ABSTRACT
Pakistan is eighth among countries with high burden of tuberculosis [TB]. In Pakistan free-of-charge TB diagnosis and treatment services are available. The objective of qualitative exploratory study was to understand how TB patients and their families cope with the lost earnings and increased expenditures [other than diagnosis and treatment cost] related with disease and its treatment. The research methods included literature review, focus group discussion using vignettes and in-depth interviews with TB patients. The study was done in the rural areas of Lahore District with the support of district and local health facility staff. The study revealed that, Results like in many other developing countries, TB patients rely mainly on financial and physical support of family members and friends. Conclusion The study also highlighted the need for developing institutional mechanisms to help patients cope with economic consequences of tuberculosis
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to examine the effect of education on fertility levels in Pakistan using data for 4125 females aged 15-49 years from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey [PSLM] 2007-08 both at the aggregate and disaggregate level. The methodology of this study uses Poisson regression, the estimated results of which verify that education [measured by the highest class passed] has a negative and statistically significant impact on fertility levels, but this relation does not hold true for all levels of education. While higher secondary and higher education are significant across all specifications in the aggregate analysis, the impact of matriculation on fertility levels is mixed. Although, similar results are obtained from the disaggregate analysis, an interesting conclusion is that no level of education comes out to be statistically significant in affecting fertility levels in the provinces of Balochistan and NWFP