Awareness and knowledge regarding rotavirus disease and vaccine among healthcare providers in tertiary care settings.

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2018 to September 2018 to assess the level of awareness among healthcare workers regarding rotavirus infection and its vaccination in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The study site was conducted at tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. Closed and open ended questionnaires were distributed via non-probability convenient sampling. The sample size was 257. Among the study participants, 247 (96.1%) of the participants had good level of awareness regarding rotavirus, whereas 212 (82.5%) had awareness regarding the vaccine. The mean awareness score was 16.16 ± 4.097 out of a maximum score of 22. Both male and female participants had almost equal awareness regarding the rotavirus infection (Males = 96, 93.2%, Females = 151, 98%) and vaccination (Males = 87, 84%, Females = 125, 81.1%). The mean awareness was directly related with the level of education of the participants, i.e. MBBS/FCPS/MCPS = 221(85.9%), MBBS = 209(81.5%), B.Sc. Nursing = 206(80%), and Basic Education = 220(85.7%) knew about the vaccine.

Association between migraine and Body Mass Index in patients reporting at a military hospital, Rawalpindi.

The objective of this study was to determine the association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and migraine. This prospective study took place from 5th February, 2017 to 5th August, 2017 at a Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. Migraine in subjects was diagnosed according to the ICHD-III criteria by clinicians after taking an informed, written consent from 78 patients and the data was analysed using SPSS 22. Of the 78 patients, 35(44.9%) were males and 43(55.1%) were females. Out of the 78 subjects, 9(11.5%) were underweight, 33(41.0%) were of normal weight, 9(14.10%) were overweight, 19(24.4%) were obese and 7(9.0%) were morbidly obese. The p-value calculated was 0.892 which indicates no significant evidence of any association between BMI and migraine in the survey population reporting at the Rawalpindi Military Hospital. A follow-up study at a national level with much larger sample size will be able to better predict the changing results in our country, because as of now the association between BMI and migraine is debatable.

Speciality preference with respect to gender among medical students of Pakistan.

This research was conducted to determine the impact of gender and other factors in choosing a medical speciality. This cross-sectional study was conducted from 5th February 2017 to 5th July 2017 at different Medical Colleges and Teaching Hospitals. Students from fourth, final year and House Officers were enrolled using a self made questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 22. Of the 314 participants, 171(54.5%) were males and 143(45.5%) were females. Majority chose Surgery 90(28.7%), and Internal Medicine 58(18.5%). Only 1(0.3%) participant chose Public Health as a career speciality. The main reason for choice for both genders was "Interest in Content" and "Good Salary". Research shows a shift in trend of women towards Surgery and Internal Medicine rather than Gynaecology and Paediatrics, which indicates more competition in Surgery in near future. Main influencing factors for choice were personal interest and good salary. Students should be counselled regarding career in Public Health and Psychiatry.