In time, however, the program was expanded to the holistic development of the community, including the empowerment of women.

KEYWORDS: Globalization. Women empowerment. Community forest user group (CUFG). Gorkha district. Nepal.

Insurance provided by the government is considered an alternative solution to reduce the burden of health expenditures among the poorer sections of the society. However, a comparative study between two network hospitals in Hyderabad of Telangana State – one a private hospital and the other a public hospital – shows that the purpose of insurance has not been fulfilled as insured patients continue to incur huge expenditures of their own in both the types of hospitals related to travel, food, tipping and fruits. The minimum requirement of the hospitals to be a network hospital – proper diagnostic and free medicines – are also not present leading to patients and care providers incurring huge expenses. The purpose of insurance coverage launched by the government to provide free medical care is not met. The paper calls for a relook at the way insurance is provided to solve these lacunas.

KEYWORDS: Hospitalization. Health expenditure. Private hospitals. Public hospitals. Insurance. Hyderabad. Aarogyasri scheme.

In indigenous tribal societies, much of what they do and how they do is connected to their worldviews. Rice, the focal food of the Garos, is much more than just a food item. Undoubtedly, in its different forms (as food and drink), and numerous species – it stresses its role and status in the society, but it is the symbolic aspects which reveals much about the society and its ethos. This paper deals with rice or paddy and discusses its cultural connects through stories, myths and narratives. It becomes clear that a self-other dichotomy exists in the conception of rice – that from the a’”ba and apal. The former can be referred to as ‘hill paddies’ and seen as a traditional method, while the latter refers to paddies from wet fields cultivated with the plough, and seen as a new introduction. Behind the a’”ba-apal nomenclature issues of self, deities and ultimately life itself can be seen.

KEYWORDS: Hill paddies. Rice politics. Rice as self. Rice as deity. Rice as life. Garo tribe. Meghalaya.

The present study intends to find out the relationship between blood pressure and obesity as well as the effect of obesity on blood pressure among the Bangalee Hindu young adults. Data were collected from the age-group of 20 to 30 years among 250 male and 250 female Bengalee Hindus from North 24 Parganas. Body mass index (BMI), Waist hip ratio (WHR) and Waist height ratio (WHtR) were calculated as body composition indicators (BCIs) for obesity measurement as well as Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) was calculated from Systolic (SBP) and Diastolic blood pressure (DBP). A significant (p<0.01) and positive

correlation is present between blood pressure (SBP, DBP and MAP) and BCIs (BMI, WHR and WHtR). Step-wise multiple regression coefficient suggests that Body Mass and BMI are significant (p<0.0001) predictors for assessment of high blood pressure. The result suggests that total body obesity is associated with increasing blood pressure rather than regional fat distribution.

KEYWORDS: Body mass index. Blood pressure. Bengalee Hindus. Madhyamgram. North 24 Parganas. West Bengal.

Maternal Health is an important aspect of the development of any country. In June 2011, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India launched ‘Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram’ (JSSK) to reduce infant and maternal mortality. However the utilization of any such schemes depends on the awareness among the beneficiaries. The aim of the present study was carried out to understand the awareness of JSSK amongst the Pnar tribal women of Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 283 Pnar women belonging to the age-group 15-50 years, attending Government hospitals, CHC, PHC, for any health problem. All the participants were screened for HIV/AIDS using WHO recommended “Determine HIV Rapid Test” kit. It was observed that out of all the women screened around 3.2% were found to be infected with HIV. Though majority of the respondents (85.7%) availed the facilities like free treatment and micronutrients during the antenatal care, but none of them were aware of the JSSK Scheme.

KEYWORDS: Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK). Jaintia Hills. Thadlaskein and Amlarem blocks. Meghalaya. Child delivery. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Awareness. Pnar tribe.

Religions of the tribes show enormous variety in terms of belief, ritual, spiritualism and symbolic imagery, as also in enduring beliefs surrounding cosmology, myth and ultimate human-nature harmony. Today, the study of tribal religion has emerged as part of a new global phenomenon, a part of a vibrant globalizing discourse. A growing body of anthropological scholarship is currently trying to make sense of these developments, mainly of the resurgences of indigenous societies in an increasingly interconnected world, whereby to explore the indigenous expressions such as harmony with nature, holism, shamanism and animism. Moving away from old stereotypes, this review article focuses attention on what Clifford has called the emergence of “a new public persona and globalizing voice – protection of sacred sites, and transnational activism”. It is argued that “Indigenous religion” needs to be situated in the new and “global form of religiosity – associated with those defined in international law as “indigenous peoples”.

KEYWORDS: World view. Cosmology. Ecology. Karbi and Bodo tribes. Assam. North-East India.

The present cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the age and sex variations in anthropometric and body composition characteristics of adult Rajbanshi individuals of North Bengal. The study has been carried out among 350 adult individuals belonging to the Rajbanshi individuals in the age-group of 19-49 years and residing in the district of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. Height and weight were recorded using standard techniques. Body subcutaneous fat, whole body skeletal fat, body fat, BMI and visceral fat level were recorded using an Omron body fat analyser. The statistical tests (ANOVA, Pearson correlation) were done using SPSS (version 17.00). The results showed that most of anthropometric variables were highly significantly correlated with each other (p<0.05). Age and skeletal muscle of whole body was negatively significantly (r=-0.203, p<0.01), (r=-0.447, p<0.01) correlated with height respectively. On the other hand, it was positively significantly correlated higher with subcutaneous whole body (r=0.237, p<0.01), body fat (r=0.345, p<0.01) and visceral fat (r=0.239, p<0.01). Height and weight were significantly (p<0.05) correlated with all other variables except BMI. All anthropometric and body composition variables (height, weight, whole body subcutaneous fat, whole body skeletal fat, body fat, BMI and visceral fat) were correlated with each other and showed a significant sex heterogeneity between these variables.

KEYWORDS: Anthropometry. Body composition. Body fat. Bioelectrical Impedence Analysis (BIA). Rajbanshi. Darjeeling district. West Bengal.

The Santals are highly marginalized ethnic group live in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts of eastern Nepal. They are usually known as Satars in Nepal but prefer to be known as Santals. They believed that the first human creation in the world were their ancestors. They have remarkable traditions and folklores but didn’t have any written records until the 19th century. They believe that the legends, songs and folklores were the basis of their origin. The origin of Santals mentioned in the Hoºkorean Mare Hapramko reak Katha, a book regarded as authoritative and frequently referred in Indian Law Courts of the Santal area which was based on the narration of an old Santal Guru Kolean. Although the original history of Santals is uncertain, however, large numbers of Santals inhabited the Chotanagpur plateau of India, especially the districts of Hazaribagh, Palamau and Singhbhum and their adjoining areas Midnapur and Birbhum during the middle of the 18th century, which was considered as their original homeland. During that period of Santal rebellion of 1855-56 several Santals migrated to different neighbouring countries including Nepal for settlement. The exact date of migration of Santals to Nepal is not documented, however, it is considered that the Santals could have entered Nepal during the year of 1855-56, and the process of migration had been continued by the drought of 1871 and subsequent years. Attempt has been made in this paper to review the origin and history of Santals of Nepal.

KEY WORDS: Santals history. Origin. Migration. Satars. Chotanagpur plateau. Jhapa and Morang districts. Nepal.