Caregiver strain and its predictors among parents of autistic children: a cross-sectional study.

This study estimates the frequency and predictors of caregiver strain (CGS) among parents of autistic children. Demographic details and CGS were collected through a validated tool from 403 parents of autistic children in Karachi, Pakistan. Regression modelling was performed to report associations between social, behavioural, and communication problems and socioeconomic predictors of CGS.

Validation of HF-Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis versus Body Mass Index in Classifying Overweight and Obese Pakistani Adults.

Purpose: To determine the validity of hand-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis (HF-BIA) versus body mass index (BMI) to assess overweight and obesity status in adults against a reference method, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Patients And Methods: It is a validation study conducted on 206 Pakistani adults ≥20 years recruited through convenience sampling technique at PNS Shifa Hospital and Jinnah Post Medical Centre, Karachi, Pakistan.

Results: HF-BIA showed better sensitivity of 90.

Violence against health care workers in rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the magnitude of violence against healthcare workers in a rural setting, and the consequences of this violence on their personal and professional lives.

Methods: The descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted in 4 rural districts of the Sindh province of Pakistan from February to December 2019, and comprised healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, support staff and field workers. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire.

Comparison of Peer-Assisted Learning with Traditional Faculty-led Teaching in Family Medicine Clerkship: An Experimental Study.

Objective: To compare the effects of reciprocal peer-assisted learning (PAL) with traditional faculty-led teaching on the academic performance of fourth-year medical students in Family Medicine clerkship.

Study Design: An experimental study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Health Professions Education and Department of Family Medicine, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan, from 22nd February 2019 to 25th February 2020.

Role of Politics, Guilds and Pedagogy in defining Policies in Medical Education: The Pakistan Scenario.

Politics in education is not a new concept and has been a sore point of discussion between academia and policy makers. The politics of medical education has led to the formation of informal guilds that have taken control over medical education. Policy decisions concerning medical/dental education affecting the lives of the community, at large are implemented without giving due consideration to the pedagogy of medical education.

Role of media and the media hypes in the aftermath of mass casualty incidents a qualitative thematic content analysis.

Objective: To explore the role of media during mass casualty events and its impact on people.

Methods: The qualitative thematic content analysis was conducted at Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, from 2018 to 2020 and comprised of semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions involving participants from the health sector and policymakers at the provincial level. The Frontline Workers such as the ambulance drivers and the first-aid-givers were also included.

Prevalence of anxiety and depression in high school students of Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: Anxiety and depression are commonly occurring mental disorders in school-going students and if not considered can result in a worse outcome. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence, risk factors and relationship of anxiety and depression with different variables among high school students of Karachi.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in October - November 2020 in government and private high schools of four districts of Karachi.

Enhancing satisfaction and respect for health care personnel: a mixed-methods case study of a community-based intervention.

Health care personnel (HCP) face violence as a result of lack of satisfaction and respect among community members. It is imperative for HCP to engage in social work by involving communities for enhancing satisfaction and respect for them. This study attempted to provide insight on this phenomenon by using a mixed-methods concurrent embedded approach.

Validation of a Public Health Tool used for the Assessment of Violence against Healthcare Providers in the Rural Areas of Sindh.

Objective: To validate a public health tool for assessing violence and its effects against healthcare providers (HCPs).

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Rural districts of Sindh from June to December 2019.

Effect of low-cost interventions to reduce the incidence of violent events in two public sector tertiary-care emergency departments, Pakistan.

Background: Violence against health care workers has been widely reported in Pakistan.

Aims: This study, from September 2019 to April 2020, aimed to determine the effect of low-cost interventions to reduce violent events in two tertiary-care emergency departments in Karachi and Peshawar, Pakistan.

Methods: In phase one, a surveillance system was established in each department and information on violent events was recorded for three months.

Strengthening supportive supervision: A case study of the Expanded Programme on Immunization in Sindh, Pakistan.

Background: Sindh, one of the provinces of Pakistan, has been showing a consistently low coverage of immunization. Evidence supports the independent role of supportive supervision in improving the performance of immunization services. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the implementation of supportive supervision by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Sindh and factors affecting its implementation in the local context.

Comparison of OSCE scores of surgical clinical education after face-to-face vs. blended learning methods among undergraduate medical students.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of blended learning with contemporary face-to-face teaching among medical students.

Methods: The quasi-experimental, cross-over study was conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, from March to August 2014, and comprised third year medical students posted in the surgical units who were divided into two groups. In the first month, group A was taught by blended learning (BL), while group B was taught by face-to-face (f2f) teaching.

Difference in memory recall among medical students after reading printed text (hard copy) vs. on screen text (soft copy).

Objective: To compare the difference in "memory recall" among undergraduates (UGs) and postgraduates (PGs) medical students reading printed text (hard copy) vs. on-screen text (soft copy).

Methods: Final year UGs medical students (Group A) were divided into two batches, one batch was given hard copy of 1258 worded text and other group was given a soft copy of the same text.

General practitioner's (GP) home management guidelines for COVID-19 patients: Guidelines.

Carefully developed guidelines for clinical practice serve as an important tool for desirable changes in health care of a country. They act as an important source of information for physicians as well as policy makers and educational institutions thereby improving the quality of care of patients. The outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in 2019 has placed a huge burden on health care system globally.

Systematic development and refinement of a contextually relevant strategy for undergraduate medical ethics education: a qualitative study.

Background: Delivery of medical ethics education is complex due to various reasons, compounded by the context-dependent nature of the content. The scarcity of relevant resources in the contexts of some developing countries adds a further layer of difficulty to ethics education in these contexts. We used a consultative approach with students, teachers and external experts to develop a practical approach to medical ethics education.

Assessment of a mass media campaign on giving way to ambulances in five cities of Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the contribution of a mass media campaign towards encouraging more vehicles to give way to ambulances, and to identify the factors associated with higher likelihood of giving way to ambulances.

Methods: The three-phase observational study was conducted from December 2017 to March 2018 in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar cities of Pakistan. Six road sites in different areas of each city were selected for observation.

Does watching violent electronic and social media content lead to increased levels of aggression? A survey among adolescents in an urban slum of metropolitan Karachi.

Objectives: Increased levels of aggression and desensitization of adolescents has been witnessed as a result of exposure to violent social/electronic media content. It is imperative for policymakers to study such behavioral outcomes in order to make sound policies regarding media literacy. The objective of the study therefore was to assess relationship between violent electronic/social media exposure and level of aggression.

Review of ethics teaching in undergraduate medical education.

Objective: To provide an overview of existing literature regarding ethics in undergraduate medical education around the world, and to identify gaps in literature for recommending areas for future research.

Methods: The scoping review was conducted in March 2016. PubMed and Web of Science search engines were used to identify English language literature on ethics in undergraduate medical education published over the preceding 20 years.

The magnitude and determinants of violence against healthcare workers in Pakistan.

Objectives: To determine the magnitude and determinants of violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) and to identify the predominant types and causes of violence experienced by them.

Methodology: A cross-sectional survey based on structured questionnaire adopted from previous surveys and qualitative data was conducted in 4 large cities and 12 districts in 3 provinces of Pakistan. The survey covered 8579 from all cadres of HCWs, including doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff, ambulance workers, vaccinators, lady health visitors, midwives and lady health workers (LHWs).

Out of pocket payment for diabetes mellitus in a public hospital of Karachi.

Objective: To estimate the out-of-pocket payment on routine management of type 2 diabetes in patients attending a public-sector facility.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to May 2017 at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, and comprised of persons with type 2 diabeties. A pretested questionnaire was administered to collect data from the patients.

Attitudes of faculty and residents of surgical specialties towards professionalism at a tertiary care hospital of Islamabad.

Objectives: To determine the attitudes of faculty and residents of surgical specialties towards professionalism and to test the validity and reliability of a tool developed in USA for Pakistan.

Methods: An exploratory validation study was carried out at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad from 01-Aug-2016 to 31-Jan-2017. Penn State College of Medicine Professionalism Questionnaire (PSCOM) was used, being a reliable and valid survey tools.

Breaking Bad News: A contextual model for Pakistan.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to identify the sequence of violence that ensues after breaking bad news and develop a contextual model of breaking bad news and develop a model contextual for Pakistan.

Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted using Six FGDs and 14 IDIs with healthcare providers working in the emergency and the obstetrics and gynecology departments of tertiary care hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. Data was transcribed and analyzed to identify emerging themes and subthemes using thematic content analysis.