ABSTRACT
Hospitals need to maintain a high level of preparedness of staff and systems to mitigate the consequences of health emergencies and disasters. Therefore, the knowledge, attitude and practices of the hospital staff are of key importance in strengthening the emergency preparedness of the health system.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers regarding emergency preparedness and factors related to them, at the tertiary care hospitals of Punjab PakistanMethods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted at six tertiary care hospitals in Punjab from February 2022 to August 2022, approved by advanced studies and the research board of the University ofPunjab. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 450 staffmembers ofthese hospitals to identify gaps in the knowledge, reported attitudes and practices of healthcare workers and their willingness to report for duty, selectedby multistage sampling. Data were analysedby statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Version 22.Results: The results found that 49.8% of the participants were aware of disasters that occurred, 50% knew the hospital emergency plan, and 70% agreed that hospitals need written plans yet 72.4% were not aware of the major components of the plan.Regarding attitude of the staff, 73.8% of accepted that it is their duty to take care of patients, 33.6% thought that hospital preparedness is adequate and only 36.7% agreed that the hospital had adequate staff in catering for the increased patient influx. Regarding hospital preparedness practices, only 29.3% stated that hospital conducts exercises and drills and 30.4% reported that the hospital conducts other training sessions and workshops for staff.Conclusion: The majority of the staff at the studied hospitals had a positive attitudes and willingness to report for duties in case of health emergencies. But there were lacks in the knowledge and practices at these hospitals which needs to be addressed by making a written hospital emergency plan, conducting simulation drills and mock exercises and arranging training.
ABSTRACT
Background: The study focuses on the challenges faced by government officials in implementing public health interventions to control the spread of COVID-19 in the Lahore District, Pakistan. Material(s) and Method(s): This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to collect data from 45 government officials involved in implementing COVID-19 control measures in Lahore District. Result(s): The study identified several themes related to the challenges faced by government officials, including contact tracing and coordination, disease management and vaccination, public perception and engagement, international travellers management, and implementation strategies. Strategies implemented to address the challenges posed by the pandemic included the utilization of technology, provision of training to staff, coordination with other organizations, identification of high transmission areas, and targeting specific communities or populations at higher risk of infection. Conclusion(s): The effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a coordinated and multi-faceted response that incorporates various strategies and practices aimed at controlling the spread of the disease and mitigating its impact on communities. The authors recommend prioritizing clear and consistent communication, community engagement, and capacity building in pandemic management strategies.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background The public health importance of digital health literacy has significantly increased during COVID-19 pandemic all over the world. Health literacy enables individuals in informed and timely decision making. Anxiety particularly during difficult situations may hinders the decision making ability of individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the digital health literacy seeking and its association with anxiety level among university students during the wake of COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. Methods This study was conducted as a member of COVID digital Health literacy network between 49 countries through an online-based cross-sectional survey. Data were collected with 1747 students from randomly selected four public sector universities in Punjab province of Pakistan. Digital health literacy instrument was used to assess students' skills in digital health information seeking regarding COVID-19. Sense of coherence (SOC) was evaluated through 9-item scale and anxiety was assessed using 9-items Dark Future Scale. Simple bivariate and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association of key characteristics with DHL and anxiety level among students. Results The study found that about 54% of the students had high DHL and 51.9% had low or no anxiety. The results of multivariate analysis show that gender (p value=0.005), sense of coherence (p value<0.001) and importance of information (p value<0.001) were significantly associated with DHL. Additionally, Age (p < 0.001), subject group of study (p = 0.03), university of study (p < 0.000) and financial satisfaction (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with anxiety among students. However, there was no significant relationship of DHL, SOC, and wellbeing with anxiety. Conclusions Concerted and focused interventions are needed to address anxiety related issues among university students. Key messages Future research should focus on health literacy environment and its relationship with the broader social, economic, and psychosocial contexts of anxiety among students. Concerted and focused interventions are needed to address anxiety related issues among university students.
ABSTRACT
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health literacy (DHL) has become a significant public health concern. This research aims to assess information seeking behavior, as well as the ability to find relevant information and deal with DHL among university students in Pakistan. An online-based cross-sectional survey, using a web-based interviewing technique, was conducted to collect data on DHL. Simple bivariate and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association of key characteristics with DHL. The results show a high DHL related to COVID-19 in 54.3% of students. Most of the Pakistani students demonstrated ~50% DHL in all dimensions, except for reliability. Multivariate findings showed that gender, sense of coherence and importance of information were found to be significantly associated with DHL. However, a negative association was observed with students' satisfaction with information. This led to the conclusion that critical operational and navigations skills are essential to achieve COVID-19 DHL and cope with stress, particularly to promote both personal and community health. Focused interventions and strategies should be designed to enhance DHL amongst university students to combat the pandemic.