Association of socio-demographic characteristics with pattern of health seeking behavior among hepatitis C patients in Pakistan

Objectives: To identify association between socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of health seeking behavior among hepatitis C patients in Karachi, Pakistan

Study design, settings and duration: A descriptive, cross-sectional study done at Aga Khan University Hospital and the Civil Hospital Karachi between March and May 2013

Patients and Methods: Hepatitis C patients who were coming for treatment at the above 2 sites underwent a filling of questionnaire by the researcher. The questionnaire collected basic demographic information and their health seeking behavior i.e. visit to traditional healer or spiritual healer or medical doctor. Sample size of 250 patients was calculated. Analysis was done by using Chi square test and Fisher's exact test. p-value of 0.05 was considered as statistically significant

Results: A total of 250 hepatitis patients were interviewed. The study showed that patient's occupation and educational level had significant association with their first visit either to a spiritual healer or traditional healer. More educated group consulted the medical doctor while those with none or low education initially went to see spiritual healers [p < 0.008] and second visit was made to traditional healers [p < 0.002]. Patients with larger number of children went less often to visit a medical doctor on their second visit [p = 0.007], and family members belonging to the medical field were more likely to make their first visit to doctors [p < 0.05]

Conclusion: Socio-demographic characteristics greatly influence the pattern of health seeking behavior among hepatitis C patients

Awareness about hepatitis C among patients suffering from hepatitis C in Karachi, Pakistan

Objectives: To assess the level of awareness about hepatitis C among patients suffering from hepatitis C in Karachi. Pakistan. Study design, settings and duration: A descriptive, cross-sectional study, conducted among hepatitis C patients recruited from the Aga Khan University Hospital and the Civil Hospital, Karachi, between March and May 2013

Patients and Methods: A sample size of 247 was calculated using the Open Epi software. Data were collected using a questionnaire and all eligible patients were briefed about the study purpose, risks, benefits, and their rights as participants. All patients who agreed to participate gave written informed consent. The completed questionnaire took a maximum of 2530 minutes. For the data analysis, frequencies and percentages were computed to find out the estimated proportions of different variables

Results: A total of 250 HCV patients participated in the study. Most of the patients had incorrect knowledge about transmission of disease where 76.8% said that it is transmitted through sharing of towel/clothes, coughing [75.2%] or eating in same utensils [53.6%]. Tattooing [66.4%], kissing [66%], sexual intercourse [54.4%], ear and nose piercing [53.6%] were also identified as transmission sources. Almost 91% patients had misconceptions that preventive vaccine for hepatitis C infection is available. Almost 61% patients thought that exposure to needles/syringes was the cause of their hepatitis C while 22% said it was medical instruments. Food and water as the cause of their hepatitis was reported by 19.1%

Conclusion: Patients suffering from hepatitis C have misconceptions about disease transmission, its risk factors, and the availability of preventive vaccine for hepatitis C. There is a dire need to improve public awareness about common diseases and their prevention

Content validity of a tool measuring medication errors

The objective of this study was to determine content and face validity of a tool measuring medication errors among nursing students in baccalaureate nursing education. Data was collected from the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery [AKUSoNaM], Karachi, from March to August 2014. The tool was developed utilizing literature and the expertise of the team members, expert in different areas. The developed tool was then sent to five experts from all over Karachi for ensuring the content validity of the tool, which was measured on relevance and clarity of the questions. The Scale Content Validity Index [S-CVI] for clarity and relevance of the questions was found to be 0.94 and 0.98, respectively. The tool measuring medication errors has an excellent content validity. This tool should be used for future studies on medication errors, with different study populations such as medical students, doctors, and nurses

Validity and reliability testing: Urdu translated modified response to symptoms questionnaire

To determine validity and reliability of the Urdu translated, modified "Response to symptoms questionnaire" [RSQ] among acute coronary syndrome [ACS] patients in Karachi. A qualitative, tool validation study. Two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi and the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases, from December 2010 to April 2011. After making certain modifications, the original tool in English was translated into Urdu. Next, five cardiology experts evaluated the tool for its content and face validity. Test retest and inter rater reliabilities were computed for the RSQ using 5% of the total sample size of the parent study. Sufficient conceptual and semantic equivalence was found between the Urdu and English versions of the modified RSQ. Content validity index was calculated to be 1 for both relevance and linguistic clarity. Test retest and inter rater reliabilities were calculated to be 95.9% and K = 0.97, respectively. The Urdu translated modified RSQ has sufficiently acceptable content validity, test retest and inter rater reliability; hence, it should be used by the researchers for the evaluation of factors associated with pre-hospital delay among Urdu speaking ACS patient populations

Psychosocial experiences of women with vesicovaginal fistula: a qualitative approach

Vesicovaginal fistula [VVF] is a condition associated with a number of physical and psychological consequences. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the issues faced by women diagnosed with VVF, a qualitative exploratory study was carried out to explore the experiences of women suffering from VVF. The study included 8 women hospitalized with the diagnosis of vesicovaginal fistula at Kohi Goth Women's Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Semi structured interviews of each participant were conducted, recorded, and transcribed. Five major themes were identified, among which all of the participants experienced physical discomforts, psychological disturbances, issues with social and interpersonal relationships and financial constraints. However, concerns with religious practices were experienced by 87.5% of the participants. Pakistani women who are suffering through VVF face many challenges. Combined efforts should be made to offer supportive services to women suffering from this condition.