Working and Nonworking Women’s descriptions and experiences of their roles in Society

In a society both, men and women play a pivotal role and their roles may be defined based on their cultural values and societal norms. Understanding and conformity with these roles may be expected by both the genders. However, to limit the scope, this study aimed to explore working and nonworking women’s descriptions and experiences of their roles in society. A descriptive exploratory research design was used. After approval from ethics review committee, Aga Khan University, the data was gathered from women in three communities representing the low, middle and upper socioeconomic strata, in Karachi, Pakistan. The participants were selected by critical case sampling. The sampling was terminated once the saturation was achieved. The in-depth interviews were conducted by using the interview guide. Thirty-five women participated in the study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the participants identified three main roles of women in a society. These roles are familial, financial supporter, and socio-political roles. Women’s experiences and feelings related to these roles had an impact on their quality of life

Case study describing access to palliative care in Pakistan

Around the world, cancer is a leading cause of death and the burden of cancer is expected to increase in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 82% of the world’s population resides. In these countries, which include Pakistan, aspects of the culture and traditions, inaccessibility to diagnostic and treatment facilities impede access to palliative care. In many cases, people do not reach treatment facilities until they are at the stage when the person is at the end-of-life and is dying. This paints the picture of cancer as a deadly disease and as soon as it is diagnosed nothing can be done but to mourn. Little is understood about people’s experiences accessing palliative care in Pakistan. This study followed Yin’s methodology of case study research to describe how people accessed palliative care through Bait-ul-Sukoon Cancer Hospital and Hospice, the research setting (and bounded case) selected for this study. Theoretical propositions that guided the research were derived from the literature and my professional experience. Data collection occurred through unstructured observations, interviews of patients, family members and the health care provider, physical artifacts, and through my reflections. Four patients, three family members, and five healthcare providers were interviewed. Data analysis occurred simultaneously with data gathering and involved a reflexive analysis of the data. This study was guided by the theoretical propositions, the study objectives, and research questions that were derived from these propositions. Through this analysis process, two main themes were developed with subthemes to describe the case. I was also attentive to identity the rival cases, data that is contrary to the propositions. As the analysis progressed, linkages between the data were noted to see where the data were converging and diverging. The findings have described the suffering of people due in a large part to the late diagnosis of cancer. However, late diagnosis is also related to cultural beliefs, the social stigma of having cancer, the financial (and social) burden of seeking treatment, lack of education about cancer prevention and detection, healthcare system inadequacies and corruption, and healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits. Poverty underlies most of the suffering and is largely the reason for late diagnosis. Participants suggested that policy-level change was needed to meet palliative care needs, and enhance early diagnosis. Policy level change for poverty alleviation would improve the determinants causing obstructions in accessing palliative care and improve access to pain and symptom management. This research underscores that at present, military and defense funds are the focus of the budget priorities in Pakistan. This deprives the population of fulfilling the need for social development and the health of the people in the country, which ultimately ruins the health and quality of life of the individuals. As a result, individuals feel emotionally distressed at the prospects of little or no betterment of their lives, their children’s lives, and the generations that follow. These findings highlight the need for policy change by involving the stakeholders from social sectors, health, and education at the country level and through collaboration with the World Health Organization. Dissemination of these research findings, focusing on a public health approach and providing universal health coverage to all, is critically important for improving access to palliative care in Pakistan. This study identifies a clear need to educate healthcare providers about palliative care. Therefore, it is recommended that in LMICs palliative care should be included in medical and nursing curricula. The findings of this study suggest that nurses should work within the scope of their practice. This is also needed for their own safety and the safety of their patients. This requires close monitoring and supervision by the statutory bodies like the Pakistan Nursing Council. There are implications for policy change to provide universal access to health and to achieve sustainable development goals. Corruption is identified as one of the major hurdles in accessing health that must be controlled to start with and then be eradicated

Harassment: A challenge at workplace

Health care professionals are deeply involved in caring for the human life and during this process, they come in a close contact with the care recipients. This, at times, positions the health care professionals in a vulnerable situation including workplace harassment which is an offensive verbal or physical act and comprises of an unwanted behavior or advancement or demand for sexual and other favors. This conduct creates an intimidating, unfriendly, and offensive work environment (Sigal, 2006). Consequently, it impacts on care providers\u27 performance, quality care and their retention in the system. Hence, it is important that the health care personnel should be provided with a safe and secured environment and their respect, dignity and honor should be maintained. Additionally, in-case of any mishaps, the perpetrator should be dealt accordingly

Teachers’ and Parents’ perspective as how the Social Environment of immediate vicinity can affect the academic learning of a Child 4-6 years age group

In the process of human development environment plays a pivotal role. At the age of 4 -6 years, children\u27s immediate vicinity expands from home to school and in his social environment parents and teachers play a vital role. Therefore, in this study which was conducted in Phander district Ghizer, Northern areas; of Pakistan, employing descriptive research design five parents and five school teachers were enrolled. Participants shared their definition and understanding about social environment and immediate vicinity and its effects on academic learning. This research is part of Advanced Diploma in Human Development: Early Child Development Programme, Aga Khan University. Thus clearance was obtained from the University\u27s Ethics Review Committee. After approval of schools’ administration teachers were contacted and individual consent was obtained from all the study participants (n=10). Due to specific geographical area and population, its results cannot be generalized but it may provide some guidelines for future studies of similar nature

Fostering patient safety: Importance of nursing documentation

Background: Nurses are professionally accountable for assessing and documenting patients’ vital signs. Nurses failing to fulfill this responsibility position their patients at risk. This paper presents two real-life cases pertaining to patients’ safety resulting in fatal outcomes, leading to the professional, legal, and ethical liability of nurses as the providers of patient care. Objective: This paper focuses on the role of organizational culture in fostering patient safety specifically in monitoring and documentation of patients’ vital signs and early recognition of warning signs. Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using various databases, examining the significance of vital signs monitoring and documentation and early warning signs in patient safety. Relevant articles combining quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed. Results: By fostering an environment of honest reporting, healthcare organizations can enhance patient safety and improve the quality of care. This paper offers valuable insights and recommendations for developing effective strategies aligned with organizational policies and protocols. Conclusion: This paper serves as a valuable resource, encouraging healthcare professionals to reflect on their practices and the organizations to assess their contributions to creating a culture of safety. It also highlights the importance of reporting and disclosing adverse events as learning opportunities and outlines the role of ethics, professionalism, legislation, and organizational support in achieving patient safety

Recognizing early warning signs (EWS) in patients is critically important

Introduction: Monitoring vital signs is a basic indicator of a patient’s health status and allows prompt detection of delayed recovery or adverse effects and early intervention. Patients with adverse events during hospitalization often display clinical decline for several hours before the event is observed. Non-critical care Nurses’ inconsistent recognition and response to patient deterioration lead to an increase in the length of hospital stay, unexpected admissions to the ICU, and increased morbidity and mortality. Aim: The study aimed to assess the factors that facilitate or impede the detection of early warning signs among adult patients hospitalized in tertiary care settings. Training should be provided to improve nurses’ knowledge, practice and attitude toward early warning signs of deteriorating patients leading to enhanced clinical judgment, skills and decision-making in addressing alerts. Methodology: A literature search was carried out in various databases; these were Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL), Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and Sage. The search area was narrowed from 2017 to 2022. The keywords used were “prevalence” AND “unplanned ICU admission”, “the importance of early warning signs” “outcome failure in rescue” “patient deterioration, communication” “improvement in early detection” AND “patient outcome admission” AND “early warning signs” AND “Pakistan”. After the analysis process, around 33 articles that met the inclusion criteria and were most relevant to the scope and context of the current study were considered. Conclusion: Most of the studies had reviewed literature in a qualitative retrospective observational study, content analysis, mixed method, and quasi-experimental study. The literature review identified that long hours of shift, nurse staffing levels, missed vital signs, lack of nursing training and education, and communication impact nurses’ ability to recognize and respond to early warning signs

Factors that affect attachment between the employed mother and the child, infancy to two years

To explore a mother\u27s feeling of attachment and the affects her working status on the attachment relationship with her child, upon ethical clearance from the institutional ethics committee, in-depth interviews of nine participants were conducted. Mothers enrolled were those who resumed the employment within the first year of post-delivery and were having a child up to two years of age. Results revealed that maternal employment itself does not enhance or deteriorate attachment with the child. It is combinations of factors that revolve around it impact on their bond. Overall, maternal integration or the balance of the dual roles of employment and motherhood is critical in the development of a sound and secure attachment between the employed mother and the child

A review related to midwifery led model of care

Background: Midwifery led care (MLC) is a model of care in which perinatal care is provided to women throughout different phases of childbirth by a midwife. Objective: This paper aims to provide a literature review on MLC. Methods: A variety of databases and reports were considered to do the literature review on MLC. The search was limited from 1991 to 2011 by using keywords. A total of 50 articles were critically appraised for this review. Findings: The main theme that emerged was women ’s satisfaction with MLC. Satisfaction was integrated with midwife ’s presence throughout childbirth, experience to enhance normality in childbirth, cost-effectiveness of MLC, and facilitation of women ’s choice and control during labor. Conclusion: The review concludes that MLC is women-friendly as it considers and respects women’s needs holistically during childbirth

Health care professionals’ compliance to tracheal suctioning policy at a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To assess the compliance of tracheal suctioning practices against the standard guidelines of a tertiary care hospital, with regard to the participants’ professional characteristics.Methods: Using cross sectional study design, forty health care professionals (HCPs) were assessed twice, using a quantitative structured observational design, for tracheal suctioning practices, in one of the surgical care units of the tertiary care hospital. Tracheal suctioning policy which was used as a tool, its inter-rater reliability was tested and each step showed the Kappa value of 0.65 to 1.000. Data was analyzed using epidata info version 3.5.1 and SPSS version 19.Results: From a total of 80 observations, 30% showed compliance, 50% partial compliance whereas, 20% indicated non-compliance.Conclusion: The study results highlight the need for improving the overall compliance with the tracheal suctioning guidelines of evidence based practices to minimize the adverse effects and enhance patient safety related to tracheal suctioning practices. The current study also provides an opportunity to motivate the HCPs compliant in the practices of tracheal suctioning by appreciate their competence

Practices of tracheal suctioning technique among health care professionals: Literature review

The current study aims to assess tracheal suctioning practices among health care practitioners; nurses, critical care technicians and physiotherapist. Employing literature review as the methodology, multiple databases were searched focusing on three phases of tracheal suctioning (a) the pre suctioning phase, (b) the suctioning phase, (c) the post suctioning phase and complications related to tracheal suctioning. It was concluded that to provide quality care it is important that the evidence based practice guidelines should be followed