Empathy levels among undergraduate medical students in Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

Empathy is a concept native to the field of medicine. However, over the course of medical school, empathy levels are expected to decline. The aim of this study was to assess the empathy levels among medical students in relation to their year of study and specialties of choice in the future. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess empathy levels among students from medical colleges in Karachi, Pakistan, using an online survey. The total duration of the study was 2 months. The authors analyzed the data using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 463 undergraduate medical students participated in this survey. The overall mean empathy score was 101.9±16.3 with 104.6±14.1 for females, which was significantly higher than the male participants. The highest empathy levels were demonstrated in fourth-year medical students with a mean empathy score of 104.1±16.3, whereas, the lowest empathy levels were found in second-year medical students with a mean empathy score of 99.8±9.4. Study participants considering emergency medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, and oncology as their specialty of choice demonstrated the highest empathy levels followed by pediatrics and internal medicine. Conclusion: On average, there was a female preponderance in empathy levels among undergraduate medical students. Empathy levels among fourth-year students involved in clinical practice were greater as compared to students in their initial years of study. Further investigations are required to validate the findings of this study.

Intimate partner violence against women: a comprehensive depiction of Pakistani literature.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence against women is a significant problem in Pakistan associated with an alarming set of mental health issues. AIMS: To identify the prevalence of intimate partner violence in Pakistan and the causes, health effects and coping strategies used by women. METHODS: A comprehensive search based on the identified keywords was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed. Relevant literature was also searched and included. Abstracts were then shortlisted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines, and 25 studies were selected. Quantitative studies on intimate partner violence were included in the review. The review comprises only reports published in English from 2008 to 2018. RESULTS: The review accounts for the overall prevalence of violence and its various subtypes against women in Pakistan: psychological 31.3-83.6%, physical 10.0-98.5%, sexual 2.5-77.0%, physical and sexual combined 1.0-68.0% and any other type 6.9-90.0%. CONCLUSION: The evidence generated will help notify policy-makers and health officials about the determinants and effects of intimate partner violence, making it easier to address these issues and identify victims as early as possible. It also sheds light on the limitations of this study: tools used by the published studies not specifically designed for Pakistan and there is no standardized definition of violence against women. This calls for more studies to be conducted to help find a solution.

Competencies of charge nurses: a systematic review and thematic synthesis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the competencies of charge nurses. METHODS: The systematic review and thematic synthesis study was done at Iran from1 Apr 2018 to 31 Jul 2018. Five electronic bibliographic database (Science Direct, Pro Quest, Scopus, Pub-Med, Scientific Information Database) were systematically searched for relevant literature published from 1980 to 2018. Content analysis was done to categorise competency of charge nurses. RESULTS: Of the 1285 articles, 24(1.86%) were reviewed. Through thematic synthesis, six themes identified were self-management, others' management, clinical competency, conceptual-cognitive competency, professional-legal competency and competency in communication. There is need to improve knowledge and skills in the domains of management, leadership, communication and perceptual/cognitive competency. CONCLUSIONS: The findings may help nurse administrators and nurse directors in designing training programmes for charge nurses who could improve their competencies.

Sexual Knowledge in Post-Myocardial Infarction Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Adequate sexual knowledge is a key component of cardiac rehabilitation. Sexual knowledge in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients is unknown. Thus, we conducted this study to investigate the sexual knowledge of post-myocardial infarction patients and their accessibility to sexual counseling. Methodology Between July and September 2018, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in 6six major hospitals in Karachi. The non-probability convenient sampling technique was used to include all patients meeting the inclusion criteria. To reduce biases, face-to-face interviews were conducted by investigators who were trained prior to the start of data collection. Knowledge was assessed using the Swedish version of the "Sex after MI Knowledge Test" questionnaire, where a higher score meant higher knowledge. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) The t-test was applied to compare the knowledge score between males and females. Results There was a total of 278 MI patients with a mean age of 54 years, of which 60% were men. The "Sex After MI Knowledge Test" scores varied between 37 and 67 (mean score 51 ± 5). None of the participants obtained the maximum possible test score of 75. The most frequently occurring score was 49 (16%). Around half of the participants (48%) incorrectly believed that sex cannot be safely resumed within a few weeks after the heart attack. Limited knowledge was found in questions pertaining to alcohol, viagra, and late evening being the best time to have sex. Medical knowledge was provided to only 27% (n=76) of the participants, of whom 77% (n=58) received it from the hospital staff itself. A significant difference existed in scores obtained by males and females, with males having a higher score and the mean difference in scores being 1.7 (p=0.015). Conclusion Lack of sexual knowledge in MI patients due to the inadequacy of healthcare providers and the social stigma surrounding the topic causes marital strain leading to low quality of life.

Intimate partner violence against women in Pakistan: a review of qualitative research.

OBJECTIVE: To consolidate research data and provide an insight into areas that need further research regarding intimate partner violence. METHODS: The review targeted qualitative research-based studies done in the English language and conducted in Pakistan from 2008 to 2018 regarding intimate partner violence against women. A thorough search of Google Scholar and PubMed databases was done. Data from each selected article was extracted using a data-extraction template. RESULTS: Of the 2,479 results, 21(0.8%) articles were selected along with 4(0.16%) texts from grey literature. An in-depth analysis led to six broad categories: experiences/perspectives of married women facing intimate partner violence; perspectives of married men towards intimate partner violence; perspectives of religious leaders who support the idea of men controlling their wives; societal norms, such as dowry, patriarchy and daughters being considered a burden; impact on women and family as damage to the women's physical and mental health affects not only her but also the society as a whole; and coping strategies used by most women. CONCLUSIONS: The review helps in understanding the common trends and situation of Pakistani women who are exposed to violence, the common limitations faced by researches, and areas which require further research to prevent intimate partner violence.