Breaking bad news: a descriptive study of physicians' perspective of Sindh, Pakistan.

Objective: To assess the perception and attitude of physicians related to breaking bad news.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at three teaching hospitals in Karachi and Mirpurkhas, Pakistan, from April 2019 to February 2020, after approval from Hamdard University, Karachi, and comprised physicians of either gender having direct patient contact. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on literature.

Health Related Quality of Life amongst Sewerage and Sanitary Workers of Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: To find out the impact of occupational and socio-demographic factors on the health related quality of life of sewerage and sanitary workers in Karachi.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2019. Four hundred workers were chosen from five districts of Karachi using a non-probability convenient sampling technique.

Smartphone addiction and its associated behaviors among medical and dental students in Pakistan: A cross-sectional survey.

Introduction: Addiction refers to the irresistible urge to engage in certain actions or dependence on a particular substance despite knowing negative consequences. The current study evaluated the severity of Smartphone addiction and the factors associated with cell phone-like activity.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2019 among medical and dental students in Karachi, Pakistan.

Prevalence and associated factors of restless leg syndrome (RLS) in Pakistani women during pregnancy.

There is a dearth of literature studying restless leg syndrome (RLS) among pregnant patients in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of RLS among pregnant Pakistani patients. It was conducted in 2018 among 478 women attending ante-natal check-up in the outpatient department of five hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

Beliefs and knowledge of osteoporosis amongst female graduate students in Karachi, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, belief and preventive measures taken regarding osteoporosis by students of different non-medical educational backgrounds.

Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March, 2018, at one private-sector and two public-sector universities in Karachi, and comprised female participants aged >15 years from engineering, commerce, social and pure sciences background. Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool questionnaire was self-administered to collect data which was analysed using SPSS 23.

Child physical abuse: awareness and practices of medical and dental doctors in Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the awareness and practices of doctors and dentists in detecting and reporting suspected cases of child physical abuse.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2017 to June 2018 at the Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, and comprised doctors and dentists practising in public and private hospitals across Pakistan. Data was collected using a predesigned questionnaire to assess knowledge of the social indicators of child physical abuse, response to child physical abuse, and actions taken by the professionals when they believed a child abuse case had been detected.

Knowledge and perceptions about the health effects of environmental hazards among students from Hamdard University, Karachi: A cross sectional study.

Environmental hazards increase the health morbidity and mortality burden. This study compared the knowledge and perceptions about the health effects of environmental hazards among medical and engineering students of Hamdard University Karachi. A total of 263 (44.

Knowledge and awareness regarding spread and prevention of COVID-19 among the young adults of Karachi.

Objective: To measure the awareness of COVID-19 infection among the general population following the outbreak in China.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out during January and February 2020 amongst the general population of Karachi, Pakistan. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used among 399 young adult participants.

Challenges in providing oral and dental health services in COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has rendered the world completely unaware and off-balance. Most of the countries of the world are in a lockdown of varying severity to break the chain of transmission. Many non-essential healthcare practices have been shut down to impose social distancing against a population whose slogan has been freedom of movement.

Daughters witnessing domestic violence perpetrated by fathers on mothers: Case study from a private University of Karachi.

Violence against women is a human rights issue and a major public health problem. The objectives of this study were to determine the magnitude and type of emotional and physical domestic violence perpetrated by fathers on mothers of female students of a private university. A total of 564 questionnaires were duly filled and returned with a response rate of 94.

Prevalence of obesity and its risk factors among school children in Karachi, Pakistan.

A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted during 2012 in private and public-sector schools of Karachi to determine the prevalence and factors influencing overweight and obesity among school children (aged 11-15 years). Sociodemographic characteristics and dietary habits were explored. The CDC Growth Chart was used to record height and weight.

Knowledge of scientific misconduct in publication among medical students.

Background: Publication is a central element in research dissemination and scientific misconduct in publication is relatively ignored in biomedical research. This study is to assess the knowledge of scientific misconduct in publication among private and public sector medical students.

Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried in four (two public and two private) medical colleges of Karachi in 2015.

Frequency and determinants of malnutrition in children aged between 6 to 59 months in district Tharparkar, a rural area of Sindh.

Objective: To assess the nutritional status of children living in Tharparkar.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in four villages of Tharparkar district of Sindh, Pakistan, in 2014, and comprised children aged between 6 and 59 months. Data was collected from mothers and anthropometry of children was done using standard techniques.

Bacterial contamination and stethoscope disinfection practices: a cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers in Karachi, Pakistan.

Stethoscopes routinely used for clinical examination of patients may potentially transfer micro-organisms and cause iatrogenic infections. This study was undertaken to detect the presence of microorganisms on stethoscopes used clinically in hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan and to ascertain the infection control practices of healthcare workers (HCWs). In a cross-sectional study, 118 samples were collected from public and private institutions.

Potential risk of cross-infection by tourniquets: a need for effective control practices in pakistan.

Background: Tourniquets used repeatedly on patients for blood sampling are a potential source of nosocomial infections. They harbor numerous microorganisms, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The aim of this study was to investigate tourniquets for the presence of microorganisms and to ascertain the infection control practices of health care workers.

Medical students' perspectives on gender and smoking: a mixed methodology investigation in Karachi, Pakistan.

Objective: To explore the gender dimensions on influences of tobacco uptake on medical students using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Methods: A phased mixed-method study design was used with in-depth interviews followed by a survey questionnaire in a 'smoke-free' medical college campus in a private university of Karachi. Eight in-depth interviews were conducted to under-pin themes that were further used for developing the questionnaire.

Parents' opinion of quality of life (QOL) in Pakistani thalassaemic children.

Objective: To find out the physical, social, psychological life aspects and overall quality of life among thalassaemic children in Pakistan.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was done in ten Thalassaemia treatment centres in three major cities of Pakistan during the year 2007-08. The study population comprised of 221 thalassaemic children ranging from 4 to 12 years age brought for blood transfusion by their parents.