Objective: The aim of the study was to find prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), compare... more Objective: The aim of the study was to find prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), compare its prevalence among male and female students and find association of IBS with anxiety among medical students of Rawalpindi. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted among the Medical Students of Army Medical College and Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Mar to May 2021. Methodology: A structured, self-administered questionnaire was distributed after obtaining consent. Systematic Random Sampling was done. Sample size was 363. Questionnaire consisted of two parts; IBS Questionnaire for healthcare professionals and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS 26. Results: All the questionnaires were inquired from the age group of 15 to 30 years. A total of 243 responses were collected from females and 120 from males. Analysis of the data revealed that 84 out of 363 respondents (23....
Objective: To identify the determinants of health-seeking behaviour among incidentally diagnosed ... more Objective: To identify the determinants of health-seeking behaviour among incidentally diagnosed cases of HIV and to explore the patterns of care seeking behaviour among these HIV infected persons. Method: The qualitative study based on the grounded theory was conducted from February to September 2019 at the Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and comprised incidentally diagnosed new cases of human immunodeficiency virus. Data was collected using in-depth interviews to understand how local environments and settings impact healthcare-seeking behaviour. Data was analysed using the constant comparison method. Results: Of the 12 patients, 10(83.3%) were male, 1(8.3%) female and 1(8.3%) transgender. The mean age of the sample was 31+5 years. Of the total, 10(83.3%) patients were receiving free antiretroviral treatment from government hospitals in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, while 2 (16.7%) opted for some alternative form of healthcare. Ten (80%) were married and were c...
Background: Researchers have discovered a vicious loop of increased physical health concerns and ... more Background: Researchers have discovered a vicious loop of increased physical health concerns and online medical information seeking known as "cyberchondria," despite the benefits of widely accessible medical information on the Internet. Despite proposed theoretical models of cyberchondria, research on risk factors for the development ofcyberchondria is lacking in our setup. Anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty are two potential risk factors.Objective: This study was conducted to determine the frequency of health related internet researches i.e cyberchondria and to locate and find association between the resultant health anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty among the medical andnon-medical students of different institutions of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 300 students of medical and engineering universities between ages of 18 and 25 from October 2019 to March 2020 by using Cyberchondria Severity Scale...
The journal of Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Apr 1, 2022
Objectives: To determine the impact of an educational intervention on secondary school students' ... more Objectives: To determine the impact of an educational intervention on secondary school students' Covid-19 awareness and risk perception, as well as their preventive practices. Study design and settings: A quasi-experimental study conducted in private secondary schools. Methodology: The study duration was two months. Students who gave consent and didn't have COVID-19 infection in past were included by non-probability purposive sampling. Raosoft sample size calculator was used to calculate the sample size and it came out to be 385 but a total of 380 students could be enrolled. Among these, 37 responses were invalid making the total sample size to be 343. Ethical approval was taken from the institutional ethical review committee with approval letter number i.e. ERC/ID/126. SPSS version 25 was used for the analysis of data. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Paired samples T-test was applied to see the difference in participants' scores before and after the intervention. A p-value = 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The knowledge of students were improved from moderate to high level and the total percentile score from 74.86% to 89.76% after intervention. Their practicing preventive behaviors were at a low level with scores of 69.37%. Their risk perceptions remained at moderate levels and did not see any improvement. Conclusion: Participants practicing preventive behaviors were at a low level. Their knowledge scores improved from moderate to high level after intervention but their risk perceptions remained at moderate levels and no change was seen.
Objective: To determine the awareness of using Sehat Insaf Card and to determine the utilization ... more Objective: To determine the awareness of using Sehat Insaf Card and to determine the utilization effectiveness of Sehat Sahulat Program. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Setting: Sehat Insaf Card Authorized Hospitals. Period: July 2020 to December 2020. Material & Methods: Data was collected via self-administered questionnaire. The sample size was 316. Non-probability purposive sampling was done. The questionnaire consisted of three parts; Part A: Demographics, Part B: Awareness, Part C: Utilization Effectiveness. IBM, SPSS statistics version 25 was used for data entry. Descriptive statistics like frequency, percentage and proportion were measured. Results: Most of the participants belong to the rural area and fall into the category of 10 – 20 thousand monthly income. The awareness about program came from 2 main sources; Word of mouth and campaign by a local party representative. Majority of the services availed were curative services i.e. 72.8%. Before the launch of SSP, 3/4 of...
Objectives: The study was conducted to determine the knowledge, preventive behaviours and percept... more Objectives: The study was conducted to determine the knowledge, preventive behaviours and perception of risk related to Covid-19 among the medical students who are the front line workers and are more susceptible to be infected. Methodology: This analytical cross sectional study was conducted in medical students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year MBBS of various medical institutions of Rawalpindi. Study duration was 5 months (March 2020 to July 2020). The sample size was 425. Age ranging from 18 to 21 and 273 (64.2%) comprised of females. The inclusion criteria were those students who gave consent and filled out the questionnaire and the exclusion criteria was who didn't concede. The data was analysed on SPSS. Confidence interval was set to be 95% with 5% margin of error. Results: Most of the students were aware of the basic Covid-19 related knowledge like common symptoms, incubation period, transmission and the basic preventive measures which was on average higher than the previous studie...
Objective: The study was conducted to assess the maternal health related quality of life and its ... more Objective: The study was conducted to assess the maternal health related quality of life and its affecting factors in postpartum period. Study Design: Analytical cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was done in a tertiary care hospital, Rawalpindi, from Mar to Jun 2019.Methodology: By using non-probability purposive sampling technique, sample of 268 women in post-partum period were interviewed. A validated short form-36 (SF-36) Questionnaire was administered to women aged 15-49 years, who had spontaneous vaginal delivery or cesarean section, and were within six weeks up to six months of postpartum period. Data was analyzed by using SPSS-22. A p-value of ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Highest median scores were reported in physical functioning 75 (55, 90) and social functioning 75 (75, 62). Lowest median scores were reported in energy fatigue 37 (31, 50) body pain 45 (22, 62) and general health 45 (30, 60). Health-related quality of life scores show...
Objective: The objective was to find out the frequency of anemia during pregnancy and its associa... more Objective: The objective was to find out the frequency of anemia during pregnancy and its association with the different socio-economic factors. Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: District headquarter hospital Rawalpindi, from September–November 2015. Material and Methods: The pre-diagnosed 196 pregnant anemic women were included in the study. Grand multipara pregnant women, anemia due to bleeding disorders and havingchronic illnesses were excluded from the study. The pretested questionnaire along with Pakistan Social Living Standards Measurements (PSLM) prepared poverty score card was used. The study variables age, maternal education, abortions, parity and poverty were studied. The data collected were analyzed through SPSS 20.0 and Chi-square test was used to find out association between demographic variables and severity of anemia at a significance level ofp< 0.05. Results: The frequency of anemia in the sample (n=196) observed as mi...
Objective: To assess the awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the various aspects o... more Objective: To assess the awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the various aspects of AMR from a one health concept in relation to social determinants in residents of Wah.Study Design: Cross sectional-analytical study.Place and Duration of Study: One year from Jan to Dec 2017 in Wah, Pakistan.Material and Methods: A total of 400 participants completed the questionnaire, aged 16 years and older. A probability sampling technique was used and Chi-square test of significance was applied to determine the relationship between social variables with dependent variables, p-value <0.05 was taken as significant.Results: The phrase ‘antibiotic resistance’ was known to 52.5%, and 19.8% heard 'antimicrobial resistance'. The term least heard was ‘superbugs’ (9.5%). The most cited source of information was ‘doctor’ followed by ‘media.' Results showed that 67.3% believed that health of people is connected to the health of animals and environment, 62% agreed that collabora...
Objective: To compare the effect of rapid and conventional methods of corneal collagen cross link... more Objective: To compare the effect of rapid and conventional methods of corneal collagen cross linking (CXL) on visual acuity (VA) and corneal parameters in Keratoconus. Study Design: Randomized control trial. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Feb 2012 to Apr 2013. Patients and Method: Thirty patients, fifteen in each group, were randomized by non probability consecutive sampling to rapid or conventional CXL group. Pre and post operative (6 months) best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anterior and posterior keratometric (K) values and pachymetry were recorded. Intra and inter group comparison of all these parameters were statistically analyzed. Results: All thirty patients showed either stabilization or improvement in BCVA. Both groups showed comparable results in terms of improvement BCVA (p = 0.682), reduction in the corneal thickness at thinnest point (p = 0.062), anterior flat and steep K (p = 0.633, p = 0.443 respectively) and posterior flat an...
Objective: To study impact of dietary intervention and counseling on weight and anthropometric in... more Objective: To study impact of dietary intervention and counseling on weight and anthropometric indices of obesefemales.Study Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial.Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Shifa, from Feb 2014 to Sep2014.Patients and Methods: Study subjects were 320 obese females from Karachi, Pakistan, aged 20 to 40 years. Beforerandomization all baseline anthropometric measurements were recorded. After that females were randomlyplaced into intervention and control groups. Anthropometry and 24-hour dietary recall were used for nutritionalassessment. Intervention strategy was individualized diet plan by registered dietitian according to base line bodyweight and anthropometric indices of study subject. Primary outcome was the change in body weight and bodymass index.Results: The final analysis was run on 280 participants (intervention=127, control=153). Both intervention andcontrol group were comparable with respect to...
Objectives: To assess the functional health literacy among adolescents of Model schools of Islama... more Objectives: To assess the functional health literacy among adolescents of Model schools of Islamabad. To determine association between health literacy and health seeking behaviour of adolescents.Study Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.Material and Methods: Multi stage systematic sampling was done and a sample size of 350 using WHO sample size calculator. After taking informed consent from the students data were collected using the newest vital sign (NVS) for assessment of functional health literacy. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.Place and duration of study: The study was conducted in Model schools of Islamabad, from Jan to Dec 2016.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 15 (SD ± 0.6) years. There were 181 (52%) females and 169 (48%) males in the study. Out of 350 respondents 73 (20.9%) had very limited health literacy, while 187 (53.4%) had limited while 90 (25.7%) had adequate health literacy. In health seeking 30 students (8.6%) scored 1-2 on the health se...
Objective: To assess level of awareness of expectant mothers about their birth preparedness and c... more Objective: To assess level of awareness of expectant mothers about their birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR).Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: It was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at a Rural Health Center, Mandra over period of six months, from Sep 2016 to Feb 2017.Material and Methods: Three hundred and twenty pregnant women of rural area of residence in their third trimester (29-40 wks) were approached using non probability convenient sampling. They were interviewed by using a structured questionnaire after taking informed consent. SPSS version 20 was used for data entry and analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.02 ± 6.403 years. All the 320 participants were from rural area of residence. The knowledge of elements of BPACR was highest (7 out of 8) in only 26 (8.1%) women followed by 6 elements in 47 (14.7%), 5 elements in 78 ...
There are many gaps in establishing an active mental health system in low and middle income count... more There are many gaps in establishing an active mental health system in low and middle income countries. In this article we have reviewed multiple studies focusing low and middle income countries to explore the barriers, challenges, solutions and opportunities regarding improvement of mental health system in these countries. Literature emphasizes political with good financing ,effective policies ,multi-sartorial and holistic approach encompassing linkage between health and non-health sectors leading to equitable access of mental health to populations in low and middle income countries.
Global shifting of disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has led t... more Global shifting of disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has led to largeproportion of deaths in developed and developing countries. Gravity of the situation is further intensified in low and middle-income countries due to major health system inadequacies in responding to the emerging challenge.Similar situation is being faced by Pakistan where despite availability of comprehensive National Action Plan, no significant improvement is seen at policy level. Prior to development of any intervention, there is need to assess the issue of NCDs through health system perspective. This will help us to understand interplay of various factors crucial for health system’s response to NCDs. World Health Organization (WHO) framework of six building blocks will help us in identification of bottlenecks in our system and areas that are not performing well. Gaps and inadequacies in the system can be tackled through appropriate measures like development of knowledge, skill...
Objective: To assess effectiveness of hospital management system in clinical work in military hos... more Objective: To assess effectiveness of hospital management system in clinical work in military hospitals: physicians’ perspective. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Military hospitals of Rawalpindi, from Apr 2013 to Jun 2014. Material and Methods: Sample selected through convenient non probability sampling. Sixty-one (61) physicians in clinical work: 23 (38%) specialists and 38 (62%), Health Care Administrators (HCAs) were included in the study. Tools used were questionnaire, interviews, think aloud protocol, log book analysis and chart reviews. Results: More than 50% of respondents agreed that hospital management system in clinical setting lacks appropriate attributes. System is not customized to the needs of each specialty and doesn’t support the continuity of care. It does not support evidence based decision making since it lacks clinical decision support system. Majority of physicians expect their clinical HMS to provide better support ...
Objective: To see the implementation of designed strategy for uninterrupted supply of HIV treatme... more Objective: To see the implementation of designed strategy for uninterrupted supply of HIV treatment at time of COVID-19 Pandemic along with the knowledge and preventive practices regarding COVID-19 among HIV positive patients to have baseline data for future interventions to control HIV-COVID-19 syndemic. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: HIV Center at Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital, Karachi Pakistan, from Mar to May 2020. Methodology: 100 patients who visited the center for medicines were interviewed. Participants were inquired about the availability of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) during lockdown, discontinuity in treatment suffered during this pandemic, their preventive behaviour against COVID-19, most adopted prevention and source of information for this behavior. Results: Among all the participants 72% have achieved viral suppression. As far as multi month dispensing was concerned 10% received ART for one month, 64% for 2 months and 18% for 3 mo...
Objective: To compare frequency of rise in Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) in patients undergoing low... more Objective: To compare frequency of rise in Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) in patients undergoing low energy and high energy Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. Study Design: Comparative, cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology (AFIO), Rawalpindi from Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Base line IOP was measured with the help of Goldman applanation tonometer. After dilating pupil, Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy was performed, using minimum possible pulses of Nd: YAG laser. The total amount of energy used in the procedure was recorded. IOP was measured 4 hours after the procedure. Post laser frequency of change in IOP (5 mm of Hg from baseline) was calculated in low energy and high energy groups. Chi square test was applied to compare the frequency of raised IOP in both groups. Results: Raised IOP was noted in 33 (27.50%) cases and this was more commo...
Objective: To compare the nutritional status of doctors and non-doctors in relation to their eati... more Objective: To compare the nutritional status of doctors and non-doctors in relation to their eating habits and physical activity Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital/Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Sep 2018 to Mar 2019. Methodology: Anthropometric measurements like weight for age, height for age, weight according to height along with BMI were used as indicators of nutritional status. Data collection tool was built upon food frequency questionnaire and comprised of sociodemographic variables followed by major portions related to general health of respondents, nutritional assessment, dietary patterns and physical activity. Results: Out of 200 respondents, 100 were physicians working in services hospitals of Army while rest hundred were serving officers non-doctors of similar social status. Mean age of the participants was 35.00 ± 7.57 years. There was no significant difference between self-perceived health status of both group...
Objective: The aim of the study was to find prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), compare... more Objective: The aim of the study was to find prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), compare its prevalence among male and female students and find association of IBS with anxiety among medical students of Rawalpindi. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted among the Medical Students of Army Medical College and Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Mar to May 2021. Methodology: A structured, self-administered questionnaire was distributed after obtaining consent. Systematic Random Sampling was done. Sample size was 363. Questionnaire consisted of two parts; IBS Questionnaire for healthcare professionals and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS 26. Results: All the questionnaires were inquired from the age group of 15 to 30 years. A total of 243 responses were collected from females and 120 from males. Analysis of the data revealed that 84 out of 363 respondents (23....
Objective: To identify the determinants of health-seeking behaviour among incidentally diagnosed ... more Objective: To identify the determinants of health-seeking behaviour among incidentally diagnosed cases of HIV and to explore the patterns of care seeking behaviour among these HIV infected persons. Method: The qualitative study based on the grounded theory was conducted from February to September 2019 at the Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and comprised incidentally diagnosed new cases of human immunodeficiency virus. Data was collected using in-depth interviews to understand how local environments and settings impact healthcare-seeking behaviour. Data was analysed using the constant comparison method. Results: Of the 12 patients, 10(83.3%) were male, 1(8.3%) female and 1(8.3%) transgender. The mean age of the sample was 31+5 years. Of the total, 10(83.3%) patients were receiving free antiretroviral treatment from government hospitals in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, while 2 (16.7%) opted for some alternative form of healthcare. Ten (80%) were married and were c...
Background: Researchers have discovered a vicious loop of increased physical health concerns and ... more Background: Researchers have discovered a vicious loop of increased physical health concerns and online medical information seeking known as "cyberchondria," despite the benefits of widely accessible medical information on the Internet. Despite proposed theoretical models of cyberchondria, research on risk factors for the development ofcyberchondria is lacking in our setup. Anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty are two potential risk factors.Objective: This study was conducted to determine the frequency of health related internet researches i.e cyberchondria and to locate and find association between the resultant health anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty among the medical andnon-medical students of different institutions of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 300 students of medical and engineering universities between ages of 18 and 25 from October 2019 to March 2020 by using Cyberchondria Severity Scale...
The journal of Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Apr 1, 2022
Objectives: To determine the impact of an educational intervention on secondary school students' ... more Objectives: To determine the impact of an educational intervention on secondary school students' Covid-19 awareness and risk perception, as well as their preventive practices. Study design and settings: A quasi-experimental study conducted in private secondary schools. Methodology: The study duration was two months. Students who gave consent and didn't have COVID-19 infection in past were included by non-probability purposive sampling. Raosoft sample size calculator was used to calculate the sample size and it came out to be 385 but a total of 380 students could be enrolled. Among these, 37 responses were invalid making the total sample size to be 343. Ethical approval was taken from the institutional ethical review committee with approval letter number i.e. ERC/ID/126. SPSS version 25 was used for the analysis of data. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Paired samples T-test was applied to see the difference in participants' scores before and after the intervention. A p-value = 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The knowledge of students were improved from moderate to high level and the total percentile score from 74.86% to 89.76% after intervention. Their practicing preventive behaviors were at a low level with scores of 69.37%. Their risk perceptions remained at moderate levels and did not see any improvement. Conclusion: Participants practicing preventive behaviors were at a low level. Their knowledge scores improved from moderate to high level after intervention but their risk perceptions remained at moderate levels and no change was seen.
Objective: To determine the awareness of using Sehat Insaf Card and to determine the utilization ... more Objective: To determine the awareness of using Sehat Insaf Card and to determine the utilization effectiveness of Sehat Sahulat Program. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Setting: Sehat Insaf Card Authorized Hospitals. Period: July 2020 to December 2020. Material & Methods: Data was collected via self-administered questionnaire. The sample size was 316. Non-probability purposive sampling was done. The questionnaire consisted of three parts; Part A: Demographics, Part B: Awareness, Part C: Utilization Effectiveness. IBM, SPSS statistics version 25 was used for data entry. Descriptive statistics like frequency, percentage and proportion were measured. Results: Most of the participants belong to the rural area and fall into the category of 10 – 20 thousand monthly income. The awareness about program came from 2 main sources; Word of mouth and campaign by a local party representative. Majority of the services availed were curative services i.e. 72.8%. Before the launch of SSP, 3/4 of...
Objectives: The study was conducted to determine the knowledge, preventive behaviours and percept... more Objectives: The study was conducted to determine the knowledge, preventive behaviours and perception of risk related to Covid-19 among the medical students who are the front line workers and are more susceptible to be infected. Methodology: This analytical cross sectional study was conducted in medical students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year MBBS of various medical institutions of Rawalpindi. Study duration was 5 months (March 2020 to July 2020). The sample size was 425. Age ranging from 18 to 21 and 273 (64.2%) comprised of females. The inclusion criteria were those students who gave consent and filled out the questionnaire and the exclusion criteria was who didn't concede. The data was analysed on SPSS. Confidence interval was set to be 95% with 5% margin of error. Results: Most of the students were aware of the basic Covid-19 related knowledge like common symptoms, incubation period, transmission and the basic preventive measures which was on average higher than the previous studie...
Objective: The study was conducted to assess the maternal health related quality of life and its ... more Objective: The study was conducted to assess the maternal health related quality of life and its affecting factors in postpartum period. Study Design: Analytical cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was done in a tertiary care hospital, Rawalpindi, from Mar to Jun 2019.Methodology: By using non-probability purposive sampling technique, sample of 268 women in post-partum period were interviewed. A validated short form-36 (SF-36) Questionnaire was administered to women aged 15-49 years, who had spontaneous vaginal delivery or cesarean section, and were within six weeks up to six months of postpartum period. Data was analyzed by using SPSS-22. A p-value of ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Highest median scores were reported in physical functioning 75 (55, 90) and social functioning 75 (75, 62). Lowest median scores were reported in energy fatigue 37 (31, 50) body pain 45 (22, 62) and general health 45 (30, 60). Health-related quality of life scores show...
Objective: The objective was to find out the frequency of anemia during pregnancy and its associa... more Objective: The objective was to find out the frequency of anemia during pregnancy and its association with the different socio-economic factors. Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: District headquarter hospital Rawalpindi, from September–November 2015. Material and Methods: The pre-diagnosed 196 pregnant anemic women were included in the study. Grand multipara pregnant women, anemia due to bleeding disorders and havingchronic illnesses were excluded from the study. The pretested questionnaire along with Pakistan Social Living Standards Measurements (PSLM) prepared poverty score card was used. The study variables age, maternal education, abortions, parity and poverty were studied. The data collected were analyzed through SPSS 20.0 and Chi-square test was used to find out association between demographic variables and severity of anemia at a significance level ofp< 0.05. Results: The frequency of anemia in the sample (n=196) observed as mi...
Objective: To assess the awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the various aspects o... more Objective: To assess the awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the various aspects of AMR from a one health concept in relation to social determinants in residents of Wah.Study Design: Cross sectional-analytical study.Place and Duration of Study: One year from Jan to Dec 2017 in Wah, Pakistan.Material and Methods: A total of 400 participants completed the questionnaire, aged 16 years and older. A probability sampling technique was used and Chi-square test of significance was applied to determine the relationship between social variables with dependent variables, p-value <0.05 was taken as significant.Results: The phrase ‘antibiotic resistance’ was known to 52.5%, and 19.8% heard 'antimicrobial resistance'. The term least heard was ‘superbugs’ (9.5%). The most cited source of information was ‘doctor’ followed by ‘media.' Results showed that 67.3% believed that health of people is connected to the health of animals and environment, 62% agreed that collabora...
Objective: To compare the effect of rapid and conventional methods of corneal collagen cross link... more Objective: To compare the effect of rapid and conventional methods of corneal collagen cross linking (CXL) on visual acuity (VA) and corneal parameters in Keratoconus. Study Design: Randomized control trial. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Feb 2012 to Apr 2013. Patients and Method: Thirty patients, fifteen in each group, were randomized by non probability consecutive sampling to rapid or conventional CXL group. Pre and post operative (6 months) best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anterior and posterior keratometric (K) values and pachymetry were recorded. Intra and inter group comparison of all these parameters were statistically analyzed. Results: All thirty patients showed either stabilization or improvement in BCVA. Both groups showed comparable results in terms of improvement BCVA (p = 0.682), reduction in the corneal thickness at thinnest point (p = 0.062), anterior flat and steep K (p = 0.633, p = 0.443 respectively) and posterior flat an...
Objective: To study impact of dietary intervention and counseling on weight and anthropometric in... more Objective: To study impact of dietary intervention and counseling on weight and anthropometric indices of obesefemales.Study Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial.Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Shifa, from Feb 2014 to Sep2014.Patients and Methods: Study subjects were 320 obese females from Karachi, Pakistan, aged 20 to 40 years. Beforerandomization all baseline anthropometric measurements were recorded. After that females were randomlyplaced into intervention and control groups. Anthropometry and 24-hour dietary recall were used for nutritionalassessment. Intervention strategy was individualized diet plan by registered dietitian according to base line bodyweight and anthropometric indices of study subject. Primary outcome was the change in body weight and bodymass index.Results: The final analysis was run on 280 participants (intervention=127, control=153). Both intervention andcontrol group were comparable with respect to...
Objectives: To assess the functional health literacy among adolescents of Model schools of Islama... more Objectives: To assess the functional health literacy among adolescents of Model schools of Islamabad. To determine association between health literacy and health seeking behaviour of adolescents.Study Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.Material and Methods: Multi stage systematic sampling was done and a sample size of 350 using WHO sample size calculator. After taking informed consent from the students data were collected using the newest vital sign (NVS) for assessment of functional health literacy. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.Place and duration of study: The study was conducted in Model schools of Islamabad, from Jan to Dec 2016.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 15 (SD ± 0.6) years. There were 181 (52%) females and 169 (48%) males in the study. Out of 350 respondents 73 (20.9%) had very limited health literacy, while 187 (53.4%) had limited while 90 (25.7%) had adequate health literacy. In health seeking 30 students (8.6%) scored 1-2 on the health se...
Objective: To assess level of awareness of expectant mothers about their birth preparedness and c... more Objective: To assess level of awareness of expectant mothers about their birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR).Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: It was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at a Rural Health Center, Mandra over period of six months, from Sep 2016 to Feb 2017.Material and Methods: Three hundred and twenty pregnant women of rural area of residence in their third trimester (29-40 wks) were approached using non probability convenient sampling. They were interviewed by using a structured questionnaire after taking informed consent. SPSS version 20 was used for data entry and analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.02 ± 6.403 years. All the 320 participants were from rural area of residence. The knowledge of elements of BPACR was highest (7 out of 8) in only 26 (8.1%) women followed by 6 elements in 47 (14.7%), 5 elements in 78 ...
There are many gaps in establishing an active mental health system in low and middle income count... more There are many gaps in establishing an active mental health system in low and middle income countries. In this article we have reviewed multiple studies focusing low and middle income countries to explore the barriers, challenges, solutions and opportunities regarding improvement of mental health system in these countries. Literature emphasizes political with good financing ,effective policies ,multi-sartorial and holistic approach encompassing linkage between health and non-health sectors leading to equitable access of mental health to populations in low and middle income countries.
Global shifting of disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has led t... more Global shifting of disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has led to largeproportion of deaths in developed and developing countries. Gravity of the situation is further intensified in low and middle-income countries due to major health system inadequacies in responding to the emerging challenge.Similar situation is being faced by Pakistan where despite availability of comprehensive National Action Plan, no significant improvement is seen at policy level. Prior to development of any intervention, there is need to assess the issue of NCDs through health system perspective. This will help us to understand interplay of various factors crucial for health system’s response to NCDs. World Health Organization (WHO) framework of six building blocks will help us in identification of bottlenecks in our system and areas that are not performing well. Gaps and inadequacies in the system can be tackled through appropriate measures like development of knowledge, skill...
Objective: To assess effectiveness of hospital management system in clinical work in military hos... more Objective: To assess effectiveness of hospital management system in clinical work in military hospitals: physicians’ perspective. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Military hospitals of Rawalpindi, from Apr 2013 to Jun 2014. Material and Methods: Sample selected through convenient non probability sampling. Sixty-one (61) physicians in clinical work: 23 (38%) specialists and 38 (62%), Health Care Administrators (HCAs) were included in the study. Tools used were questionnaire, interviews, think aloud protocol, log book analysis and chart reviews. Results: More than 50% of respondents agreed that hospital management system in clinical setting lacks appropriate attributes. System is not customized to the needs of each specialty and doesn’t support the continuity of care. It does not support evidence based decision making since it lacks clinical decision support system. Majority of physicians expect their clinical HMS to provide better support ...
Objective: To see the implementation of designed strategy for uninterrupted supply of HIV treatme... more Objective: To see the implementation of designed strategy for uninterrupted supply of HIV treatment at time of COVID-19 Pandemic along with the knowledge and preventive practices regarding COVID-19 among HIV positive patients to have baseline data for future interventions to control HIV-COVID-19 syndemic. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: HIV Center at Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital, Karachi Pakistan, from Mar to May 2020. Methodology: 100 patients who visited the center for medicines were interviewed. Participants were inquired about the availability of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) during lockdown, discontinuity in treatment suffered during this pandemic, their preventive behaviour against COVID-19, most adopted prevention and source of information for this behavior. Results: Among all the participants 72% have achieved viral suppression. As far as multi month dispensing was concerned 10% received ART for one month, 64% for 2 months and 18% for 3 mo...
Objective: To compare frequency of rise in Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) in patients undergoing low... more Objective: To compare frequency of rise in Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) in patients undergoing low energy and high energy Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. Study Design: Comparative, cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology (AFIO), Rawalpindi from Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Base line IOP was measured with the help of Goldman applanation tonometer. After dilating pupil, Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy was performed, using minimum possible pulses of Nd: YAG laser. The total amount of energy used in the procedure was recorded. IOP was measured 4 hours after the procedure. Post laser frequency of change in IOP (5 mm of Hg from baseline) was calculated in low energy and high energy groups. Chi square test was applied to compare the frequency of raised IOP in both groups. Results: Raised IOP was noted in 33 (27.50%) cases and this was more commo...
Objective: To compare the nutritional status of doctors and non-doctors in relation to their eati... more Objective: To compare the nutritional status of doctors and non-doctors in relation to their eating habits and physical activity Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital/Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Sep 2018 to Mar 2019. Methodology: Anthropometric measurements like weight for age, height for age, weight according to height along with BMI were used as indicators of nutritional status. Data collection tool was built upon food frequency questionnaire and comprised of sociodemographic variables followed by major portions related to general health of respondents, nutritional assessment, dietary patterns and physical activity. Results: Out of 200 respondents, 100 were physicians working in services hospitals of Army while rest hundred were serving officers non-doctors of similar social status. Mean age of the participants was 35.00 ± 7.57 years. There was no significant difference between self-perceived health status of both group...
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Papers by Fawad Mashhadi