Causes of homelessness among children

One of the most prominent definitions of homelessness is that of the Stewart B. Mckinney Homeless Assistance, Act of 1987, which was the first major federal response to the homelessness in the US which defines homeless as; an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate night - time residence. Identify the causes of homelessness among children and list the specific health problems of homeless children. This is a descriptive cross sectional study, performed at the Noriabad Edhi Center, Karachi in which 100 children were randomly selected. Data was collected through a structured pretested questionnaire. It included the questions regarding different reasons of leaving home and the health conditions of the homeless children. Informed consent was taken from all children and it was made sure that children did not face any inconvenience in their follow up visits for the purpose of this study. A total of forty six percent of children residing at Noriabad Edhi Center were in the age group between 14 -18 years. Most of the children [54%] belonged to the province of Sindh. Most of children [35%] left home because of violence by the parents followed by financial problem in 31% of cases. Thirty five percent of the children were left in the Edhi Center by their own parents. A large proportion [65%] of children was habitual to addiction and among them 23 had domestic violence while 20 had financial problem at home. It was disclosed that among the 65% of children who were addicted, 20% were addicted to ghutka and similar percentage of children were addicted to chalia; while 15% were involved in cigarette smoking and 10% in glue sniffing. Most of the children i.e. 43% got the drugs through their friends. Most of the children left home due to domestic violence and financial problem. A sizable proportion of children residing at Edhi Center were indulged in substance abuse. The fact that children had access to a large variety of intoxicating substance namely ghutka, glue sniffing and cigarette smoking

Determinants of acute otitis media in infants

To describe the relationship of acute otitis media with mode of feeding [bottle-or breast-fed] and with different positions of infant during feeding. Study dcsign:Case control study. Babies aged up to 24 months [62 cases, 66 controls] were selected from the OPD of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi. The variables considered were the gender of the infant, mother's educational level and occupation, mode of feeding and the different positions during feeding. SPSS version 11.5 was used for descriptive and inferential analysis. There was a significant association of otitis media with lying position of baby during feeding [OR 37.7, 95% CII 3,34106.43, p< 0.001]. bottle feeding [OR 3.0. 95%CI I .43-6.25, p=0.003], working mother [OR 3.8, 95% Cl 1.3810.34. p=0.007] and education of mother [OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.01.4.24, p=0.044]. Babies with acute otitis media were more likely to be bottle fed and having a lying posture during the feeding than babies without having acute otitis media

Evaluation of undergraduate curriculum and future career choices of medical students at Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi

This study designed to assess the curriculum of medical teaching and to explore the future career choices of the medical under-graduates. It is a descriptive and cross-sectional survey, carried out at the department of community medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was distributed to 292 fourth year medical students. Data was analysed by calculating the proportions of the students' responses. Sixty eight percent medical students were females. A substantial proportion i.e 32.6% of students had not decided their future choices. Among 153 students 'who decided their career choices, most of them [28.5%] intended to choose medicine, 24.7% to surgery, 11.7% to pediatrics and 7.9% to obstetrics and gynecology as their future career profession. Only two students showed interest in basic sciences and five in medical education. Medical students favoured small group discussions and problem-based learning as the teaching strategy. Most of the medical students were not satisfied with the teaching program. A substantial proportion of medical students could not decide their future path

Reflections of 4th year MBBS students regarding community medicine and their future career choice

The need for this research initiated with the fact that in our country there is obvious paucity of experts in the field of public health at present. Moreover the specialists are not available according to the need by the community rather there is a trend of acquiring the parents field or the one which fascinate the students most. It is imperative to assess undergraduate curriculum during preclinical and clinical years because of its role in setting the mind set of students for their choices of career. To assess the curriculum of community medicine and to explore the intended career choices by 4th year MBBS students of Karachi Medical and Dental college. A baseline survey carried out in Karachi Medical and Dental College and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, City District Government Karachi. Questionnaires were distributed to 50 students of 4th year MBBS [batch of 2007] at the end of their summative exam and the results were analyzed using descriptive procedures. Response rate was 88%. Seven percent of the students have parents as doctor and 69% of the students are adequately informed about structure of training program in community medicine and considered it as one of the strengths of subject. Only 54.5% are informed of the correct method of evaluation. Twenty one percent believed that it is a better program than other disciplines while 55% believed that it is equally comparable with any other subject offered during the current year. Fifty one percent were undecided towards their career plan. Based on these interim findings of few students it was found that the 4th year MBBS students were well versed with the demand of the course of community medicine and according to them it was a structured program offered to them. But they were not motivated or inclined towards public health service. Most of them were undecided for their career choice and insisted upon the introduction of career counseling as a guide for them