Morbidity Pattern of Patients Attending a Primary Healthcare Facility in an Urban Slum of Chandigarh, India
LC10-LC13
Correspondence
Dr. Manju Pilania,
G-403, Mahima Panorama, Jagatpura, Jaipur-302017, Rajasthan, India.
E-mail: drmanjupilania@gmail.com
Introduction: The knowledge of morbidity pattern at primary healthcare level plays a key role to plan resources for a community efficiently. Poor living conditions in slums along with the effect of urbanisation makes them peculiar to study.
Aim: To study the morbidity pattern of patients who attended a primary healthcare facility in an urban slum of Chandigarh, India.
Materials and Methods: Secondary data analysis of outpatients of a primary healthcare facility in a slum area of Chandigarh, India was done. The sample size of the study was 16,483 morbidity for the year 2016. Diseases were categorised according to organ system of the body. Descriptive statistics were used to present the results. Pearson’s Chi-square test was used to determine the difference between proportions.
Results: In this study, a total of 14,153 patients who suffered from 16,483 total morbidity attended the outpatient department of urban primary care facility. Most common morbidity reported was due to respiratory diseases (6214,37.7%) followed by gastrointestinal (2056,12.5%) and cardiovascular diseases (1253,7.6%). Total morbidity of females (62.2%) was higher than males. Proportion of morbidity was higher in females, except injury, which was predominant in males. In reproductive and urinary tract infections, nutritional disorders, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases groups, morbidity in females constituted more than 80% of total in each group. Communicable Diseases (CDs) constituted approximately two-third of the morbidity while Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) contributed one-fifth of the disease burden. Seasonal pattern of morbidity showed higher cases in the months of July to October with a peak in September.
Conclusion: Predominantly, slum dwellers are still facing burden of CD. Morbidity pattern at a primary care level facility is a valuable tool for program managers and policy makers to plan services at grass root level in fast growing urban areas in India.