Suchergebnisse

This study analyses the opportunities and impact of women's political participation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan, focusing on unlocking the potential for greater inclusivity and socio-political advancement. This research examines the barriers and opportunities influencing female political engagement in a region characterized by its unique socio-cultural dynamics and historical marginalization of women. The study identifies critical impediments such as socio-cultural norms, lack of educational opportunities, and limited access to resources by employing a mixed-methods approach, including qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys. Simultaneously, it highlights emerging opportunities for women in politics, including legislative reforms, grassroots movements, and increased support from civil society organizations. The impact of women's participation in governance, policy-making, and community development is analyzed to understand how increased female representation can contribute to more equitable and effective political systems. The findings underscore the potential benefits of enhancing women's political engagement, including improved policy outcomes and greater social cohesion. This research aims to provide actionable insights for policymakers, activists, and scholars seeking to foster an inclusive political environment in KP and beyond.

This is a conference paper. ; Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria are primarily responsible for provision of sanitation facilities in public places. Most markets and motor parks however are either without any sanitation facilities or are in dilapidated conditions because of misuse and neglect. This leads to rampant open defecation (OD) in public places. This has deprived many LGAs to attain the ODF status where otherwise every household have constructed some sort of toilets as a result of ongoing CLTS campaign. Under Federal Government of Nigeria-UNICEF WASH programme, efforts have been made to address the challenge through public- private partnership (PPP) arrangements. In selected LGAs of 3 States one hundred (100) WASH facilities are planned for completion in 2018 in markets/motor parks to bring the LGA wide ODF declaration one step closer to reality.

Literacy practices focus classroom assessment skills and knowledge. This study investigated the correlation of classroom assessment literacy and practices of teacher educators in Pakistan. Teacher educators of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Teacher education institutions were investigated through Assessment Literacy Test (ALT), Classroom Assessment Practices Questionnaire (CAPQ) following quantitative correlational research design. The results reflected moderate level assessment literacy of teacher educators in Pakistan and found them practice traditional assessment practices. Furthermore, majority of teacher educators were found to have less knowledge and skills in designing and selecting appropriate assessment tools and that most of the classroom assessment practices were limited to paper-pencil tests. Teacher training with mutual consultation of Learning and Innovation Division (LID) of Higher Education Commission (HEC), the establishment of National Assessment Wing under the Umbrella of National Curriculum Wing and support from ICT supported devices/software, online resources were recommended.

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) offers teacher education programs from Primary School Teacher to Doctor of Philosophy in Education. The current study is focused on B. Ed., 2-year M.Ed., and Associate Degree in Education (ADE). AIOU has rendered great services in the field of education and particularly teacher education. Distance education internationally is an established system of education but in the context of Pakistan there are certain issues in distant mode of education which if addressed, may improve quality in teacher education. The current study investigated issues from the perspectives of tutors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Data were collected from tutors in 03 districts through interviews. Interview was conducted with total of 20 tutors. The purpose of the study was to get an in-depth understanding of the issues and suggest recommendations for improvement of the teacher education through distance learning from AIOU and the distance education programs offered by other universities.

This is a conference paper. ; It is estimated that by 2030 only 72% of the rural population in Nigeria will have access to improved water supply. Alarmingly however are the high estimates (~50%) of nonfunctional rural hand pumps at any given time. Achieving the SDG targets will not only require huge investment in extending the improved water coverage to currently unserved but more importantly current investments in hand pump boreholes must be sustained. From the experience of the pilot project carried out by UNICEF and Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, 80% of the non-functional hand pumps were found to be repairable and state and local government service providers able to transform their O&M culture to ensure functionality at or above 90% at any given time. The challenge for Nigeria therefore lies in affecting a national VLOM strategy and to ensure its meticulous implementation.

Abstract Background In recent years inappropriate and excessive use of clinical laboratory facilities has become a cause of concern and has led to concurrent rise in the laboratory errors and the health care costs. The aim of the study was to find out the frequency of incomplete laboratory request forms, inappropriate test requests at various professional levels and the financial impact of uncollected reports at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Laboratory Rawalpindi. Methods The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted during a three month period from April to June 2012 at AFIP and CMH Laboratory Rawalpindi. A total of 1000 laboratory request forms were collected and scrutinized for completion from AFIP (n=500) and CMH Rawalpindi laboratory (n=500). 536 request forms of costly/specialized tests from different departments of AFIP were studied to find out the professional level of test request. The total number of tests performed at AFIP during the study period and number of uncollected reports were noted. The financial impact of these uncollected reports was also calculated. Collection of data and sorting were done manually. Patient confidentiality was maintained. Microsoft excel software and SPSS-17 were used for analysis. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Review Committee. Results Out of a total of 1000 forms studied none was completely filled with clinical notes being present in only 2.4% and 13% of forms sent to CMH and AFIP respectively. 62% of the expensive investigations were requested by specialists while 38% were ordered by residents and general practitioners but the percentage of avoidable expensive tests ordered by the general practitioners and residents was significantly higher than the specialists(p<0.001). A total of 9026 (40%) and 5046 (22%) diagnostic test reports were not collected from the Chemical pathology and Hematology departments respectively. Financial impact of uncollected reports from all the departments at AFIP collectively amounted to Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 3338201. Conclusion Processing incomplete laboratory request forms and injudicious use of laboratory facilities leads to incorrect interpretation of laboratory test results affecting outcome of the overall treatment.

Early diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia plays a pivotal role in the management. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT) as compared with C‐reactive protein (CRP) for the early diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia in children. In total, 92 children consisting of 46 patients of bacterial pneumonia were admitted in the Military hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan and equal number of controls were included. Patient's investigations were carried out at admission. PCT and CRP were analyzed on Vidas analyzer and Immulite 1000, respectively. Out of 46 pneumonia patients, 28 were male and 18 female, with a median age of 4 years. PCT levels were significantly high median (range) of 2.69 ng/ml (0.30–13.00) vs. 0.45 ng/ml (0.10–2.00) in controls. Serum CRP levels were moderately elevated with median (range) 6.5 mg/l (0.30–60) vs. 0.30 mg/l (0.30–5.0) in controls. The area under receiver characteristic curves for PCT and CRP were 0.89 (95% CI=0.83–0.96) and 0.79 (95% CI=0.70–0.88), respectively. In total, 38 patients were diagnosed to have bacterial pneumonia with PCT (sensitivity 83% at cutoff ≥1 ng/ml) and 26 children with CRP (sensitivity 57% at cutoff ≥6 mg/L). PCT has better diagnostic accuracy than CRP and can be utilized for early diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia in children. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 24:1–5, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Background Community Treatment orders (CTO) were introduced in England and Wales during the 2008 reformation of mental health legislation. There is scant research evidence regarding the use of CTOs with older adults (people aged 65 and over). Aims The aims were to explore old age psychiatrists' rationale for using CTOs with older adults and its efficacy. Method A mixed-method approach with a quantitative questionnaire followed by a series of one-to-one semi-structured interviews was utilised. Results About half of respondents had used a CTO with an older adult and more than half reported they would be comfortable using CTOs with older adults. Data showed that CTOs were predominantly used with patients diagnosed with relapsing mental illnesses with few respondents considering its use in people with dementia. There was also evidence that older people were viewed as being compliant with treatment, which may reflect reality or a stereotype of older people. Conclusions Evidence suggested that old age psychiatrists perceived CTOs to have limited efficacy with older people, considering other legislation more appropriate to their care. Further research is recommended to explore whether CTOs are appropriate for older adults and whether respondents' perception of treatment compliance is accurate.

Facial expressions are significant to decipher information during a dialogue and more so in a clinical consultation. Veils (Niqab) worn by Muslim women may pose a clinical dilemma for the psychiatric assessment especially if clinicians are not aware of their religious significance. To investigate whether clinical judgment is affected if full facial expressions are not accessible, we conducted an email survey of psychiatrists and psychologists across the world who frequently work in these situations. Of 25 colleagues contacted 16 responded and 11 of them agreed for their comments to be included in the study. Nine out of 11 believed clinical assessment may be compromised, although respondents were aware of cultural sensitivity around the issue. Two out of 11 however, felt fully able to assess the mental state of a veiled woman. Some professionals reported that they feel unable to assess or treat if the request to take the veil off is declined. This small survey demonstrates the diverse opinions on whether unveiling is necessary for psychiatric assessment. Further qualitative examination of this area is needed to develop wider consensus and guidance to mental health care professionals who may be dealing with these groups.

This is a conference paper. ; Meeting the SDG targets on Sanitation in Nigeria requires households to construct over 2.4 million improved toilets every year up to 2030, which is a 15-fold increase in the current rate of latrine uptake. Hence business as usual is not an option for the country in the run up to 2030. Markets forces must be mobilized. The two-pronged strategy deployed in Nigeria addresses the issue of markets as well as affordable finances. Toilet Business Owners (TBOs) are trained and mobilized as successful for-profit enterprises by the existing public-sector enterprise development agencies while cheaper financing is being mobilized from both Public and private/commercial sources through local MFIs and community saving groups. This approach has led to the construction of 4650 improved toilets in 06 Local Government Areas of Nigeria and holds promise for the future.

Groundwater is one of the major sources of water consumption in developing countries. The aim of the study was to investigate the variations in physicochemical characteristics and metal content and to calculate the Water Quality Index (WQI) to assess the groundwater quality of seven districts (Central, East, West, South, Malir, Korangi, and Kemari) of Karachi City, Pakistan. A stratified sampling approach was used to collect groundwater samples and turbidity, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Nitrate-N, and arsenic concentrations were investigated to profile WQI. The physicochemical parameters from districts South, West, Korangi, and Kemari were as per APHA standards and found suitable for drinking purposes. EC and TDS were in ranges of (2660-3870μS/cm) and (1596-2322mg/L) exceeding the standard limits resulting in poor drinking water quality respectively in districts Central, Malir, and East. These districts fail to meet the APHA standards and become unfit for human consumption on the WQI scale. However, TSS and arsenic was not detected in any of the collected samples. The correlation matrix for the[1] correlation coefficient (R-value) of tested parameters with WQI indicated significant linear and high R-value among tested parameters. The statistical analysis showed that turbidity, pH, EC, TDS, and Nitrate-N have significant effects on WQI. EC and TDS showed a direct correlation with WQI (R=1.0) whereas turbidity significantly correlates with the presence of nitrate in drinking water (R=0.64). These findings help the decision makers to plan mitigation strategies for comprehensive water quality monitoring of the respective areas and ensure the availability of clean and safe drinking water to the public.

Background: We rarely teach medical students the skills required to engage in policy change to address the structural factors that underpin the social determinants of health, which are driven by the unequal distribution of power and resources in society. Acquiring the knowledge and skills to influence policy can empower students to act on healthcare inequities rather than simply be aware of them. Methods: Using Metzl and Hansen's structural competency framework, we designed and piloted an intervention for medical students. Participants attended a workshop, presented to a hypothetical political stakeholder, and wrote an opinion editorial piece. Students participated in a focus group that was audio-recorded and transcribed. We coded and analyzed presentations, editorials, and transcripts to develop a thematic analysis. Results: Nine students participated in the workshop. They chose structural interventions and presented potential solutions to structural barriers in written and oral outputs. Students identified a lack of knowledge about health and political systems as a potential barrier to future advocacy work. Conclusion: Medical trainees require training in specific advocacy skills such as oral and written communication, however this alone may be insufficient. As future advocates, trainees must also acquire a specific skill set and associated knowledge about health systems and policy to navigate the systems in which they will practice.