Knowledge and skills in community oriented medical education (COME)self-ratings of medical undergraduates in Karachi

Objective: To assess the satisfaction of medical students regarding community oriented knowledge and skills that are proposed to be part of the current undergraduate medical curriculum. Methods: Competencies listed in the regulations for medical education designed by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) were used to develop a self-administered questionnaire. Using the questionnaire 220 final year students of 3 public sector medical schools self-rated the knowledge and skills that should be part of the curriculum. For analysis the questions were grouped into courses of Basic, Clinical and Community Health Sciences. Students ranked their perceptions on a Likert scale of 0-4 for each question. Descriptive analysis was done to calculate the proportion of satisfied and dissatisfied students using the median of the highest possible score as the cut off. Results: The analysis of knowledge gained found a greater proportion of satisfied students with the Basic (55.9%) and Clinical Sciences (50.9%) courses than the Community Health Sciences course (45.5%). Analysis of skills acquired uniformly showed a low percentage of satisfied students for Basic (39.1%), Clinical (29.7%) and Community Health Sciences (19.1%). The proportion of students dissatisfied with their knowledge and skills for different courses ranged from 38.2-85%. Conclusion: Students perceive that current medical school curricula are unable to meet the required standards. Proper implementation of community oriented curricula is the first step towards effective health care provisio

Pornography, A Neglected Prevailing Addiction

By this letter we aim to highlight the neglected issue of excessive viewing of pornography and its impact on the person and the society as a whole. An authority on this topic devised a “triple-A engine” effect criteria: accessibility, affordability and anonymity, to explain the pervasiveness of Internet addiction including Pornography(1). Pornography is a Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder which has been classified under impulse control disorder in ICD-11 (2). Whereas, here, in Pakistan the prevailing erotica has not yet been perceived as a problematic condition even though several disturbing incidents have been reported. In 2015, the largest ever child abuse scandal in Hussain Khanwala Village of Pakistan was brought to light. Over 280 children were compelled to have sex while being videotaped and more than a thousand copies were trafficked (3). This case of child pornography alerted the victims’ families but the root cause was not determined nor were strict laws against the persecutors enforced. Hence, to form counter strategies for such incidences in future, this issue and its ramifications should be highlighted through researches. Gathering statistical evidences can help in making laws and deriving measures as to when and how they should be implemented. Many surveys and researches have concluded that excessive pornography usage has led to negative impacts on relationships as sexual desires in the participants were found to be significantly diminished and the porn addicts showed heightened expectations from their partners. Poor performance at work and negligence was also observed in some users due to being preoccupied in their obscene thoughts and repetitive viewing. (4) Research has shown pornography can provoke men to seek pleasure by unlawful means like rape considering the fact that it displays aggressive sex. It can incorporate violence in men and inability to distinguish between agony and love. This leads to men thinking that violent sex or sex without the consent of women is allowed and enjoyed by the women (5) which is a misperception that leads to crime. Last year a rising trend was demonstrated amongst the viewers which has been attributed to the enforcement of lockdown due to COVID-19. Lack of work and outgoing activities caused people to spend more time on the screen which also increased porn viewing. (6) ---Continu

Cognition improvement strategies, study behaviors and stress among medical students of Dow University of Health Sciences: a cross-sectional study

Objective: To determine the effects of cognition improvement strategies on academic performance, stress and sleep quality of medical students. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted att he Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, from March 2019 to March 2020, and comprised medical students regardless of gender and academic year. Academic performance was assessed through grade point average, while stress and sleep were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. Result: Of the 770 subjects, 748(97%) formed the final sample with mean age 20.32±1.49 years; 619(82.7%) females and 129(17.2%) males. Overall, there were 655(87.6%) consumers of cognitive enhancers and 93(12.4%) non-cunsumers. The mean Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of consumers was 6.05±3.306, while that of non-consumers was 5.80±3.701. The respective mean Perceived Stress Scale scores were 21.18±6.09 and 20.5±6.8. There was no significant association of consumption of cognitive enhancers with academic performance and stress levels (p>0.05), but it was significant with sleep quality (p<0.05). Conclusion: Majority of the students were found to be consuming cognitive enhancers, but no significant association of the stimulants was found with either academic performance or stress

Flexible Fluidic-Type Strain Sensors for Wearable and Robotic Applications Fabricated with Novel Conductive Liquids: A Review

Flexible strain sensors with high sensitivity, wide sensing range, and excellent long-term stability are highly anticipated due to their promising potential in user-friendly electronic skins, interactive wearable systems, and robotics. Fortunately, there have been more flexible sensing materials developed during the past few decades, and some important milestones have been reached. Among the various strain sensing approaches, liquid-type (fluidic type) sensing has attracted great attention due to its appealing qualities, including its high flexibility, broad electrochemical window, variety in design, minimal saturated vapor pressure, and outstanding solubility. This review provides the comprehensive and systematic development of fluidic-type flexible strain sensors, especially in the past 10 years, with a focus on various types of liquids used, fabrication methods, channel structures, and their wide-range applications in wearable devices and robotics. Furthermore, it is believed that this work will be of great help to young researchers looking for a detailed study on fluidic strain sensors

A survey of violence and vulgarity in children television programs: a content analysis, and assessment of perceptions of parents and children (ViCTiM study)

Abstract Objectives: To quantify the depiction of violence and vulgarity in television programmes for children, and to assess the perception and practices of parents and children about television programmes meant for children. Methods:  We conducted this mixed-methods cross-sectional study in Karachi, Pakistan in the months of August-September 2018, after approval from the ethics review board of Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi. First, a content analysis of over 102 hours of various television programmes meant for children was performed in the light of the guidelines set out by the World Health Organisation, the United States Federal Communication Commission and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. Seven trained researchers sampled the children prime time throughout a week, including the weekends, using a structured tally sheet. Subsequently, interviews were conducted with dyad of parent-children from the employees’ list of a public-sector university. A questionnaire was also administered to assess the practices and perceptions of the parents-children dyad about the programmes.  Data was analysed using SPSS 24. Results: Of the 173 subjects, 84(48.6%) were parents and 89(51.4%) were children. The mean age of the children was 89 children 9.8±3.7 years. Content analysis comprised 6130 minutes, of which 5442(88.8%) had depictions of violence and vulgarity. Depiction of violence and vulgarity was prevalent on television channels that were watched the most, but there was no significant difference in this regard (p=0.238). Of the parents, 68(81%) expressed concern over the effect of screen time and content on the mental health of their children