Proceedings of The 3rd International Electronic Conference on Environmental Research and Public Health —Public Health Issues in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021
The disease outbreaks have always had serious psychological repercussions on society. COVID-19 is... more The disease outbreaks have always had serious psychological repercussions on society. COVID-19 is also no different and has severely impacted the mental health of the populace in Pakistan. Pakistan has implemented various strategies to control the transmission of the disease. It includes lockdowns, self-isolation, and social distancing. This study aimed to investigate the psychological effects of COVID-19 in the context of lockdowns by capturing an immediate response in the first month. In this study, a cross-sectional survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 45 distinct districts across the country. The collected data was analyzed on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) path model. The results revealed that trust and belief in the government have more contribution to the mental health of society during the lockdown. Father’s education has played a significant role in mitigating the fear of job loss. More satisfied people have better me...
COVID19 pandemic has put the global health emergency response to the test. Providing health and s... more COVID19 pandemic has put the global health emergency response to the test. Providing health and socioeconomic justice across communities/regions helps in resilient response. In this study, a Geographic Information Systems-based framework is proposed and demonstrated in the context of public health-related hazards and pandemic response, such as in the face of COVID19. Indicators relevant to health system (HS) and socioeconomic conditions (SC) are utilized to compute a response readiness index (RRI). The frequency histograms and the Analysis of Variance approaches are applied to analyze the distribution of response readiness. We further integrate spatial distributional models to explore the geographically-varying patterns of response readiness pinpointing the priority intervention areas in the context of cross-regional health and socioeconomic justice. The framework's application is demonstrated using Pakistan's most developed and populous province, namely Punjab (districts scale, n = 36), as a case study. The results show that ~ 45% indicators achieve below-average scores (value < 0.61) including four from HS and five from SC. The findings ascertain maximum districts lack health facilities, hospital beds, and health insurance from HS and more than 50% lack communication means and literacyrates, which are essential in times of emergencies. Our cross-regional assessment shows a north-south spatial heterogeneity with southern Punjab being the most vulnerable to COVID-like situations. Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh are identified as the statistically significant hotspots of response incompetency (95% confidence), which is critical. This study has policy implications in the context of decision-making, resource allocation, and strategy formulation on health emergency response (i.e., COVID19) to improve community health resilience.
Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical features of bleeding disorders in the tribe as... more Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical features of bleeding disorders in the tribe as a result of consanguineous marriages. Design: Cross Sectional Study Introduction: Countries in which consanguinity is a normal practice, these rare autosomal recessive disorders run in close families and tribes. Here we describe a family, living in village Ali Murad Chandio, District Badin, labeled as haemophilia. Patients & Methods: Our team visited the village & developed the pedigree of the whole extended family, up to seven generations. Performa was filled by incorporating patients, family history of bleeding, signs & symptoms, and bleeding from any site. From them 144 individuals were screened with CBC, bleeding time, platelet aggregation studies & RiCoF. While for PT, APTT, VWF assay and Factor VIII assay, samples were kept frozen at-70 degrees C until tested. Results: The family tree of the seven generations comprises of 533 individuals, 63 subjects died over a period of 20 years and 470 were alive. Out of all those 144 subjects were selected on the basis of the bleeding history. Among them 98(68.1%) were diagnosed to have a bleeding disorder; 44.9% patients were male and 55.1% patients were female. Median age of all the patients was 20.81, range (4 months-80 yrs). The results of bleeding have shown that majority had gum bleeding, epistaxis and menorrhagia. Most common bleeding disorder was Von Willebrand disease and Platelet functional disorders. Conclusion: Consanguineous marriages keep all the beneficial and adversely affecting recessive genes within the family; in homozygous states. These genes express themselves and result in life threatening diseases. Awareness, education & genetic counseling will be needed to prevent the spread of such common occurrence of these bleeding disorders in the community.
Background Across the globe, lockdowns have been enforced as a pandemic response to COVID-19. Suc... more Background Across the globe, lockdowns have been enforced as a pandemic response to COVID-19. Such lockdown coupled with school closures and stay-at-home orders made women more vulnerable in terms of higher responsibility and spending more time with an abusive partner, if any. Methods This study investigates the situation of women during COVID-19 induced lockdown by focusing on their happiness and inquiring about the incidence of violence. Using the zero-inflated negative binomial model, our findings ascertained that family settings, type of relationship with a spouse, and age significantly affects the positive count of violence during the lockdown. We further estimated the determinants of happiness and found that years of schooling, the role of women in household decision making, and feeling empowered is affecting their happiness. Results Women having higher education have more odds of zero violence. Unemployed women and women who are not working have higher odds of zero violence a...
We studied the effects of birth order and socioeconomic factors on educational attainment in Paki... more We studied the effects of birth order and socioeconomic factors on educational attainment in Pakistan. We examined this relationship by using PSLM/HIES 2018–19 which is nationally representative household survey data. We found striking evidence that being born first as a male child is positively and significantly associated with educational attainment. Whereas in our girls' sample we found that being born first is significantly and negatively associated with educational attainment, and this effect does not persist for second-born female children if the firstborn is a male child. Such a difference in our estimates led us to investigate further the cohort and rural–urban dimensions. We concluded that urban areas in Pakistan are primarily responsible for resource rationing in favor of male children for younger cohorts. Therefore, the study recommends the targeted policy intervention to remove such differentials based on gender when it comes to the educational attainment of a child.
We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli- cations on expor... more We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli- cations on exports and economic health for Asian economies. Different dimensions of infra- structure and geography such as hard and soft infrastructure, first-nature and second-nature geographic factors are analyzed. We question whether natural or man-made geographical factors after the transport-infrastructure, whether infrastructure affects bilateral trade, and infrastructure and geography are complementary for economic health or not ? For this pur- pose, we extract the unilateral and bilateral data sets from 2001 to 2017 of Asian economies and used most appropriate techniques e.g. Gravity Model, FE and RE. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the analysis with a unique way, particularly first-nature geo- graphic factors whereby country required improving the densities and locate to develop the transport-related infrastructure. Furthermore, connect hard and soft infrastructure with ge- ography and economic health. The findings ascertained that natural geographical factors have a higher positive influence on transport infrastructure, including its components, than man- made factors. Furthermore, the railway-density has greatly increased given the geographical factors compared with the road-density and the port-quality. Similarly, the results describe that marginal transport level, the probability of geographic factors and gross domestic product are found to be positive. We conclude that infrastructure and geography are complementary fac- tors in determining the economic health and export. Therefore, countries should focus on the improvement of human economic activities toward transport infrastructure.
We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli-
cations on expor... more We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli- cations on exports and economic health for Asian economies. Different dimensions of infra- structure and geography such as hard and soft infrastructure, first-nature and second-nature geographic factors are analyzed. We question whether natural or man-made geographical factors after the transport-infrastructure, whether infrastructure affects bilateral trade, and infrastructure and geography are complementary for economic health or not ? For this pur- pose, we extract the unilateral and bilateral data sets from 2001 to 2017 of Asian economies and used most appropriate techniques e.g. Gravity Model, FE and RE. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the analysis with a unique way, particularly first-nature geo- graphic factors whereby country required improving the densities and locate to develop the transport-related infrastructure. Furthermore, connect hard and soft infrastructure with ge- ography and economic health. The findings ascertained that natural geographical factors have a higher positive influence on transport infrastructure, including its components, than man- made factors. Furthermore, the railway-density has greatly increased given the geographical factors compared with the road-density and the port-quality. Similarly, the results describe that marginal transport level, the probability of geographic factors and gross domestic product are found to be positive. We conclude that infrastructure and geography are complementary fac- tors in determining the economic health and export. Therefore, countries should focus on the improvement of human economic activities toward transport infrastructure.
Proceedings of The 3rd International Electronic Conference on Environmental Research and Public Health —Public Health Issues in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021
The disease outbreaks have always had serious psychological repercussions on society. COVID-19 is... more The disease outbreaks have always had serious psychological repercussions on society. COVID-19 is also no different and has severely impacted the mental health of the populace in Pakistan. Pakistan has implemented various strategies to control the transmission of the disease. It includes lockdowns, self-isolation, and social distancing. This study aimed to investigate the psychological effects of COVID-19 in the context of lockdowns by capturing an immediate response in the first month. In this study, a cross-sectional survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 45 distinct districts across the country. The collected data was analyzed on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) path model. The results revealed that trust and belief in the government have more contribution to the mental health of society during the lockdown. Father’s education has played a significant role in mitigating the fear of job loss. More satisfied people have better me...
COVID19 pandemic has put the global health emergency response to the test. Providing health and s... more COVID19 pandemic has put the global health emergency response to the test. Providing health and socioeconomic justice across communities/regions helps in resilient response. In this study, a Geographic Information Systems-based framework is proposed and demonstrated in the context of public health-related hazards and pandemic response, such as in the face of COVID19. Indicators relevant to health system (HS) and socioeconomic conditions (SC) are utilized to compute a response readiness index (RRI). The frequency histograms and the Analysis of Variance approaches are applied to analyze the distribution of response readiness. We further integrate spatial distributional models to explore the geographically-varying patterns of response readiness pinpointing the priority intervention areas in the context of cross-regional health and socioeconomic justice. The framework's application is demonstrated using Pakistan's most developed and populous province, namely Punjab (districts scale, n = 36), as a case study. The results show that ~ 45% indicators achieve below-average scores (value < 0.61) including four from HS and five from SC. The findings ascertain maximum districts lack health facilities, hospital beds, and health insurance from HS and more than 50% lack communication means and literacyrates, which are essential in times of emergencies. Our cross-regional assessment shows a north-south spatial heterogeneity with southern Punjab being the most vulnerable to COVID-like situations. Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh are identified as the statistically significant hotspots of response incompetency (95% confidence), which is critical. This study has policy implications in the context of decision-making, resource allocation, and strategy formulation on health emergency response (i.e., COVID19) to improve community health resilience.
Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical features of bleeding disorders in the tribe as... more Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical features of bleeding disorders in the tribe as a result of consanguineous marriages. Design: Cross Sectional Study Introduction: Countries in which consanguinity is a normal practice, these rare autosomal recessive disorders run in close families and tribes. Here we describe a family, living in village Ali Murad Chandio, District Badin, labeled as haemophilia. Patients & Methods: Our team visited the village & developed the pedigree of the whole extended family, up to seven generations. Performa was filled by incorporating patients, family history of bleeding, signs & symptoms, and bleeding from any site. From them 144 individuals were screened with CBC, bleeding time, platelet aggregation studies & RiCoF. While for PT, APTT, VWF assay and Factor VIII assay, samples were kept frozen at-70 degrees C until tested. Results: The family tree of the seven generations comprises of 533 individuals, 63 subjects died over a period of 20 years and 470 were alive. Out of all those 144 subjects were selected on the basis of the bleeding history. Among them 98(68.1%) were diagnosed to have a bleeding disorder; 44.9% patients were male and 55.1% patients were female. Median age of all the patients was 20.81, range (4 months-80 yrs). The results of bleeding have shown that majority had gum bleeding, epistaxis and menorrhagia. Most common bleeding disorder was Von Willebrand disease and Platelet functional disorders. Conclusion: Consanguineous marriages keep all the beneficial and adversely affecting recessive genes within the family; in homozygous states. These genes express themselves and result in life threatening diseases. Awareness, education & genetic counseling will be needed to prevent the spread of such common occurrence of these bleeding disorders in the community.
Background Across the globe, lockdowns have been enforced as a pandemic response to COVID-19. Suc... more Background Across the globe, lockdowns have been enforced as a pandemic response to COVID-19. Such lockdown coupled with school closures and stay-at-home orders made women more vulnerable in terms of higher responsibility and spending more time with an abusive partner, if any. Methods This study investigates the situation of women during COVID-19 induced lockdown by focusing on their happiness and inquiring about the incidence of violence. Using the zero-inflated negative binomial model, our findings ascertained that family settings, type of relationship with a spouse, and age significantly affects the positive count of violence during the lockdown. We further estimated the determinants of happiness and found that years of schooling, the role of women in household decision making, and feeling empowered is affecting their happiness. Results Women having higher education have more odds of zero violence. Unemployed women and women who are not working have higher odds of zero violence a...
We studied the effects of birth order and socioeconomic factors on educational attainment in Paki... more We studied the effects of birth order and socioeconomic factors on educational attainment in Pakistan. We examined this relationship by using PSLM/HIES 2018–19 which is nationally representative household survey data. We found striking evidence that being born first as a male child is positively and significantly associated with educational attainment. Whereas in our girls' sample we found that being born first is significantly and negatively associated with educational attainment, and this effect does not persist for second-born female children if the firstborn is a male child. Such a difference in our estimates led us to investigate further the cohort and rural–urban dimensions. We concluded that urban areas in Pakistan are primarily responsible for resource rationing in favor of male children for younger cohorts. Therefore, the study recommends the targeted policy intervention to remove such differentials based on gender when it comes to the educational attainment of a child.
We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli- cations on expor... more We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli- cations on exports and economic health for Asian economies. Different dimensions of infra- structure and geography such as hard and soft infrastructure, first-nature and second-nature geographic factors are analyzed. We question whether natural or man-made geographical factors after the transport-infrastructure, whether infrastructure affects bilateral trade, and infrastructure and geography are complementary for economic health or not ? For this pur- pose, we extract the unilateral and bilateral data sets from 2001 to 2017 of Asian economies and used most appropriate techniques e.g. Gravity Model, FE and RE. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the analysis with a unique way, particularly first-nature geo- graphic factors whereby country required improving the densities and locate to develop the transport-related infrastructure. Furthermore, connect hard and soft infrastructure with ge- ography and economic health. The findings ascertained that natural geographical factors have a higher positive influence on transport infrastructure, including its components, than man- made factors. Furthermore, the railway-density has greatly increased given the geographical factors compared with the road-density and the port-quality. Similarly, the results describe that marginal transport level, the probability of geographic factors and gross domestic product are found to be positive. We conclude that infrastructure and geography are complementary fac- tors in determining the economic health and export. Therefore, countries should focus on the improvement of human economic activities toward transport infrastructure.
We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli-
cations on expor... more We investigate the role of infrastructure and geography to understand the impli- cations on exports and economic health for Asian economies. Different dimensions of infra- structure and geography such as hard and soft infrastructure, first-nature and second-nature geographic factors are analyzed. We question whether natural or man-made geographical factors after the transport-infrastructure, whether infrastructure affects bilateral trade, and infrastructure and geography are complementary for economic health or not ? For this pur- pose, we extract the unilateral and bilateral data sets from 2001 to 2017 of Asian economies and used most appropriate techniques e.g. Gravity Model, FE and RE. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the analysis with a unique way, particularly first-nature geo- graphic factors whereby country required improving the densities and locate to develop the transport-related infrastructure. Furthermore, connect hard and soft infrastructure with ge- ography and economic health. The findings ascertained that natural geographical factors have a higher positive influence on transport infrastructure, including its components, than man- made factors. Furthermore, the railway-density has greatly increased given the geographical factors compared with the road-density and the port-quality. Similarly, the results describe that marginal transport level, the probability of geographic factors and gross domestic product are found to be positive. We conclude that infrastructure and geography are complementary fac- tors in determining the economic health and export. Therefore, countries should focus on the improvement of human economic activities toward transport infrastructure.
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Papers by raxa Jafri
cations on exports and economic health for Asian economies. Different dimensions of infra-
structure and geography such as hard and soft infrastructure, first-nature and second-nature
geographic factors are analyzed. We question whether natural or man-made geographical
factors after the transport-infrastructure, whether infrastructure affects bilateral trade, and
infrastructure and geography are complementary for economic health or not ? For this pur-
pose, we extract the unilateral and bilateral data sets from 2001 to 2017 of Asian economies
and used most appropriate techniques e.g. Gravity Model, FE and RE. This paper contributes
to the literature by investigating the analysis with a unique way, particularly first-nature geo-
graphic factors whereby country required improving the densities and locate to develop the
transport-related infrastructure. Furthermore, connect hard and soft infrastructure with ge-
ography and economic health. The findings ascertained that natural geographical factors have
a higher positive influence on transport infrastructure, including its components, than man-
made factors. Furthermore, the railway-density has greatly increased given the geographical
factors compared with the road-density and the port-quality. Similarly, the results describe that
marginal transport level, the probability of geographic factors and gross domestic product are
found to be positive. We conclude that infrastructure and geography are complementary fac-
tors in determining the economic health and export. Therefore, countries should focus on the
improvement of human economic activities toward transport infrastructure.
cations on exports and economic health for Asian economies. Different dimensions of infra-
structure and geography such as hard and soft infrastructure, first-nature and second-nature
geographic factors are analyzed. We question whether natural or man-made geographical
factors after the transport-infrastructure, whether infrastructure affects bilateral trade, and
infrastructure and geography are complementary for economic health or not ? For this pur-
pose, we extract the unilateral and bilateral data sets from 2001 to 2017 of Asian economies
and used most appropriate techniques e.g. Gravity Model, FE and RE. This paper contributes
to the literature by investigating the analysis with a unique way, particularly first-nature geo-
graphic factors whereby country required improving the densities and locate to develop the
transport-related infrastructure. Furthermore, connect hard and soft infrastructure with ge-
ography and economic health. The findings ascertained that natural geographical factors have
a higher positive influence on transport infrastructure, including its components, than man-
made factors. Furthermore, the railway-density has greatly increased given the geographical
factors compared with the road-density and the port-quality. Similarly, the results describe that
marginal transport level, the probability of geographic factors and gross domestic product are
found to be positive. We conclude that infrastructure and geography are complementary fac-
tors in determining the economic health and export. Therefore, countries should focus on the
improvement of human economic activities toward transport infrastructure.