Community Health Commons^™

Breaking Bad News: Exploring Patient's Perspective And Expectations, Sidra Ishaque, Taimur Saleem, Fariha Batool Khawaja, Waris Qidwai

Department of Family Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To explore patient's perspectives and expectations from physicians with respect to breaking of bad news.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the Community Health Centre of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pakistan. All consenting individuals from 18 to 60 years of age were interviewed on the basis of a structured, pre-tested questionnaire.

RESULTS: The response rate for this study was 91.3%. A total of 400 respondents completed the full interview. About 60% patients had a fairly accurate idea about the implications of the phrase "bad news". A big proportion (44.1%) of people reported that bad news …

Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Regarding Dengue Fever Among Adults Of High And Low Socioeconomic Groups, Madiha Syed, Taimur Saleem, Umme-Rubab Syeda, Manal Habib, Rehan Zahid, Atif Bashir, Madiha Rabbani, Madiha Khalid, Asif Iqbal, Ehsen Zawwar Rao, Shujja-Ur-Rehman, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the knowledge, attitudes and practices of selected adult population in Pakistan regarding Dengue Fever.METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted among selected communities with different socio-economic backgrounds in Karachi, Pakistan. A sample size of 440 adults (aged 18 years and above) were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire regarding their knowledge, attitude and practices about dengue fever. A composite scoring system, based on the answers given in the questionnaire, was used to establish the level of awareness in the population. The division of the higher and lower socio-economic groups was based on their income and locality; both these …

Hepatitis D: Scenario In The Asia-Pacific Region, Z Abbas, Wasim Jafri, Sajjad Raza

Department of Medicine

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection is present worldwide and affects all age groups. Around 18 million people are estimated to be infected with HDV. An important trend in HDV infection is global decline. HDV prevalence has decreased significantly in Europe since the 1970s and 1980s when it was first reported. The Asia-Pacific region now seems to be where HDV is a major health concern. There is a lack of available data from most of the countries from this region, hence, the true status of HDV cannot be determined. In South Asia, most of the countries have conditions that are favorable …

Father's Support And Literacy--Factors Associated With Child Mortality In Gambat, Sindh-Pakistan, Ajmal Agha, Fozia Ajmal, Azam Iqbal, Franklin White

Community Health Sciences

Objectives: To determine Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) in Gambat and to identify causes of and factors associated with it.
Methods: The study was conducted in taluka Gambat of Sindh, Pakistan from December 2002 to August 2003. The sample of at least 510 mothers was needed to capture expected 1020 live births. We interviewed mothers to elicit information about live births in the past five years, under-five mortality and its cause. Additionally, the mothers were also asked about their mobility and availability of husband's support in child's rearing, other than economic support. Approval was sought from Aga Khan University's Ethical …