Syed Ghulam Sarwar Shah

Middlesex University · Department of Natural Sciences

Citizen science is a participatory science approach in which members of the public (citizens) collaborate with scientists and professional researchers and become involved in research and innovation activities, resulting in the co-creation of scientific knowledge and innovation. Citizen science has been widely applied in research, particularly in th...

b> Objectives: The aim was to study the types of gynaecological cancers and their stages at the time when patients first presented at the cancer registry of a major cancer hospital. Methods: This observational study was carried out in a large cancer hospital in Pakistan. We analysed secondary data on new cases of gynaecological cancer without age r...

Citizen science approaches are widely and successfully used in biological, environmental, and ecological sciences; however, they are rarely applied in other domains, such as translational health research, notably in the field of liver disease and metabolism. We have designed a study that aims to explore the application of the citizen science approa...

Background: To detect and identify mosquitoes using their characteristic high-pitched sound, we have developed a smartphone application, known as the 'HumBug sensor', that records the acoustic signature of this sound, along with the time and location. This data is then sent remotely to a server where algorithms identify the species according to th...

Background: Citizen science approaches are widely and successfully used in biological, environmental, and ecological sciences; however, they are rarely applied in other domains, such as translational health research, notably in the field of liver disease and metabolism. This citizen science study aims to explore the application of the citizen scien...

Background: Obesity in young girls adversely affects reproductive health later in life and it is a serious public health issue. The objective was to study the association of obesity with menstrual irregularities and hormonal imbalance in teenage and adolescent girls. Method: Participants comprised a convenience sample of 12-19 years old girls (N=8...

Background The need to improve gender equity (GE) in academic medicine is well documented. Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), partnerships between leading National Health Service (NHS) organizations and universities in England, conduct world-class translational research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2011,...

A citizen science initiative on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: To detect and identify mosquitoes using their characteristic whining sound, we have developed a smartphone application that records the acoustic signature of these sounds, along with the time and location. This data is then sent remotely to a server where algorithms identify the species according to their distinctive acoustic signature....

Background The need to improve gender equity (GE) in academic medicine is well documented. Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), partnerships between leading National Health Service (NHS) organisations and universities in England, conduct world-class translational research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2011, eligibil...

The objective was to identify translational researchers' training and development needs, preferences, and barriers to attending training. This cross-sectional study involved an online questionnaire survey. The research population comprised a convenience sample of translational researchers and support staff (N = 798) affiliated with the National Ins...

Background The evaluation of translational health research is important for various reasons such as the research impact assessment, research funding allocation, accountability, and strategic research policy formulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the research productivity, strength and diversity of research collaboration networks and...

Objective: To assess the training and development needs of researchers and support staff affiliated to the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), one of the largest BRCs in England, and to find out about their past experiences of training. Design: A cross-sectional online questionnaire survey. Setting and Participants: A convenience sample o...

Background The need to improve gender equity (GE) in academic medicine is well documented. Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), partnerships between leading National Health Service (NHS) organisations and universities in England, conduct world-class translational research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2011, eligibil...

Objectives: To observe the effects of vaginal discharge during pregnancy on maternal and fetal outcomes. Methods: This observational study was undertaken form June 2018 to 31 May 2019 period in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences hospital Jamshoro Unit IV. Data were collected from a c...

Background Loneliness is a serious public health issue, and its burden is increasing in many countries. Loneliness affects social, physical, and mental health, and it is associated with multimorbidity and premature mortality. In addition to social interventions, a range of digital technology interventions (DTIs) are being used to tackle loneliness....

Objective Scientific authorship is a vital marker of achievement in academic careers and gender equity is a key performance metric in research. However, there is little understanding of gender equity in publications in biomedical research centres funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This study assesses the gender parity in s...

The focus of this perspective is on lockdown loneliness, which we define as loneliness resulting from social disconnection as a result of enforced social distancing and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explore the role of digital technology in tackling lockdown loneliness amid the pandemic. In this regard, we highlight and discuss a...

Background The underrepresentation of women in academic medicine at senior level and in leadership positions is well documented. Biomedical Research Centres (BRC), partnerships between leading National Health Service (NHS) organisations and universities, conduct world class translational research funded by the National Institute for Health Research...

BACKGROUND Loneliness is a serious public health issue, and its burden is increasing in many countries. Loneliness affects social, physical, and mental health, and it is associated with multimorbidity and premature mortality. In addition to social interventions, a range of digital technology interventions (DTIs) are being used to tackle loneliness....

Objective: To review the latest literature on the effectiveness of DTIs in reducing loneliness in (older) adults. Data Sources: Electronic searches in PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE and Web of Science covering publication period from 1 January 2010 to 31 July 2019. Subjects: Adult men and women Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis Main Outc...

UNSTRUCTURED The focus of this perspective is on lockdown loneliness, which we define as loneliness resulting from social disconnection as a result of enforced social distancing and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explore the role of digital technology in tackling lockdown loneliness amid the pandemic. In this regard, we highlight a...

Objective: Scientific authorship is a vital marker of success in academic careers and gender equity is a key performance metric in research. However, there is little understanding of gender equity in publications in biomedical research centres funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This study assesses the gender parity in scie...

Background: The underrepresentation of women in academic medicine at senior level and in leadership positions is well documented. In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) announced that eligibility for funding for Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) required at least Silver award status of the Athena SWAN Charter. How...

Background Loneliness is an emerging public health issue and its burden is increasing in developed countries. Loneliness is associated with social, emotional, physical and mental health issues. Tackling loneliness is important to reduce its adverse impacts on individuals with loneliness and their families. Various digital technology-based intervent...

Aim To study the living conditions, diet and lifestyle of undocumented migrants of Asian and African origin living in Athens, Greece. Methods An exploratory study involving a snowball sample of 200 participants who completed a questionnaire survey administered by hand at a non-governmental day-care facility for homeless immigrants in Central Athen...

Introduction: Loneliness is an emerging public health problem that is associated with social, emotional, mental and physical health issues. The application of digital technology (DT) interventions to reduce loneliness has significantly increased in the recent years. The effectiveness of DT interventions needs to be assessed systematically. Methods...

Introduction Loneliness is an emerging public health problem that is associated with social, emotional, mental and physical health issues. The application of digital technology (DT) interventions to reduce loneliness has significantly increased in the recent years. The effectiveness of DT interventions needs to be assessed systematically. Methods...

Introduction Loneliness is an emerging public health problem, which is associated with social, emotional, mental and physical health issues. The application of digital technology (DT) interventions to reduce loneliness has increased in recent years. The effectiveness of DT interventions needs to be assessed systematically. Methods and analysis Aim:...

This position paper presents the role of laboratory test results in traditional general practice and provides a recommendation for responsible sharing of results with patients for improved safety, efficiency and outcomes. This paper looks at the relationship between the laboratory, the general practitioner consultation, the patient, safety and gene...

Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) technology is evolving leading to improvements in the PACS functionality. However, the needs and expectations of PACS users are increasing to cope with the rising demands for improving the workflow and enhancing efficiency in healthcare. The aim was to study the limitations in the current generation...

Background: Patients with higher health literacy enjoy better health outcomes and are more compliant with treatment. Health literacy is a product of memory, reason and imagination. Patients who can access their records have potentially more memory (knowledge) and make less phone calls to and have less consultations with their GP, practice nurse, HC...

Globally the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in the healthcare sector has brought about significant improvement in the delivery of healthcare services, yet such transformation is still under way or in its infancy in many developing countries. Pakistan is a lower middle-income country (LMIC) where the health status o...

Patients could play an active role along with their healthcare providers in collaborative healthcare. Let me say that contrary to the practice of access to patients’ medical records in many developed countries such as the UK, patients in many developing countries, such as Pakistan where I have worked as a medical practitioner, are in fact the sole...

This paper describes the results of families accessing and correcting their health records in paper and in on line formats. It presents a case for a global patient centred ethical governance of health data processing.

This paper presents the case for a global patient centred ethical governance of health data processing and suggests standards of data processing that a United Nation body might in the future have some responsibility for overseeing, balancing the roles industry, the State and the individual in the processing of personal health data.

While simulation methods have proved to be very effective in identifying efficiency gains, low stakeholder engagement creates a significant limitation on the achievement of simulation modeling projects in practice. This study reports causal factors—at two hierarchical levels (i.e., primary and secondary)—that could significantly affect low stakehol...

ckground Initiatives in the UK to enable patients to access their electronic health records (EHRs) are gathering momentum. All citizens of the European Union should have access to their records by 2015, a target that the UK has endorsed. Objectives To identify the ways in which patients used their access to their EHRs, what they sought to achieve,...

Objectives: To review empirical research on adverse health and pregnancy outcomes associated with physiotherapists' occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMFs) from shortwave (SWD) and microwave (MWD) diathermy devices. Methods: A systematic review of peer reviewed literature published from 1990 to 2010 in the Englis...

We reviewed studies reporting the strength of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) in physiotherapists' occupational environment. Studies from academic journals published from January 1990 to June 2010 were identified in nine online bibliographic databases. EMF strength was compared with occupational exposure limits (OELs) recommended b...

To identify factors that determine patients' intentions to use point-of-care medical devices, ie, portable coagulometer devices for self-testing of the international normalized ratio (INR) required for ongoing monitoring of blood-coagulation intensity among patients on long-term oral anticoagulation therapy with vitamin K antagonists, eg, warfarin....

OBJECTIVES: To characterise patients’ experiences with outpatient anticoagulation clinic services for testing blood coagulation intensity through the measuring of the international normalised ratio (INR) and to identify the latent dimensions and determinants of their experiences. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of a convenience sam...

Background: The use of electrophysical agents has a historically important role in physiotherapy practice. There are anecdotal reports that the availability and usage of electrotherapy modalities are declining, which may have implications for physiotherapy practice. The aim of the literature review was to provide scientific evidence on electrothera...

SOCIAL media has brought a revolution, not only in social interaction, communication and change, as well as a political change in some countries, but also in the way the customers and consumers express their opinions and experiences about the products, including the medical devices, that they use. The user community of social media is growing day...

Patients on oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) require regular testing of the prothrombin time (PT) and the international normalised ratio (INR) to monitor their blood coagulation level to avoid complications of either over or under coagulation. PT/INR can be tested by a healthcare professional or by the patient. The latter mode of the testing is kno...

Aims: To study practices and procedures with respect to electrotherapy in physiotherapy departments and to study physiotherapists’ perception of health risk, health consequences and protection of health from different risks including electromagnetic field emissions from electrotherapy devices. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in th...

Ways and means to involve professional users and end-users in medical device the development and evaluation process

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationships and predictive power of supervisor and peer relations along with demographic factors towards employee readiness for organisational change in a developing country. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a quantitative approach, this cross sectional study applies a self‐administered survey questionn...

Governments in several countries such as Pakistan are adopting the latest information and communication technologies to increase the efficiency of organizations and services. One of the major reasons for this is to transfer and store a large amount of very important government records as eDatabases (G-eDbases) such as the database managed by the Na...

The representation of end users' perspectives in healthcare decisions requires involvement of their surrogates when the end users, i.e. certain patients, elderly people, children and people with disabilities, are unable to present their views. To review critical issues, and the advantages and disadvantages of involving surrogates in representing en...

The aim of this study was to suggest an acceptable and generic theoretical framework for involving various types of users in the medical device technology (MDT) development process (MDTDP). The authors propose a theoretical framework suggesting different routes, methods and stages through which various types of medical device users can be involved...

Manchar Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan. The Lake has received less fresh water in past few years. In addition, drainage water is being discharged in the Lake through Main Nara Valley Drain (MNVD) since many years. Consequently, concern has grown regarding the water quality of the Lake. The aim of this study was to assess th...

The aim of this study was to assess trace metal contamination of drinking water in the Pearl Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan). The objectives were to determine physical properties and the dissolved concentration of five trace metals, i. e., lead, copper, nickel, zinc, and manganese, in drinking water samples collected from various sites of...

A myriad of medical devices deployed by many users play an essential role in healthcare, and they, and their users, need to be defined, classified and coded effectively. This study provides definitions of terms frequently employed to describe the users of medical device technologies (MDT) as well as a classification of such users. Devices are widel...

The objectives of this study were to examine the pattern and magnitude of deaths in road traffic crashes (RTCs) in Sindh province of Pakistan. This cross-sectional study used data obtained from government documents and content analysis of daily newspapers' reports on incidents of deaths in RTCs. Results showed that the total annual number of RTCs,...

The safe use of therapeutic diathermy requires practices and procedures that ensure compliance to professional guidelines and clinical evidence. Inappropriate use may expose physiotherapists and other people in the vicinity of operating diathermy devices to stray radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, which can be a source of risk and may lead to a...

Electrophysical agents such as radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (shortwave and microwave), ultrasound, laser and electrical stimulation are used for therapeutic purpose in physiotherapy departments. They are primarily used for treating a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries. This study investigated the availability and use of therapeutic dia...

Recent developments in the field of Information Technology (IT), such as integration technologies have promised to bring improvements in the quality of services; however, costs of these technologies are relatively high. Consequently, investment justification for these technologies is one of the many challenges that are faced by managers in healthca...

This study investigated the benefits of and barriers to user involvement in medical device technology development and evaluation. A structured review of published literature in peer-reviewed journals was conducted. This literature review revealed that the main benefits of user involvement were an increased access to user needs, experiences, and ide...

The development and evaluation of medical devices from users’ perspectives requires the involvement of actual end users of The development and evaluation of medical devices from users’ perspectives requires the involvement of actual end users of medical devices. This kind of involvement of end users may not be always possible. A solution to this ma...

Medical device users are one of the principal medical device technology stakeholders. The involvement of users in medical device technology development and assessment is central to meet their needs. This study aims to examine this issue. A structured review of the literature published from 1980 to 2005 in peer-reviewed journals was carried out from...