Digital Commons Network^™

Rhesus And Kell Phenotyping Of Voluntary Blood Donors: Foundation Of A Donor Data Bank, Farheen Karim, Bushra Moiz, Fahmida Jan Muhammad, Fatima Ausat, Mohammad Khurshid

Mohammad Khurshid

OBJECTIVE: To assess the Rhesus (Rh) and Kell (K) phenotype of voluntary blood donors and lay foundation of a data bank of voluntary blood donors. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Blood Bank, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, in the year 2014. METHODOLOGY: Voluntary blood donors were inducted after taking written informed consent. Three -5cc of EDTA anticoagulated blood sample was taken to phenotype red cells for C, c, E, e, and Kell antigens using antisera. [DiaMedSwitzerland]. RESULTS: Hundred blood donors were included in the study. ABO blood groups of the donors were: O [37%], B …

Residual Barriers For Utilization Of Maternal And Child Health Services: Community Perceptions From Rural Pakistan., Zahid Memon, Shehla Zaidi, Atif Riaz

Zahid Ali Memon

Low utilization of maternal and child care services in rural areas has constrained Pakistan from meeting targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. This study explores community barriers in accessing Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services in ten remote rural districts of Pakistan. It further presents how the barriers differ across a range of MCH services, and also whether the presence of Community Health Workers (CHWs) reduces client barriers. Qualitative methods were used involving altogether sixty focus group discussions with mothers, their spouses and community health workers. Low awareness, formidable distances, expense, and poorly functional services were the …

Motivating And Demotivating Factors For Community Health Workers Engaged In Maternal, Newborn And Child Health Programs In Low And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review., Leah Shipton, Aysha Zahidie, F. Rabbani

Fauziah Rabbani

This systematic review aimed to synthesize primary research on motivating factors of community health workers (CHWs) for maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Peer-reviewed literatures were systematically searched in five databases. Identified studies were then screened and selected for inclusion. The eligibility criteria were reported primary qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research, with participants being CHWs in LMICs who address MNCH, which investigated motivation or related concepts of retention, attrition, and performance. A thematic synthesis process was used to analyze findings of motivating factors, reported by included studies. Seventeen qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods …

Inspiring Health Worker Motivation With Supportive Supervision: A Survey Of Lady Health Supervisor Motivating Factors In Rural Pakistan, Fauziah Rabbani, Leah Shipton, Wafa Aftab, Kashif Sangrasi, Shagufta Perveen, Aysha Zahidie

Fauziah Rabbani

BACKGROUND: Community health worker motivation is an important consideration for improving performance and addressing maternal, newborn, and child health in low and middle-income countries. Therefore, identifying health system interventions that address motivating factors in resource-strained settings is essential. This study is part of a larger implementation research project called Nigraan, which is intervening on supportive supervision in the Lady Health Worker Programme to improve community case management of pneumonia and diarrhea in rural Pakistan. This study explored the motivation of Lady Health Supervisors, a cadre of community health workers, with particular attention to their views on supportive supervision. METHODS: Twenty-nine …

Health Workers’ Perspectives, Knowledge And Skills Regarding Community Case Management Of Childhood Diarrhoea And Pneumonia: A Qualitative Inquiry For An Implementation Research Project “Nigraan” In District Badin, Sindh, Pakistan, Fauziah Rabbani, Shagufta Perveen, Wafa Aftab, Aysha Zahidie, Kashif Sangrasi, Shamim Ahmad Qazi Ahmad Qazi

Fauziah Rabbani

BACKGROUND: Pakistan's Lady Health Worker Programme aims to provide care to children sick with pneumonia and diarrhoea, which continues to cause 27 % under-five mortality in Pakistan. The quality of supervision received by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) in the programme influence their knowledge and skills, in turn impacting their ability to provide care. METHODS: This study is part of an implementation research project titled "Nigraan" (an Urdu word meaning supervisor), and explores LHW and Lady Health Supervisor (LHS) perspectives regarding the role of supervision in improving LHWs performance and motivation in district Badin, Sindh, Pakistan. Their knowledge and skills regarding …

Contracting Of Primary Health Care Services In Pakistan: Is Up-Scaling A Pragmatic Thinking, Babar Shaikh, F. Rabbani, Najibullah Safi, Zia Dawar

Fauziah Rabbani

Quite often, public health care systems in developing countries are struggling because of incompetence and a lack of provider responsiveness to the needs of consumers. On the contrary, the private sector dominates the system of health provision. In recent years, contracting has been experimented as an approach to ensure delivery of comprehensive public health services in an efficient, effective, superior and fair manner and has generally thrived well. The state's healthcare system in Pakistan has suffered a lot, owing to structural fragmentation, resource scarcity, inefficiency and lack of functional specificity, gender insensitivity and inaccessibility. However, partnering with the private sector …

Benzodiazepine Use Among Adults Residing In The Urban Settlements Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross Sectional Study., Saleem P. Iqbal, Syed Ahmer, Salima Farooq, Yasmin Parpio, Ambreen Tharani, Rashid A. M Khan, Mohammad Zaman

Ambreen Tharani

Background: There are hardly any studies carried out in Pakistan on the usage of benzodiazepines at the level of community. This research was aimed to determine the frequency of benzodiazepine use, along with its associations with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics among community dwelling adults, residing in two urban settlements of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: We performed a cross sectional study from August 2008 to December 2009, in 2 areas of Karachi, namely Garden and Sultanabad. We followed the systematic sampling strategy to randomly select the households, with an adult of either sex and of age 18 years or more. Data collection …

Psycho-Social Consequences Of Secondary Infertility In Karachi., Neelofar Sami, Tazeen Saeed Ali

Tazeen Ali

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the experiences of social consequences among women suffering from secondary infertility.

METHODS:

Descriptive case series of 400 women with secondary infertility attending tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

RESULTS:

More than two thirds (67.7%) of women stated that their inability to give live births or give birth to sons had resulted in marital dissonance. The respondents had been threatened for divorce (20%), husband's remarrying (38%) or to be returned to their parent's home (26%) by their in laws or husbands. Majority (68%) of the women threatened did not have any live births. However, those who had live …

Evaluation Of Laparoscopic Appendectomy Vs. Open Appendectomy: A Retrospective Study At Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, Yasmin Vellani, Shaheena Bhatti, Ghina Shamsi, Yasmin Parpio, Tazeen Saeed Ali

Tazeen Ali

OBJECTIVE: To compare open and laparoscopic appendectomies and to evaluate the level of efficacy of both types of appendectomy performed at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). METHODS: Based on this strong study rationale, a clinical audit of patient's records was performed to evaluate the significance of this technique as a treatment modality. The study population comprised of patients with appendicitis admitted in the Department of Surgery from January 2004 to December 2004. The patients' charts were reviewed to ascertain whether the procedure was done as an acute case or as an elective procedure. The predictor variables explored in this study …

Dowry Practices And Their Negative Consequences From A Female Perspective In Karachi, Pakistan —A Qualitative Study, Tazeen Saeed Ali, Gunnhildur Árnadóttir, Asli Kulane

Tazeen Ali

Aim: To assess the pattern, demand and opinion of dowry among women in urban Karachi, Pakistan and their perceived negative consequences of dowry. Setting: Pakistan is a low income country, predominantly Muslim, with around 190 million inhabitants. Karachi is the biggest city with roughly 13 million inhabitants. Method: Qualitative study, using content analysis of five focus group discussions with women. Results: The theme “Dowry practices and their consequences” emerged, along with five categories and 14 subcategories, describing the “burden of dowry”, “dowry in society”, “dowry problems created by parents-in-law”, “negative consequences of dowry practice” and “good intentions”. Conclusion: Problems due …

Evaluation Of A Cancer Awareness Campaign: Experience With A Selected Population In Karachi, Tazeen S. Ali, Sanah Baig

Tazeen Ali

The incidence and prevalence of cancer is rapidly increasing in both developed and developing countries. The most common cancers reported in Pakistan are breast and cervical cancers in females, and lung and oral cancers in males. Public awareness of cancer can play a vital role in its prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. A pilot survey conducted by the Cancer Support Group (CSG) of Aga Khan University Hospital from 2001 till 2004 to gauge the public awareness of cancer in Pakistan revealed that people were afraid of cancer and had little knowledge about its prevention and early detection. The survey also …

Symptomatic Surgically Treated Non-Neoplastic Cysts Of The Central Nervous System: A Clinicopathological Study From Pakistan, Nasir Ud Din, Huma Arshad, Zubair Ahmad, Sheema H Hasan, Mohammad Ehsan Bar

Zubair Ahmad

Objective: To report clinicopathologic features of symptomatic surgically removed non-neoplastic cysts of the central nervous system (CNS). Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from 2003 to 2012. Methodology: All non-neoplastic CNS cysts reported during the study period were retrieved and reviewed. Age, gender, location, histologic type and clinical features were noted. Results: A total of 124 cysts were diagnosed in the study period. These included 44 epidermoid cysts (mean age 30.5 ± 13.8 years), 35 colloid cysts (mean age 31 ± 13.2 years), 32 arachnoid cysts (mean age 24.8 ± 20.2 …

Do Dietary Patterns Explain High Prevalence Of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Pakistani Urban Adults? A Cross-Sectional Study, Nilofer F. Safdar, Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, Lorraine Cordeiro, Tazeen H. Jafar, Nancy L. Cohen

Lorraine Cordeiro

Background The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in South Asia is higher than in any other developing countries. The diversity of diets in populations among developing countries may be one explanation for the differences in CVD. This study was carried out to explore the association between dietary patterns and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors among Pakistani low income urban adults. Methods Socio demographic, physical activity and dietary information was collected from 1546 Pakistani subjects aged ≥40 years from the Control of Hypertension and Risk Attenuation (COBRA) study. Anthropometric, clinical and biomarker measures were assessed. Cluster analysis was used to …