UNASSIGNED: Human rights provide a universal foundation for pursuing justice in public health in order to achieve the dignity of all individuals. In spite of international attempts to promote human rights in the context of health, a significant portion of India\'s indigenous population continues to have a limited understanding of these rights.
UNASSIGNED: This study aims to analyze tribal people\'s attitudes towards human rights in health care. The population consists of tribal residents from Manbazar - I and Puncha Blocks in the Puruliya district of West Bengal, India. Tribal young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 were the subject of a cross-sectional study.
UNASSIGNED: A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data. MS Excel and SPSS 27 were used for analysis. A descriptive analysis was carried out.
UNASSIGNED: The participants\' mean scores for awareness, accessibility and communication, autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) were 8.06, 15.76, 7.35 and 32.52 revealing a moderate perception level among the young adult tribal population in the selected blocks.
UNASSIGNED: A holistic focus of the governmental and other non-governmental organizations towards the tribals is required. Introducing various aspects of human rights in healthcare in the education curriculum along with community outreach would by all likelihood improve the perception of \'Human Rights\' and thus help in better utilization of various services including health among tribal populations in India.

UNASSIGNED: Menstrual hygiene management is integrally associated with reproductive health of women. Menstrual health and hygiene needs, particularly of tribal women still remain unmet for many reasons. Inappropriate menstrual behaviour leads to adverse health consequences.
UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to ascertain the menstrual hygiene behaviour of tribal married women aged 15 to 49 years and its correlates.
UNASSIGNED: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2019 to April 2020 in the Barabani block of Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal. A calculated sample of 530 women was selected randomly from 10 tribal villages of the study area; they were interviewed through a pre-designed schedule for socio-demographic and menstrual hygiene behaviour characteristics. Menstrual hygiene management score was derived based on five essential components- hygienic absorbents, hygienic disposal of absorbents, frequency of changing of absorbents, cleaning of external genitalia and source of water for cleaning; menstrual hygiene behaviour was categorised as favourable and unfavourable. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was performed using SPSS v. 20.
UNASSIGNED: All 530 women were Hindu and belonged to Santhal ethnicity; 53.4% were illiterate. Sanitary pads were used by 43.8% of women; 63% practised indiscriminate throwing for disposal of absorbents; 86% practised appropriate changing of absorbents. Overall, 63% had favourable menstrual hygiene management behaviour, and the literacy status of women was found to be a significant predictor.
UNASSIGNED: Unfavourable menstrual practices are still widely prevalent among tribal women, mainly attributable to lack of knowledge. Awareness generation should be focused on improving those practices, which would also result in the improvement of general health conditions.

UNASSIGNED: West Bengal is experiencing an unanticipated risk of eclampsia among pregnant women and it persists as the leading cause of maternal mortality. This study aimed to investigate the predictors for maternal deaths due to eclampsia in West Bengal.
UNASSIGNED: The study adopted retrospective mixed methods covering facility and community-based maternal death review approaches. Facility-based data were used for 317 deceased cases wherein the community-based review approach was used in 40 cases. An in-depth interview was also performed among 12 caregivers.
UNASSIGNED: One-third of maternal deaths occurred due to eclampsia, and this accounted for the leading cause of maternal deaths in West Bengal. A younger age, a primigravida or nulliparous status, absence of antenatal care (ANC), and residence in rural areas appeared to have the highest risk of developing eclampsia. The majority of pregnant women had an irregular antenatal check-up history, particularly during the second trimester of pregnancy. The rate of eclampsia-related maternal death was higher in women residing more than 49 km from the studied hospitals. Most of the deceased women were referred to three or more hospitals before their death. Gravidity, the number of ANC visits, the mode of delivery, and delays at different levels were significant confounders of death due to eclampsia. The risk of death due to eclampsia was two times higher among women without ANC and those who had a cesarean section than that in their counterparts.
UNASSIGNED: Women in West Bengal have a high risk of preeclampsia and eclampsia resulting in maternal mortality and morbidity. Gravidity, the number of ANC visits, the mode of delivery, and delays in recognition of eclampsia contribute to the risk of maternal deaths. The establishment of separate eclampsia units, enhanced screening, and preventive and treatment procedures may optimize managing eclampsia.

UNASSIGNED: Identification of mental health disorders during childhood is crucial for healthy \'adult roles\' in the society, so this study aimed to estimate the magnitude of \'any mental health disorder\' and to find out its correlates among children attending the pediatric out-patient department (OPD) of a medical college in West Bengal and to estimate parental stress among their parents.
UNASSIGNED: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study done in the pediatric OPD of Burdwan Medical College, West Bengal, during July-December, 2021. The calculated size of 288 children aged between 4 and 12 years and attending with either of their parents was selected through systematic random sampling. One of their parents (preferably mother) was interviewed using a schedule, containing a pre-validated pediatric symptom checklist and parental stress scale. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Data were analyzed using SPSS-v23.
UNASSIGNED: The median age of the children was 7 years (5-8 y.). The majority of them were male (57.6%), lived in urban areas (59.0%), and lived in joint families (57.6%). One-fifth (20.5%) of the children were found to have any mental health disorder (AMHD). Living in an urban area (aOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.1-5.7), belonging to a nuclear family (aOR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.7-8.1), and belonging to a family with social problems (aOR = 7.8, 95% CI: 2.3-27.2) were significant correlates of AMHD. Parental stress [median: 60 (55-63)] was found significantly higher (P < 0.001) among parents of children with AMHD as compared to the parents of others.
UNASSIGNED: The magnitude of AMHD was high in this study, indicating toward the necessity of implementing opportunistic screening and appropriate public health action.

UNASSIGNED: Tribes are the most socially excluded group in the nation due to their restricted access to healthcare. There are little data on the real burden and distribution of illnesses among tribes. The present study determines the types and patterns of sickness among tribal populations in West Bengal.
UNASSIGNED: Five blocks from five districts in West Bengal were used for this cross-sectional study. Between the years 2018 and 2019, 52,189 patients visited these mobile medical clinics (MMCs), but only 36,128 were included in our study. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (ver. 27.0).
UNASSIGNED: Younger age groups (1-25 years) show higher primary registration compared to other age categories; older age groups (>60 years) show higher repeat registration. High prevalence in infectious diseases (44.5% of the total primary registration) and high repeated cases in NCDs (11.5% to 33.2%), which are nearly three times higher than primary cases (Cramer\'s V test = 0.29; P = .001) are observed. Among the studied MMCs, Binpur II and Matiali MMC have more than two times the risk of gastrointestinal problems, while Madarihat MMC has more than one time the risk. Garbeta II MMC shows more than three times the risk of NCDs (adjusted odds ratio = 3.97; 95% confidence interval: 3.05-5.17) than the other diseases.
UNASSIGNED: The present study shows high prevalence of infectious diseases, injury and pain, NCDs, gastrointestinal problems, and vertigo in tribal populations of West Bengal.

The presence of high concentrations of arsenic (As) in agricultural soils and its subsequent accumulation in rice crop is a serious issue threatening sustainability of agriculture and human health. In the present work, remediation of As contaminated field in Nadia, West Bengal, India was done through the cultivation of Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides L. Nash) and the same field was subsequently used for rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation. The results showed that V. zizanoides could reduce As concentrations in the field to bring it lower than the maximum permissible limit (20 mg kg-1) in 11 months\' time. The rice plants grown in remediated field showed improvement in growth and photosynthesis parameters as compared to that of contaminated field. Importantly, yield related parameters (filled seed, 1000 grain weight, number of panicles etc.) were also significantly higher in remediated field than that in contaminated field. Arsenic concentration in roots, shoot, husk and grains of rice was found to be significantly lower in remediated field than in contaminated field. Grain As decreased from 0.75 to 0.77 μg g-1 dw in contaminated field to 0.15-0.18 μg g-1 dw. In conclusion, replacing rice for single year with V. zizanoides crop can significantly remediate the field and can be a viable option.

Assessing the relative importance of climate change and human activities is important in developing sustainable management policies for regional land use. In this study, multiple remote sensing datasets, i.e. CHIRPS (Climate Hazard Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station Data) precipitation, MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Potential Evapotranspiration (PET), Soil Moisture (SM), WorldPop, and nighttime light have been analyzed to investigate the effect that climate change (CC) and regional human activities (HA) have on vegetation dynamics in eastern India for the period 2000 to 2022. The relative influence of climate and anthropogenic factors is evaluated on the basis of non-parametric statistics i.e., Mann-Kendall and Sen\'s slope estimator. Significant spatial and elevation-dependent variations in precipitation and LST are evident. Areas at higher elevations exhibit increased mean annual temperatures (0.22 °C/year, p < 0.05) and reduced winter precipitation over the last two decades, while the northern and southwest parts of West Bengal witnessed increased mean annual precipitation (17.3 mm/year, p < 0.05) and a slight cooling trend. Temperature and precipitation trends are shown to collectively impact EVI distribution. While there is a negative spatial correlation between LST and EVI, the relationship between precipitation and EVI is positive and stronger (R2 = 0.83, p < 0.05). Associated hydroclimatic parameters are potent drivers of EVI, whereby PET in the southwestern regions leads to markedly lower SM. The relative importance of CC and HA on EVI also varies spatially. Near the major conurbation of Kolkata, and confirmed by nighttime light and population density data, changes in vegetation cover are very clearly dominated by HA (87%). In contrast, CC emerges as the dominant driver of EVI (70-85%) in the higher elevation northern regions of the state but also in the southeast. Our findings inform policy regarding the future sustainability of vulnerable socio-hydroclimatic systems across the entire state.

UNASSIGNED: West Bengal, situated in eastern India, comprising 19 districts as of 2016 and consisting of 9.13 crore population, had been one of the participating states in the National Mental Health Survey, 2015-16.
UNASSIGNED: To estimate the prevalence and pattern of mental disorders in a representative population in West Bengal.
UNASSIGNED: Based upon a multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling with probability proportionate to each stage, 2646 eligible individuals were interviewed. Standard validated instruments in Bengali like socio-demographic profiles and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 6 were used by trained data collectors with quality monitoring as per a standardized protocol.
UNASSIGNED: The current prevalence of mental illness in the state of West Bengal is 13.07% (12.9-13.24 95% CI), which is more than the current national average of 10.56% (10.51-10.61 95% CI). The prevalence of severe mental illness of 2.32% and suicide risk of 1.75% (1.68-1.81 95% CI) is higher than the national average. The common mental illness prevalence is 11.29 (11.13-11.45 95% CI), which is similar to the national weighted average. In West Bengal, severe mental illness is more concentrated in the rural areas in contrast to the national trend. Also, the prevalence of alcohol use disorder is 3.04 (2.96-3.13 95% CI) and epilepsy is 0.03 (0.27-0.29 95% CI), which is less than the national average.
UNASSIGNED: The prevalence of mental disorders in the state of West Bengal is higher than the national average, and for severe mental illness, the prevalence is the highest as compared to the national average.

Air pollution is one of the most significant threats to human safety due to its detrimental health consequences worldwide. This study examines the air pollution levels in 22 districts of West Bengal from 2016 to 2021, using data from 81 stations operated by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). The study assesses the short- and long-term impacts of particulate matter (PM) on human health. The highest annual variation of PM10 was noted in 2016 (106.99 ± 34.17 μg/m3), and the lowest was reported in 2020 (88.02 ± 13.61 μg/m3), whereas the highest annual variations of NO2 (μg/m3) were found in 2016 (35.17 ± 13.55 μg/m3), and lowest in 2019 (29.72 ± 13.08 μg/m3). Similarly, the SO2 level was lower (5.35 μg/m3) in 2017 and higher in 2020 (7.78 μg/m3). In the state, Bardhaman, Bankura, Kolkata, and Howrah recorded the highest PM10 concentrations. The monthly and seasonal variations of pollution showed higher in December, January, and February (winter season) and lowest observed in June, July, and August (rainy season). The southern part of West Bengal state has recorded higher pollution levels than the northern part. The short- and long-term health impact assessment due to particulate matter shows that the estimated number of attributable cases (ENACs) for incidence of chronic bronchitis in adults and prevalence of bronchitis in children were 305,234 and 14,652 respectively. The long-term impact of PM2.5 on human health ENACs for mortality due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for adults, acute lower respiratory infections in children aged 0-5, lung cancer, and stroke for adults were 21,303, 12,477, 25,064, 94,406, and 86,272 respectively. This outcome assists decision-makers and stakeholders in effectively addressing the air pollution and health risk concerns within the specified area.

The prevalence and genetic diversity of the protozoan pathogen Giardia duodenalis have been extensively studied worldwide. There is currently a lack of data regarding the genetic variability of the organism in eastern India. Understanding the circulating genotypes and associated risk factors is crucial for effective planning and implementing control measures. Therefore, the objective of the study was to conduct an epidemiological study to determine the prevalence and identify the various genotypes present. This survey adds to our knowledge on the occurrence and distribution of Giardia genotypes in the studied region. The overall prevalence was found to be 6.8%. This parasitic infection was significantly associated with two age groups, i.e., >0-5 years and >5-12 years. Using a multilocus genotyping method, we genotyped 52 human Giardia isolates that were obtained from diarrheal patients. Two distinct assemblages were found in the population-30.8% belonged to assemblage A; 63.5% belonged to assemblage B, prevalent in the population; and 5.7% belonged to a combined assemblage A+B. Sub-assemblage AII was found in 17.3% of the cases, followed by sub-assemblage AI (13.5%). High levels of genetic diversity were found within the population of assemblage B undergoing balancing selection. Overall, the high prevalence of the parasite observed, particularly among children, raises a major concern and necessitates implementation of robust control measures. Furthermore, we report the presence of numerous unique genotypes, circulating in this limited geographical boundary, which can be useful dataset for future studies.