Parenting practices, stressors and parental concerns during COVID-19 in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a global crisis that has added fear, uncertainty, and stress to parents. Parents are going through several challenges related to school closure, financial insecurity and working remotely. These stressors are affecting the mental health of parents. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to observe major stressors along with the impact of COVID-19 on parental concerns and practices during lockdown. PARTICIPANTS: Sample (N = 923) was selected through purposive sampling from parents attending Out Patients Departments of hospitals in three provincial capital cities of Pakistan having a high burden of COVID-19, i.e. Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Parents having at least one child younger than 18 years were included in the study. METHODS: A quantitative design was used using a COVID-19 Parenting Response Scale (α = 0.74). It was used as a self-administered tool for parents who knew how to read and write Urdu/English language, however it was conducted as a structured interview for those who could not read/write. Data was analyzed by applying descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, percentage), independent sample t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. RESULTS: Findings of the current study showed several stressful factors for parents during COVID-19 pandemic, mainly financial burden, children's education, uncertainty of the situation, and many others. The study also suggests an association of parental concerns during COVID-19 with parenting practices. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 pandemic presents a global crisis not only of the health of the people but also on family relations and mental well-being. Findings of this research indicate the need for targeted and accessible interventions for mental health of parents especially during these challenging circumstances so that they can cope with the challenges in an effective way and be able to take care of their children better.

PERCEPTION AND THE ASSOCIATED APPREHENSION STEMMING FROM NOVEL COVID-19 AMONG PAKISTANI STUDENTS

ABSTRACT Objective: To highlight Pakistani Students anxieties and their attitude towards the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and to bring forth this data for better policy revisions in the country. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted using snowball sampling technique. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from 14th May to 16th May 2020. Methodology: A structured self-administered questionnaire was prepared, based on other surveys conducted in the past. Questionnaire was made available online and shared across social media sites with students. Results: We found that around 44% of students felt anxious daily due to COVID-19 while 60% of them were not content with the current measures to stop the spread of the virus. 87% of the students feared for the health of thei r family members while 80% felt anxious for their academic future due to the unprecedent circumstances created by the disease. 53% had decided not to go to hospitals in case of any illness other than covid-19. Approximately 55% believed that the situation was worse than actually being portrayed. Females generally were found to be more anxious than males regarding their health and health of their family members. Conclusion: There is a dire need of establishing mental health services in educational institutions. Despite the students' generally correct approach towards curbing the spread of COVID-19, they are still much apprehensive regarding the situation surrounding the pandemic due to the disturbance of their academic and everyday life.

Water matrices as potential source of SARS-CoV-2 transmission – An overview from environmental perspective

Evidently, the emergence of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly blowout across the world. Since, the presence of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 in the fecal specimens and anal swabs of some infected patients, has raised emerging concern with the likelihood of fecal-based spread must be inspected and clarified. Therefore, herein, an effort has been made to spotlight the current scenarios and possible solutions to better understand the risks associated with the wastewater matrices as a potential source of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the environment. The information reviewed here constitutes a paramount intellectual basis to sustenance ongoing research to tackle the SARS-CoV-2 issue. Thus, this overview indicates the most accessible frontiers related to the detection, quantification, and possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment through water routes. The regulatory authorities and policymakers must assure the society via dissemination of evidence-based guidelines that the water matrices, including groundwater and drinking water resources are safe. Finally, we have identified and enlisted a number of pressing questions concerning the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 transmission or COVID-19 emergence issue that must be carefully answered to put further and deeper insight into SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 in future studies.