Health Related Quality of Life amongst Sewerage and Sanitary Workers of Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: To find out the impact of occupational and socio-demographic factors on the health related quality of life of sewerage and sanitary workers in Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2019. Four hundred workers were chosen from five districts of Karachi using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. An Urdu version of WHO BRIEF quality of life questionnaire was used to collect the data about workers general health status and quality of life. Descriptive analysis was done and Chi-square test was used for the association of socio-demographic factors and quality of life. Multiple regression model was used to predict QOL of all domains. P-value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Out of 400 sanitary workers, 228 (57.0%) were sweepers and the rest 172 (43.0) were sewerage workers. The majority of the workers 321 (80.3%) were male and 246 (61.5%) were illiterate. The vast majority of the workers 386 (96.5%) were not immunized against typhoid, / hepatitis and tetanus. Ninety-one percent (91%) were not using any kind of safety gadgets while at work. Male workers, married workers of both sexes and those with some education had a little better quality of life than their counterparts. Sanitary employees likewise had a higher quality of life score than sewage workers (P-value<0.05). Conclusion: The majority of workers, particularly sewage workers, have a very poor quality of life. Along with very bad working circumstances, their standard of living is significantly below par. They were not given any safety equipment. They were handling untreated sewage/waste with their bare hands, and they have never received a typhoid/hepatitis /tetanus vaccine.

Child physical abuse: awareness and practices of medical and dental doctors in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the awareness and practices of doctors and dentists in detecting and reporting suspected cases of child physical abuse. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2017 to June 2018 at the Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, and comprised doctors and dentists practising in public and private hospitals across Pakistan. Data was collected using a predesigned questionnaire to assess knowledge of the social indicators of child physical abuse, response to child physical abuse, and actions taken by the professionals when they believed a child abuse case had been detected. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: Of the 575 healthcare professionals, 371(64.5%) were doctors and 204(35.5%) were dentists; 347(60.3%) were males; 446(77.6%) were working in private hospitals; 384(66.8%) had <10 years of experience; and 99(17.2%) had received formal training of child abuse. While 450(78.3%) subjects strongly agreed on the value of identifying and documenting child physical abuse, 336(58%) did not take any action in suspected cases. CONCLUSIONS: Although doctors and dentists had a positive attitude regarding child physical abuse, the majority preferred to remain silent in suspected cases.

Prevalence of obesity and its risk factors among school children in Karachi, Pakistan.

A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted during 2012 in private and public-sector schools of Karachi to determine the prevalence and factors influencing overweight and obesity among school children (aged 11-15 years). Sociodemographic characteristics and dietary habits were explored. The CDC Growth Chart was used to record height and weight. Of a total of 887 children, being overweight and frankly obese was found in 169 (19.1%) and 96 (10.8%), respectively. Of these, 176 (66.4%) were from private schools, and significant associations were found in 202 (76.2%) who were spending > 2 h/day watching television and 139 (52.5%) sleeping > 8 h/day.

Frequency and determinants of malnutrition in children aged between 6 to 59 months in district Tharparkar, a rural area of Sindh.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the nutritional status of children living in Tharparkar. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in four villages of Tharparkar district of Sindh, Pakistan, in 2014, and comprised children aged between 6 and 59 months. Data was collected from mothers and anthropometry of children was done using standard techniques. Nutritional status was assessed by using age- and sex-specific World Health Organisation standard charts for underweight, stunting and wasting. Data was analysed using SPSS 16. RESULTS: Of the 304 children assessed, 117(38.5%) were stunted, 58(19.1 %) were wasted and 101(33.2 %) were underweight with no gender discrimination. Under-nutrition was particularly observed in the second year of life. Statistically significant factors associated with stunting were illiteracy of mother, family size of >5 members, pregnancy>4 times, child mortality in last 6 months, absence of breastfeeding and no history of child vaccination(p<0.05 each). Logistic regression revealed family size of <5 members, pregnancy ?4 times, breastfeeding and vaccination were protective factors for stunting (p<0.05 each). Mortality of a child in the last 6 months in the family was 3 times more likely to have a stunted child. CONCLUSIONS: Stunting was the most common type of under-nutrition with no sex discrimination.