Sana Ahmed

Dow University of Health Sciences | DUHS · Department of Community Medicine

Background Sindh, one of the provinces of Pakistan, has been showing a consistently low coverage of immunization. Evidence supports the independent role of supportive supervision in improving the performance of immunization services. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the implementation of supportive supervision by the Expanded Pro...

Objective: To determine the frequency of anxiety and depression among chronic spontaneous urticarial patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital. Methods: The prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February to August 2015, and comprised patients diagnosed with chronic spontaneous u...

Objective: To estimate the out-of-pocket payment on routine management of type 2 diabetes in patients attending a public-sector facility. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to May 2017 at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, and comprised of persons with type 2 diabeties. A pretested questionnaire was adm...

Introduction: Health care workers are known to have relatively higher burden of musculoskeletal problems including low back pain as compared to other occupational groups due to their specific ergonomics exposures at work. This study aims to determine the frequency of low back pain, its associated factors and level of functional disability due to lo...

The purpose of this study was, to determine the associated risk factors of depression among children and adolescent age 7-17 years, using DSM_IV criteria in urban Karachi, Pakistan. A cross sectional survey was conducted in Karachi from October 2015 to March 2016, by using multistage cluster sampling, comprised of 384 children aged 7–17 years. Logi...

The purpose of this study determined the predictors and frequency of Low Back Pain among Health Care Workers in Tertiary Care Hospital, in Karachi. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a tertiary care hospital including doctors, nurses and paramedics. All 300 study participants were enquired about complain of low back pain in past 12 months an...

Objective To determine the frequency and intensity of Internet Addiction (IA) among medical undergraduates, using Social Networking Sites (SNS), in Karachi. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in March-June ‘16 in a private and government medical college of Karachi. Self-administered, Young’s Internet Addiction Test was implemented by 3...

Objective: To determine the frequency and intensity of Internet Addiction (IA) among medical undergraduates, using Social Networking Sites (SNS), in Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in March-June ‘16 in a private and government medical college of Karachi. Self-administered, Young’s Internet Addiction Test was implemented by...

Objectives The purpose of the study was to identify the sequence of violence that ensues after breaking bad news and develop a contextual model of breaking bad news and develop a model contextual for Pakistan. Methods A qualitative exploratory study was conducted using Six FGDs and 14 IDIs with healthcare providers working in the emergency and the...

Objective: In Pakistan, the role of women’s education and its impact on the use of contraception methods and reproductive health indicators needs to be identified. Therefore, the objective of this study was to find out the association of education levels of women with family planning and reproductive health indicators in Sindh. Methodology: Seconda...

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of de-escalation of training in improving the knowledge of healthcare workers to manage aggressive behaviour and to prevent and control violence in workplace settings Methodology: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among different cadres of healthcare personnel working in Karachi, Pakistan between August...

Abstract Despite doubling of the lifespan because of scientific medical education; inequities in healthcare provision exist.Inadequate priority to community’s health needs in undergraduate medical curricula could be one of the contributors. Aga Khan University, Pakistan pioneered community-based undergraduate curriculum for addressing community’s h...

Objective: In Pakistan, the role of women’s education and its impact on the use of contraception methods and reproductive health indicators needs to be identified. Therefore, the objective of this study was to find out the association of education levels of women with family planning and reproductive health indicators in Sindh. Methodology: Seconda...

Background & Objective Considering high burden of violence against healthcare workers in Pakistan APPNA Institute of Public Health developed a training to prevent reactive violence among healthcare providers. The purpose of this training was to equip healthcare providers with skills essential to control aggressive behaviors and prevent verbal and n...

Background: In Pakistan, the disease pattern is facing a huge changeover from acute and communicable diseases to the non-communicable diseases. Moreover, an emerging epidemic of obesity is still under recognized in Pakistan. A detailed review and dissemination of the existing knowledge to determine the extent of burden of obesity can help understa...

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Sindh is a province with considerably low Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) i.e. 30%, compared to national average of CPR (35%). Among many reasons for low CPR, one is high discontinuation rate for contraception. Evidence supports that effective and continued use of family is directly linked with the quality of family planni...

To determine the prevalence of asthma in textile workers through post-bronchodilator spirometry and to compare the differences in prevalence based on different criteria used to assess asthma. The cross-sectional study was conducted between July and December 2013 in Karachi, Pakistan, and comprised workers from15 textile mills in the city and its ou...

Global female tobacco uptake is increasing in the form of various products. These rising trends are related to increased tobacco marketing, globalization and changes in women's status. 1 Nevertheless women living in high-income countries showing a decline in tobacco use as compared to women from low-income and middle-income countries. The complex p...

Introduction: Child mental health research is a neglected area in Pakistan. Literature is already scarce. A detailed review is needed to understand the current status of child mental health research in Pakistan. Methods: Pub Med was searched using key words “child mental health AND Pakistan AND research”. The search was limited to articles focusin...

Background Since a decade, low and middle income countries have a rising trend of contracting their primary healthcare services to NGOs. In Pakistan, public sector often lacks capacity to effectively & equitably manage the healthcare services. It led the government to outsource the administration of primary health care services to a semi-autonomous...

Objectives: Global burden of childhood asthma has increased in the past few decades, particularly in low-income countries. In Pakistan, there is a lack of community-based epidemiological studies estimating the burden of asthma among children. This study determined the prevalence and predictors of asthma among children 3-17 years of age in Karachi,...

BACKGROUND: Asthma is responsible for 1 of every 250 deaths globally. Prevalence of asthma is higher in younger age groups. In Pakistan there is a lack of community based epidemiological studies estimating the burden of asthma among children. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and predictors of asthma among children aged 3-17 years in Karachi....

A public-private mix tuberculosis (TB) DOTS project was implemented to enhance coverage and collaboration between the public and private sectors, with an objective to increase case detection and to improve TB case management in a large urban area. General practitioners (GPs) were trained to provide DOTS services. Patients were diagnosed and treated...