Community Health Commons^™

Consanguinity Among The Risk Factors For Underweight In Children Under Five: A Study From Rural Sindh, S. F. Hasnain, S. K. Hashmi

Community Health Sciences

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is a common problem, especially in developing countries. Of the 11 million children under 5 who die each year in the developing countries mainly from preventable causes, the death of about 54% are either directly or indirectly attributable to malnutrition. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence and associated factors for underweight in rural Sindh.METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jhangara Town, located in District Dadu, Sindh. Eight hundred children under 5 years of age were enrolled. A questionnaire was used to elicit required information and anthropometric measurements were made.RESULTS: The overall prevalence for …

An Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Model For Short-Term Prediction Of Hepatitis C Virus Seropositivity Among Male Volunteer Blood Donors In Karachi, Pakistan, Saeed Akhtar, Shafquat Rozi

Community Health Sciences

Aim: To identify the stochastic autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model for short term forecasting of hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity among volunteer blood donors in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: Ninety-six months (1998-2005) data on HCV seropositive cases (1000(-1) x month(-1)) among male volunteer blood donors tested at four major blood banks in Karachi, Pakistan were subjected to ARIMA modeling. Subsequently, a fitted ARIMA model was used to forecast HCV seropositive donors for 91-96 mo to contrast with observed series of the same months. To assess the forecast accuracy, the mean absolute error rate (%) between the observed and predicted HCV …

Prevalence Of Obesity In School-Going Children Of Karachi., Haider Javed Warraich, Faisal Javed, Mohammed Faraz-Ul-Haq, Fariha Batool Khawaja, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

Background: Obesity is an emerging problem in Pakistan. The authors sought to determine prevalence of obesity and malnutrition in school-going children, from grades 6(th) to 8(th) of different schools of Karachi and assess associations that affect the weight of the children.
Methodology/Principal Findings: A cross sectional Study Design with children studying in grades 6(th) to 8(th) grade, in different schools of Karachi. We visited 10 schools of which 4 consented, two subsidized government schools and two private schools. A questionnaire was developed in consultation with a qualified nutritionist. Height and weight were measured on calibrated scales. A modified BMI criterion …

General Practitioner's Knowledge Regarding The Diagnosis And Drug Therapy For Acute Myocardial Infarction, Zaman Shah, Munsif Ali, Islam Hussain, Saadia Zohra Farooqui, Anita Naushir Akbar Ali, Ailia Welayat Ali, Fazal Manzoor Arain, Salman Saleem Allana, Shadmeen Rafique Aarabi, Salman Fasih Khan, Mansoor Arif, Saad Siddique, Majid Shafiq, Amyn B Lakhani

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE: To assess the general practitioners (GP) knowledge regarding the diagnosis and initial drug therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

METHODS: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in randomly selected GPs of Karachi. Doctors working in community as GPs who were registered medical practitioners having a Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery degree were included in the study. Doctors working at tertiary care facilities or having a post graduate degree or post graduate training in a specialty other than family medicine were excluded from the study.

RESULTS: A total of 186 GPs participated in our study. GPs who studied research …

Public Private Mix Model In Enhancing Tuberculosis Case Detection In District Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan, Jameel Ahmed, Mubashir Ahmed, A Laghari, Wasdev Lohana, Sajid Ali, Zafar Fatmi

Community Health Sciences

To enhance the TB case detection through Public Private Mix (PPM) model by involving private practitioners in collaboration with National TB Control Program, (NTP) in district Thatta. Private practitioners (PPs) of district Thatta involved in treatment of TB cases were requested to participate in the study. All consenting physicians were provided with training on Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) module. In addition to routine cases, TB cases diagnosed by private practitioners through sputum microscopy were also registered with the district TB control program and medicines were provided by NTP. After intervention of PPM-DOTS change in Case Detection Rate (CDR) …

The Health Seeking Behaviour Of Elderly Population In A Poor-Urban Community Of Karachi, Pakistan, Abdullah Ladha, Romaisa Shamim Khan, Awais Amjad Malik, Sana Farooq Khan, Beenish Khan, Irum Nawaz Khan, Samiullah, Waleed Tallat Kayani, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVES: To presents socio-demographic characteristics and health seeking behaviour of elderly and to determine frequency of Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension in elderly population of a poor peri-urban community in Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, targeting population aged 65 or above. A total of 438 respondents were interviewed after taking informed consent, between November 2005 and December 2005. Frequencies and Chi square values were calculated for different variables using SPSS 13.0.

RESULTS: Total population surveyed comprised of 438 elderly, 158 (36%) women and 280 (63.9%) men. Mean age for the population was 71.44 +/- 7.74. A total of …