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Sleep Deprivation And Its Associated Factors Among General Ward Patients At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Majid Shafiq, Farah F. Salahuddin, Maham Siddiqi, Zaman Shah, Rehmat Ali, Rizwan A. Siwani, Ayesha Saleem, Kashif Shakoor Shaikh, Ali Khan Khuwaja

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To estimate the occurrence rate of sleep deprivation and to identify the environmental, staff-related and patient-related factors associated with SD among general ward patients of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, a pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 108 patients admitted into the general medical and general surgical wards of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.Results: In all, 50 (46.3%) respondents felt deprived of adequate sleep in the hospital. Worry about illness disturbed the night-time sleep of 47 (43.5%) patients; most of these had SD (70%) (p < 0.001). Other patients' noise disturbed 31.5% of study subjects and a significant majority (68%) of these had SD (p = 0.003). Over 17% of study subjects reported cell phone's ringing as a disturbing factor; more by those with SD (68%) compared to those with no SD (32%); again the difference was significant (p = 0.003). Physical discomfort and presence of cannula were reported as disturbing factors by 41.7% and 28.7% of the study subjects respectively but these were not significantly associated with SD.CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that sleep deprivation occurs commonly among general ward patients in tertiary care setting. Factors found to be associated with SD were amenable to modification to a greater extent.

Knowledge And Attitudes About Health Research Amongst A Group Of Pakistani Medical Students, Hassan Khan, Muhammad Rizwanulhaq Khawaja, Abdul Waheed, Muhammad Ameen Rauf, Zafar Fatmi

Community Health Sciences

Background

Health research training is an important part of medical education. This study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes regarding health research in a group of Pakistani medical students at Aga Khan University, Karachi.

Methods

It was a cross-sectional pilot study conducted among a group of Pakistani medical students. Through stratified random sampling, a pre-tested, structured and validated questionnaire was administered to 220 medical students. Knowledge and attitudes were recorded on a scale (graduated in percentages).

Results

Mean scores of students were 49.0% on knowledge scale and 53.7% on attitude scale. Both knowledge and attitudes improved …

Geographic Data On Health Inequities: Understanding Policy Implications, Gregory Pappas

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Diabetes Knowledge, Beliefs And Practices Among People With Diabetes Attending A University Hospital In Karachi, Pakistan, G Rafique, S I. Azam, F White

Community Health Sciences

A structured questionnaire on knowledge, beliefs and practices regarding diabetes was administered to 199 persons with diabetes (92.5% type 2) attending the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Mean age [standard deviation (SD)] was 53 (11) years. Mean duration of diabetes (SD) was 8 (7) years in men and 9 (6) years in women. Men had a significantly better knowledge score than women (P = 0.02); there was no significant difference in the beliefs and practices scores. Scores were classed as good (> 60%) in only 13.6% of participants for knowledge, 17.6% for beliefs and 11.2% for practices. About 38% of …

Social Environment And Depression Among Pregnant Women In Urban Areas Of Pakistan: Importance Of Social Relations., Ambreen Kazi, Zafar Fatmi, Juanita Hatcher, Muhammad Masood Kadir, Unaiza Niaz, Gail A. Wasserman

Community Health Sciences

Aspects of the social environment, including social conditions (socio-economic status, household situations, chronic illnesses) and social relations (attitude and behaviors of relations) are major determinants of depression among women. This study evaluates the relative power of social relations and social conditions in predicting depression among pregnant women in Pakistan. In the qualitative phase of the study, social environmental determinants were identified through literature search, and experts' opinions from psychologists, psychiatrists, gynecologists, sociologists and researchers. Along with this, 79 in-depth interviews were conducted with pregnant women drawn from six hospitals (public and private) and two communities in Karachi, Pakistan. Identified determinants …

Identifying Needs And Barriers To Diabetes Education In Patients With Diabetes, Ghazala Rafique, Furqan Shaikh

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To assess the needs, awareness and barriers to diabetes education for self management and to facilitate the initiation of an education programme promoting self care among diabetics and their families.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among adult diabetics attending outpatient clinics in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on 27 subjects (11 men; 16 women) to identify dominant themes and priority issues.Results: Participants displayed great deal of variation with respect to level of knowledge and motivation for education. Most believed that diabetes was caused by stress. Family was perceived to be a source …

Knowledge And Skills In Community Oriented Medical Education (Come)Self-Ratings Of Medical Undergraduates In Karachi, Ayesha Aziz, Ambreen Kazi, Ashraf Jahangeer, Zafar Fatmi

Community Health Sciences

Objective:

To assess the satisfaction of medical students regarding community oriented knowledge and skills that are proposed to be part of the current undergraduate medical curriculum.

Methods: Competencies listed in the regulations for medical education designed by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) were used to develop a self-administered questionnaire. Using the questionnaire 220 final year students of 3 public sector medical schools self-rated the knowledge and skills that should be part of the curriculum. For analysis the questions were grouped into courses of Basic, Clinical and Community Health Sciences. Students ranked their perceptions on a Likert scale of …

Knowledge Of Modifiable Risk Factors Of Heart Disease Among Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction In Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross Sectional Study, Muhammad S. Khan, Fahim H. Jafary, Tazeen H. Jafar, Azhar M. Faruqui, Syed I. Rasool, Juanita Hatcher, Nish Chaturvedi

Community Health Sciences

Background: Knowledge is an important pre-requisite for implementing both primary as well as secondary preventive strategies for cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are no estimates of the level of knowledge of risk factor of heart disease in patients with CVD. We estimated the level of knowledge of modifiable risk factors and determined the factors associated with good level of knowledge among patients presenting with their first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, a major tertiary care hospital in Karachi Pakistan. Patients …

Acute Health Effects Of The Tasman Spirit Oil Spill On Residents Of Karachi, Pakistan, Naveed Zafar Janjua, Pashtoon Murtaza Kasi, Haq Nawaz, Sadia Zohra Farooqui, Urooj Bakht Khuwaja, Najam-Ul-Hassan, Syed Nadim Jafri, Shahid Ali Lutfi, Muhammad Masood Kadir, Nalini Sathiakumar

Community Health Sciences

Background: On July 27 2003, a ship carrying crude oil ran aground near Karachi and after two weeks released 37,000 tons of its cargo into the sea. Oil on the coastal areas and fumes in air raised health concerns among people. We assessed the immediate health impact of oil spill from the tanker Tasman Spirit on residents of the affected coastline in Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: We conducted a study consisting of an exposed group including adults living in houses on the affected shoreline and two control groups (A and B) who lived at the distance of 2 km and 20 km …

Socio-Demographic Correlates Of Betel, Areca And Smokeless Tobacco Use As A High Risk Behavior For Head And Neck Cancers In A Squatter Settlement Of Karachi, Pakistan, Samia Mazahir, Rabia Malik, Maria Maqsood, Kanwal Aliraza Merchant, Farida Malik, Atif Majeed, Zafar Fatmi, Muhammad Rizwanulhaq Khawaja, Shehzad Ghaffar

Community Health Sciences

Background

Head and neck cancers are a major cancer burden in Pakistan. They share a common risk factor profile including regular consumption of products of betel, areca and tobacco. Use of paan, chaalia, gutka, niswar and tumbaku is acceptable in Pakistan and is considered a normal cultural practice. This cross-sectional study was carried out to understand the relation of socio-demographic factors for the consumption of paan, chaalia, gutka, niswar and tumbaku in Pakistani population. Through systematic sampling, 425 subjects from a squatter settlement in Karachi were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. High risk behavior was defined as Daily use of …

Validity Of Measures Of Pain And Symptoms In Hiv/Aids Infected Households In Resources Poor Settings: Results From The Dominican Republic And Cambodia, Gregory Pappas, R Cameron Wolf, Guy Morineau, Richard Harding

Community Health Sciences

Background: HIV/AIDS treatment programs are currently being mounted in many developing nations that include palliative care services. While measures of palliative care have been developed and validated for resource rich settings, very little work exists to support an understanding of measurement for Africa, Latin America or Asia.Methods: This study investigates the construct validity of measures of reported pain, pain control, symptoms and symptom control in areas with high HIV-infected prevalence in Dominican Republic and Cambodia Measures were adapted from the POS (Palliative Outcome Scale). Households were selected through purposive sampling from networks of people living with HIV/AIDS. Consistencies in patterns …

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

Community Health Sciences

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 …

Pharmaceutical Research: Paradox, Challenge Or Dilemma?, Abdul Latif Sheikh

Community Health Sciences

A great deal of pharmaceutical research is nowadays carried out in developing countries such as Pakistan. Is it, however, beneficial for the country and the participants, often the poorly educated and illiterate? Pharmaceutical research in Pakistan can bring benefits to both patients and country. Promotion of good clinical practice and the development of national guidelines are advocated. Government and industry both have a role to play to maintain the right balance.

Prevalence And Determinants Of Asthma In Adult Male Leather Tannery Workers In Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross Sectional Study, Khurram Shahzad, Saeed Akhtar, Sadia Mahmud

Community Health Sciences

Background: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and to identify some risk factors of adult asthma in male leather tannery workers in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from August 2003 to March 2004 on leather tannery workers of Karachi, Pakistan. Data were collected from 641 workers engaged in 95 different tanneries in Korangi industrial area selected as sample of convenience. Face to face interviews were performed using a structured pre-tested questionnaire by trained data collectors.
Results: Prevalence of adult asthma was 10.8% (69/641) in this study population. The prevalence of perceived work-related asthma was 5.3% …

Living With Globalization: A Menace Or A Chance?, Fauziah Rabbani, Babar T Shaikh, Sarah Wamala

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Breast Cancer Risk Factor Knowledge Among Nurses In Teaching Hospitals Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study, Faiza Ahmed, Sadia Mahmud, Juanita Hatcher, Shaista M. Khan

Community Health Sciences

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in both the developed and the developing world. The incidence of breast cancer in Karachi, Pakistan is 69.1 per 100,000 with breast cancer presentation in stages III and IV being common (>or= 50%). The most pragmatic solution to early detection lies in breast cancer education of women. Nurses constitute a special group having characteristics most suited for disseminating breast cancer information to the women. We assessed the level of knowledge of breast cancer risk factors among registered female nurses in teaching hospitals of Karachi. We also identified whether selected …