GENDER RESEARCH IN PAKISTAN: A SCOPING REVIEW

Researchers focusing on gender issues usually concentrate on how people perceive and interpret gender, understand or construct sex and gender etc. Much needs to be explored and understood in relation to research and concepts of gender studies. The present study “Gender Research in Pakistan: A Scoping Review” was carried out with the purpose of mapping literature on gender research in Pakistan, further exploring how gender concepts like social construction of roles, power relationships, division of labor/resources are understood and constructed by researchers in social science research. Also the review intended to provide grounds for critiquing how researchers problematize and integrate gender concepts in their phenomenon of interest and while doing so what research methods are applied by them. The paper will share the importance of gender sensitive research and the results of the scoping review carried out. It shall also attempt to document methodological gaps in the retrieved literature, concluding with some recommendations for way forward

GENDER RESEARCH IN PAKISTAN: A SCOPING REVIEW

Researchers focusing on gender issues usually concentrate on how people perceive and interpret gender, understand or construct sex and gender etc. Much needs to be explored and understood in relation to research and concepts of gender studies. The present study “Gender Research in Pakistan: A Scoping Review” was carried out with the purpose of mapping literature on gender research in Pakistan, further exploring how gender concepts like social construction of roles, power relationships, division of labor/resources are understood and constructed by researchers in social science research. Also the review intended to provide grounds for critiquing how researchers problematize and integrate gender concepts in their phenomenon of interest and while doing so what research methods are applied by them. The paper will share the importance of gender sensitive research and the results of the scoping review carried out. It shall also attempt to document methodological gaps in the retrieved literature, concluding with some recommendations for way forward

Oral mucositis & oral health related quality of life in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer in Karachi, Pakistan: A multicenter hospital based cross-sectional study

Background: Oral mucositis is an inflammatory condition of oral cavity which is a common and serious side effect of cancer treatment. Severe oral mucositis compromises basic functions like eating and swallowing causing malnutrition also affecting overall patient\u27s oral health related quality of life. The aim of the study was to find the frequency of oral mucositis in patients with breast cancer during their chemotherapy, the factors associated with oral mucositis & the overall patient\u27s oral health related quality of life.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 160 women diagnosed with breast cancer, receiving chemotherapy and who had undergone at least one cycle of chemotherapy were recruited from two hospital settings. In-person interviews were done, patients were asked questions about their sociodemographic history, personal habits, oral history and oral findings, breast cancer stage, chemotherapy history and Oral Health Related Quality of Life. Their oral examination was done at the end of the interview to assess presence or absence of oral mucositis, using World Health Organization oral mucositis tool. Oral Health Related Quality of Life was assessed using Oral Health Impact Profile-14 questionnaire.Results: Our results showed that out of 160 patients 88 (55%) of the breast cancer cases developed oral mucositis during chemotherapy. The mean Oral Health Impact Profile -14 scores in patients with oral mucositis was high 18.36±0.96 showing poor Oral Health Related Quality of Life. Occasional frequency of brushing was significantly associated with oral mucositis (Prevalence ratio:2.26, 95%_CI 1.06-4.84) compared to those patients who brushed once and twice daily. Low level of education showed negative association with oral mucositis (Prevalence ratio:0.52, 95%_CI 0.31-0.88).Conclusion: Our study showed significant positive association of occasional brushing with OM and protective association of low level of education with the development of OM. Emphasis should be given to oral hygiene instructions and dental education to cancer patients in oncology clinics with the prescription of mouth washes, gels and toothpaste to patients to decrease OM during chemotherap

Epidemiology of hip & knee replacement across Pakistan according to Pakistan national joint registry: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To know about the predictive prevalence of hip and knee arthroplasty across Pakistan.Methods: It is retrospective cross-sectional study with data collection from Pakistan National Joint Registry (PNJR) of number of hip and knee arthroplasty cases in seven years (2014-2021). Fourteen high volume centers across Pakistan who consented for data publication were included. Stata version 16 was used for data analysis. Mean & standard deviation was reported for quantitative variable & frequency and proportion were reported for qualitative variables. Results: Our results showed a total of 9572 people had total knee replacement in last seven years from 2014-2021 with the rate of 9.57/100,000 population. Mean age of the patient was 61.7±8.95 with 69.5% patients being female and 30.5% being male. Our results showed a total of 2265 people had total hip replacement in last seven years from 2014-2021with the rate of 2.26/100,000 population. Mean age of the patient was 50.7±15.4 with 62% patients being male and 38% being female.Conclusion: This is the first epidemiological study in Pakistan on the rates of hip and knee arthroplasty cases in Pakistan based on registry data, showing that more knee arthroplasty cases are being performed as compared to hip arthroplasty

Innovation Skills Assessment and Variation among Healthcare Employees in the Emergency Department: A Cross-sectional Study

Aim: Innovation is vital in emergency departments (EDs), advancing diagnostics, triage, communication, and personalized treatment to save lives and improve patient outcomes. This study aims to assess the self-perceived innovation capacities of employees in the ED of a major quaternary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, to establish a baseline and identify areas for improvement. Materials and Methods: This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design to assess the innovation skills of employees in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the 24/7 Emergency and Acute Care Service Line at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. The sample size of 130 employees was determined using non-probability purposive sampling. The study used the Innovation Skills Assessment, a close-ended structured questionnaire, to measure employees’ self-perceived strengths and weaknesses in the four pillars of innovation skills. Descriptive statistics and visualizations were used for data analysis. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained beforehand. Results: The study showed that employees generally had a positive self-assessment of their innovation skills. There were differences between genders, with males scoring slightly higher. Young employees did not perceive themselves as more innovative, whereas older employees scored lower. Postgraduates and nurses self-assessed higher innovation capacities. Overall, employees showed strengths in idea generation and relationship building but had room for improvement in risk-taking and entrepreneurship. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of fostering innovation in EDs in low-resource settings to improve patient outcomes. These findings can inform targeted interventions to enhance innovation skills and promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in EDs globally, and in healthcare organizations overall. Further research is needed to explore the relationship between self-assessed and actual innovation performance

Measles susceptibility in children in Karachi, Pakistan

Measles, despite being vaccine preventable is still a major public health problem in many developing countries. We estimated the proportion of measles susceptible children in Karachi, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan, one year after the nationwide measles supplementary immunization activity (SIA) of 2007-2008. Oral fluid specimens of 504 randomly selected children from Karachi, aged 12-59 months were collected to detect measles IgG antibodies. Measles antibodies were detected in only 55% children. The proportion of children whose families reported receiving a single or two doses of measles vaccine were 78% and 12% respectively. Only 3% of parents reported that their child received measles vaccine through the SIA. Among the reported single dose measles vaccine recipients, 58% had serologic immunity against measles while among the reported two dose measles vaccine recipients, 64% had evidence of measles immunity. Urgent strengthening of routine immunization services and high quality mass vaccination campaigns against measles are recommended to achieve measles elimination in Pakistan

A cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce respiratory effects of cotton dust exposure among textile workers: The MultiTex RCT study

Background: We determined the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce cotton dust-related respiratory symptoms and improve lung function of textile workers.Methods: We undertook a cluster randomised controlled trial at 38 textile mills in Karachi, Pakistan. The intervention comprised: training in occupational health for workers and managers, formation of workplace committees to promote a health and safety plan that included wet mopping and safe disposal of cotton dust, provision of simple face masks, and further publicity about the risks from cotton dust. Participating mills were randomised following baseline data collection. The impact of the intervention was measured through surveys at 3, 12 and 18 months using questionnaires, spirometry and dust measurements. The primary outcomes were 1) changes in prevalence of a composite respiratory symptom variable, 2) changes in post-bronchodilator percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and 3) changes in cotton dust levels. These were assessed using two-level mixed effects linear and logistic regression.Results: Of 2031 participants recruited at baseline, 807 (40%) were available at the third follow-up. At that point, workers in the intervention arm were more likely to report an improvement in respiratory symptoms (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.06-2.36) and lung function (FEV1 % pred: β 1.31%, 95% CI 0.04-2.57%). Personal dust levels decreased, more so in intervention mills, although we did not observe this in adjusted models due to the small number of samples.Conclusion: We found the intervention to be effective in improving the respiratory health of textile workers and recommend scaling-up of such simple and feasible interventions in low- and middle-income countries