Samia Ayub

Publications of Samia Ayub

• Perception and practices of breastfeeding of infants 0-6 months in an urban and a semi-urban community in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

  Authors: Sumera Ali, Syed Faizan Ali, Ayesha Mallick Imam, Samia Ayub, Abdul Gaffar Billoo

  JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association. 01/2011; 61(1):99-104.

  To investigate mother's perception and practices about breastfeeding and their socio-demographic correlate in infants equal to or less than 6 months. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 200To investigate mother's perception and practices about breastfeeding and their socio-demographic correlate in infants equal to or less than 6 months. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 200 mother-infant pairs who visited the health care centers, Bilal Colony (semi-urban) and the Aga Khan University (urban), for their well baby follow-ups and vaccination using convenient sampling. Frequencies and percentages were computed and Chi-square was used to find associations between socio-demographics of mothers and their perception and practices about breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding was reported by about 54% of the mothers. Thirty-five percent of the mothers gave prelacteal feed, 14% discarded colostrum and 43% woke up their infant to feed if time had exceeded 2 hours. Majority of the females were aware of the advantages (92%) and the disadvantages (85%) of breastfeeding. However, the awareness of positive feedback relationship of milk production and sucking was lacking and breast feeding was considered to cause weakness in mothers. Despite the efforts of health policy makers, the results show a situation that is not improving. Women were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of breast and bottle feeding but a disparity was observed between their perception and practices.

• Knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer and its prevention amongst interns and nursing staff in Tertiary Care Hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

  Authors: Syed Faizan Ali, Samia Ayub, Nauman Fazal Manzoor, Sidra Azim, Muneeza Afif, Nida Akhtar, Wassi Ali Jafery, Imran Tahir, Syed Farid-Ul-Hasnian, Najam Uddin

  PloS one. 01/2010; 5(6):e11059.

  Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst the gynecological cancers worldwide, especially in developing countries. It is imperative for at least healthCervical cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst the gynecological cancers worldwide, especially in developing countries. It is imperative for at least health professionals in developing countries like Pakistan to have a sound knowledge about the disease. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer and its prevention amongst health professionals in tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. A cross-sectional, interview based survey was conducted in June, 2009. Sample of 400 was divided between the three tertiary care centers. Convenience sampling was applied as no definitive data was available regarding the number of registered interns and nurses at each center. Of all the interviews conducted, 1.8% did not know cervical cancer as a disease. Only 23.3% of the respondents were aware that cervical cancer is the most common cause of gynecological cancers and 26% knew it is second in rank in mortality. Seventy-eight percent were aware that infection is the most common cause of cervical cancer, of these 62% said that virus is the cause and 61% of the respondents knew that the virus is Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Majority recognized that it is sexually transmitted but only a minority (41%) knew that it can be detected by PCR. Only 26% of the study population was aware of one or more risk factors. Thirty seven percent recognized Pap smear as a screening test. In total only 37 out of 400 respondents were aware of the HPV vaccine. This study serves to highlight that the majority of working health professionals are not adequately equipped with knowledge concerning cervical cancer. Continuing Medical Education program should be started at the hospital level along with conferences to spread knowledge about this disease.

• Factors influencing medical student participation in an obstetrics and gynaecology clinic.

  Authors: Ferha Saeed, Mahwash Kassi, Samia Ayub, Rabeea Rehman, Pashtoon M Kasi, Javed H Rizvi

  JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association. 10/2007; 57(10):495-8.

  OBJECTIVE: To identify factors influencing medical student participation in an obstetrics and gynaecology (OBGYN) setting. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study carried out on patients admittedOBJECTIVE: To identify factors influencing medical student participation in an obstetrics and gynaecology (OBGYN) setting. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study carried out on patients admitted in OBGYN wards of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 250 patients consented to participate in this study. RESULTS: Eighty three percent of the people responded 'yes' to the question of being initially seen by a medical student. People who consented were 3.5 times more likely to know that their primary consultant was a teacher at a medical school i.e. they were initially aware that they were in a teaching hospital (p-value < 0.01). Additionally, people who did consent were 3.5 times more likely to have been admitted because of labour/delivery (p-value < 0.001) and 2.7 times more likely to have a monthly income of more than Rs. 20,000 (p-value < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A number of factors have been identified in our study along with proposed solutions. Identification of these potentially modifiable factors in the medical student-patient interaction is important to improve the involvement of medical students in the care of the patients.