40 research outputs found
Seroprevalence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in Kefta Humera, Alamata (Tigray) and Aba-‘ala (Afar), Northern Ethiopia
No full textA cross sectional study was conducted to determine the sero-prevalence of contagious caprine pleuroneumonia in three districts of Tigray and Afar regions of Ethiopia namely; Kefta Humera, Alamata and Aba-‘alla. Proportions and chi-square test statistics were used to analyze the data. From a total of 863 goats and 137 sheep tested, 282 (32.68%) and 25 (18.25%) were positive for antibodies of Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae respectively using complement fixation test (CFT). The seroprevalence of CCPP in goats among the three districts was statistically significant (x2 = 76.00, p < 0.001). In this study there was no statistical significant variation in the seroprevalence of CCPP in both sexes (x2 = 3.619, p = 0.0571) and age (x2 = 0.990, p = 0.095) groups. The finding of high seroprevalence of CCPP in sheep (18.25%) could indicate that sheep are potential carriers of Mccp.Ethiopian Science and Technology Agency (ESTA
Piloting relaxation techniques as part of occupational therapy programme in an in-patient psychiatric setting
No full textPlatelet Distribution Width: A Severity Marker Of Pre Eclampsia, Experience At Tertiary Care Hospital
No full textObjectives: To determine mean platelet distribution width in patients with pre-eclampsia.
Study design: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study performed in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, retrospectively from 01 May 2017 to 01 November 2017 by non-probability consecutive sampling technique.
Materials & Methods: A total of 150 pregnant females with mild and severe pre-eclampsia with gestational age > 20 weeks, and an age limit of 18-40 years were included in the study. Patients having deranged coagulation or multiorgan involvement were excluded. Blood and urine samples were collected at the time of presentation. All the blood pressure readings were confirmed by two readings 4-6 hours apart. Mean ± SD was used to express data values. The mean PDW value was calculated for pregnant females with mild and severe preeclampsia.
Results: In our study Mean PDW in patients with preeclampsia was 15.86± 0.34. The mean PDW for mild preeclampsia was 15.8± 0.35 and for severe preeclampsia 15.98±0.28..
Conclusion: PDW is a useful marker for the prediction of the severity of preeclampsia before the disease progresses to severe preeclampsia and HELLP. Raised values can help the obstetrician to actively manage the patients in time to reduce maternal and fetal mortality
Differential mobilization and metal uptake <i>versus</i> leaching in multimetal soil columns using EDTA and three metal bioaccumulators
No full textDesign and evaluation of a blended mental health curriculum for undergraduate medical education in Pakistan
No full textThere is a significant shortage of qualified psychiatrists and related service providers in Pakistan; this occurs in the backdrop of burgeoning evidence of a high prevalence of mental health disorders in the country. At the Aga Khan University Medical College, Psychiatry has been taught to the undergraduates as a mandatory one-month clinical rotation since 1987. AKU is the only medical college with a formal psychiatry training at the undergraduate level. In 2017, a team of faculty members reassessed the curriculum, teaching methodology and learning outcomes of the psychiatry rotation. As a result, an outcome-based, blended curriculum was devised that integrated virtual and classroom-based learning with patient skills training. The new curriculum has now been in implementation for one year. At the end of the rotation, a questionnaire was administered to determine students’ experience of online learning. WEBLEI was adapted to measure students’ perceptions across four subscales. Data was gathered from learners’ use of the virtual learning system, participation in facilitator-based sessions and the clinical teaching and learning. Students were also asked to compare didactic face-to-face sessions with blended learning. Blended learning scored higher on all measures such as student engagement, critical thinking, student-led learning and alignment of assessment method with learning outcomes. The analysis of this data has informed future directions regarding the design and implementation of a Pakistan-wide mental health program. This study also highlights the challenges of curriculum design and its implications in the broader context of Pakistan. The results add to the existing literature about the experience, challenges and successful outcomes of designing a blended curriculum for Pakistan.
Keywords: Blended learning, Integrated curriculum, Mental health, Learning analytics, PakistanHow to cite this article:Chachar, A.S., Siddiqui, S.A., Saeed, H., Naseem, A. & Mian, A.I. 2020. Design and evaluation of a blended mental health curriculum for undergraduate medical education in Pakistan. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. 4(2): 100-117. https://doi.org/10.36615/sotls.v4i2.111.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Role of Tuition Centers in the Performance and Achievement of Students: A Case of Hyderabad District, Sindh, Pakistan
No full textThis research is designed to explore the importance of tuition centers in the perception of students. It tries to find out the role, supporting methods, environment and good characteristics of tuition centers, their owners and management to support the student to learn effectively and bring good grades in their board examinations. A qualitative research method employed to collect data from the 30 participating students who receive tuition at different centers of Hyderabad district. Semi-structured interview protocol was design; discussed with five experts of field; improved as per suggestions of field experts; piloted on three students; and then implemented and conducted on the recruited sample of students of class Higher Secondary Certificate -II (XII) in order to collect data. The results revealed that the students who receive tuition at different centers bring good grades in their examination and have suitable knowledge about their subjects taught at centers. Their previous grades were found good and attractive such as A-1 and A with more than 80% and 70% marks respectively, due to coaching received at tuition centers that time, reveled from experiences shared by students
Liaison psychiatry in low & middle income countries: Experiences at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, Pakistan
No full textAims and methods: Our study investigated the pattern of referrals made to psychiatric services from the general wards of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Data on all cases referred between years 2015 to 2016 was collected retrospectively from the medical records. Information included socio-demographic details, reason for referral, past psychiatric history, treatment, management suggested and outcome of referral. SPSS version 19.0 was used for data entry and analyzing.Results: During the study period 1166 cases were referred for psychiatric consultations of which 995 were analyzed. The results show an almost equal distribution of females and males. Most referrals were from Internal Medicine. The most common reason for referral was behavioral problem and the most common psychiatric diagnosis made was delirium.Clinical Implications: Review of the service has identified areas that need improvement such as late referrals, problems with documentation, and issues in following through with the recommended management and will help us improve the existing services
Mental health curriculum for Pakistan: integrating virtual, classroom and onsite training
No full textDiagnostic Relevance of Neutrophil Percentage-to-Albumin Ratio in Differentiating Bacterial Emergency Settings
No full textBackground: In emergency settings in hospitals, it is important to differentiate between bacterial and non-bacterial infections to ensure the proper use of antibiotics. This study aimed to assess how well the Neutrophil Percentage-to-Albumin Ratio (NPAR) could identify bacterial infections in patients admitted to emergency departments.
Methods: In this prospective observational study, the Pathology department of a tertiary care Akhtar Saeed hospital Lahore admitted 150 patients for the evaluation of possible infections under ethical approval (AST-2312) from October 2024- December 2024. The sample size was calculated by using OpenEpi version 3.0.0. Eligible patients were recruited by using the consecutive sampling technique. Total blood count and albumin levels were both measured to figure out the patient’s NPAR score. All patients were grouped into bacterial infection and non-bacterial infection categories. SPSS version 25 was used for statistical analyses (descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, p<0.05).
Results: Out of the total 150 patients, 89 (59.3%) were diagnosed with bacterial infections. Infections caused by bacteria had a higher mean NPAR (3.8 ± 0.7) than infections from non-bacterial causes (2.1 ± 0.6) (p < 0.001). Both an increase in white blood cell counts and raised C-reactive protein were strongly connected with higher NPAR. Sensitivity was 85.4%, specificity was 78.7%, positive predictive value was 84.1%, and negative predictive value was 80.2% for NPAR.
Conclusion: NPAR was seen to be an easy, economical, and easily used biomarker that performed well in differentiating bacterial and other types of infection cases in the emergency room
Trying to make sense of the chaos: Clinical psychologists' experiences and perceptions of clients with borderline personality disorder'
No full textBackground Evidence of negative perceptions of clients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) in mental health professionals has been well documented. However, few researchers have focused upon perspectives of clinical psychologists on this client group. The aim of the present research was to explore clinical psychologists' experiences and perceptions of clients with BPD. Method Sixteen female clinical psychologists (including trainees and qualified staff) participated in focus groups, 12 of whom had direct clinical experience with this client group. All four groups' audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, 1996). Results The following eight superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: negative perceptions of the client, undesirable feelings in the psychologist, positive perceptions of the client, desirable feelings in the psychologist, awareness of negativity, trying to make sense of the chaos, working in contrast to the system and improving our role. Discussion Implications include concerns regarding negativity, yet also the suggestion of hope and optimism in working with this client group. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.</p
