Knowledge and Practices on the Prevention and Management of Diarrhea in Children Under-2 Years Among Women Dwelling in Urban Slums of Karachi, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death especially among children. The age-proportionate mortality of diarrheal disease in infants under 2 years is 72%, among children under 5 years of age. Children living in urban slums are more prone to develop diarrhea. Although the disease can be prevented by many simple cost-effective interventions, i.e. proper sanitation and hygiene, appropriate feeding, and timely vaccination, poverty and lack of basic life amenities often potentiate diarrhea mortality. Gadap town is the largest town of Karachi with a deprived health system. This study aims to assess pediatric diarrhea prevalence and related knowledge-practice gaps in the slums of Gadap Town, Karachi, Pakistan. METHOD: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to May 2017 among mothers of children under 2 years, who were residents of Gadap Town, Karachi, Pakistan. The participants were approached by a multistage sampling method. A validated dichotomous questionnaire, piloted on 40 participants, translated into local language Urdu was used for data collection and the data was analyzed by SPSS® version 20.0. RESULTS: 51.8% (n = 199) of participants were aged between 25 and 34 years. Among all participants, 68% (n = 261) had primary level education or less, compared to 4.7% (n = 18) of women who had graduate-level education. The mean number of children per woman was 2.52 ± 1.62. Self-reported pediatric diarrhea incidence was 72.1% (n = 277). More than half (55.2% n = 149) of participants reported frequent diarrhea episodes during the 2nd year of their child's life. In this survey, we found the knowledge of women regarding diarrhea management and how to reduce diarrhea morbidity to be inadequate (p > 0.05). However, many women reported appropriate practices which can significantly reduce diarrhea morbidity (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: While the knowledge among women on preventive measures for pediatric diarrhea was insufficient, the translation of the right knowledge into appropriate practices showed promising outcomes for reducing diarrhea morbidity. An integrated approach for improving feeding, sanitation, and hygiene practices along with continuous health education could curtail the burden of diarrhea among infants living in urban slums.

Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding diabetes mellitus type 2 among people with diabetes visiting outpatient department of Taluka Hospital, Miro Khan, Sindh.

A cross-sectional survey was carried out from March 2018 to November 2018 to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices about diabetes mellitus type 2 among people with diabetes visiting the outpatient department of Taluka Hospital, Miro Khan, Sindh. Data was collected by using a pre-tested questionnaire and analysed on statistical package for social sciences version 20. Almost all the participants knew that diabetes is marked by high blood glucose, 261 (68.0%) knew that sweating is a symptom of low blood glucose, 198 (51.6%) were aware that hypoglycaemia is more dangerous than hyperglycaemia, 310 (80.7%) knew that positive family history of diabetes is a predisposing factor for diabetes mellitus type 2, 196 (51.0%) thought that one should not avoid administration of insulin when needed, 131 (34.0%) used sugar substitutes in their diet whereas 153 (39.8%) used to exercise daily. Mass awareness programmes by the public sector and targeted counselling by healthcare providers are suggested as means for improving the practices of people with diabetes mellitus.

Assessment of pre-natal and post-natal attitude and practice of family members towards the birth of a female child among people residing in district East, Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the pre-natal and post-natal attitude and practice of family members towards the birth of a female child among people residing in an urban area. METHODS: The cross-sectional attitude and practice study was conducted from May 2018 to November 2018 in Jamshed Town and Gulshan Town in district East of Karachi, and comprised randomly chosen participants. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire, and was analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: Of the 400 subjects, 208(52%) were males, and 387(96.8%) were Muslims. The overall mean age was 46.13±14.75 years. Gender of the subject, relationship with the child, monthly household income and number of family members were significantly associated with consideration of abortion in case of a female foetus (p<0.05). Education of the mother and the number of sons were significantly associated with the reaction at the birth of the first female child (p<0.05), whereas age of the participant, education of the father, number of family members, number of sons and number of daughters were significantly associated with reaction at the birth of subsequent daughter (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Various demographic characteristics were significantly associated with pre-natal and post-natal attitude and practice of family members towards the birth of a female child.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding breast self examination among females in Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding breast self-examination among women in an urban setting. METHODS: The Knowledge, Attitude and Practice study was conducted from May to July 2018 at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Naseer Hussain Shaheed Hospital and the Institute of Infectious Disease, Karachi, and comprised women aged 15 years or above who were attending the outpatient department. Data was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire and was analysed using SPSS 23. RESULTS: There were 385 women with a mean age of 30.09±7.09 years. Overall, 259 (67.3%) subjects had adequate knowledge about breast self-examination, 123 (31.9%) had appropriate practices and 187 (48.6%) had positive attitude. CONCLUSIONS: Overall knowledge level regarding breast self-examination was found to be inadequate.