Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the general population of Pakistan regarding typhoid conjugate vaccine: findings of a cross-sectional study.

Typhoid fever, a common enteric disease in Pakistan, caused by Salmonella typhi, is becoming an extended drug-resistant organism and is preventable through the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV). Public adherence to preventive measures is influenced by knowledge and attitude toward the vaccine. This study investigates the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the general population of Pakistan toward TCV. The differences in mean scores and factors associated with typhoid conjugate vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and practices were investigated. A total of 918 responses were received with a mean age of 25.9 ± 9.6, 51% were women, and 59.6% had graduation-level education. The majority of them responded that vaccines prevent illness (85.3%) and decrease mortality and disability (92.6%), and typhoid could be prevented by vaccination (86.7%). In total, 77.7 and 80.8% considered TCV safe and effective, respectively. Of 389 participants with children, 53.47% had vaccinated children, according to the extended program on immunization (EPI). Higher family income has a higher odds ratio (OR) for willingness toward booster dose of TCV [crude odds ratio (COR) = 4.920, p-value <0.01; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.853, value of p <0.001], and negative attitude regarding the protective effect of TCV has less willingness toward the booster dose with statistical significance (COR = 0.388, value of p = 0.017; aOR = 0.198, value of p = 0.011). The general population of Pakistan had a good level of knowledge about the benefits of TCV, and attitude and practices are in favor of the usage of TCV. However, a few religious misconceptions are prevalent in public requiring the efforts to overcome them to promote the usage of vaccines to prevent the disease and antibiotic resistance.

Physiological, Psychosocial and Substance Abuse Effects of Pornography Addiction: A Narrative Review.

Internet pornography provides explicit content in various forms and can progress from habit to addiction. The consumption of online porn has risen due to the general use of current technology. The main reasons people consume it are sexual arousal and sexual enhancement. We planned this review study to identify the reasons for online pornography utilization, the mechanisms involved in its addiction, and its physiological, emotional, behavioral, social, and substance abuse effects. After a detailed literature search using PubMed Central and Google Scholar, four case studies and nine original articles from 2000 to 2022 were included. The main findings of the literature demonstrated that watching porn was most frequently done out of boredom, for sexual gratification, and to pick up new fashion and behavior ideas from these movies. In all facets of the users' lives, negative consequences were seen. Due to the explosion of new technologies, online pornography has risen to an alarming level, which has very injurious effects on societies and individuals. Therefore, it is high time to get rid of this addiction to protect our lives from its harmful effects.

Donning Sterile Surgical Gloves - A Prospective Clinical Audit of Young Surgeons at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Lahore, Pakistan.

Background Sterilization and aseptic surgical techniques are the most important keys to successful postoperative outcomes. The standard surgical gloving technique causes early wound healing and reduces morbidity and mortality. Objective To assess the standard technique of donning sterile surgical gloves while scrubbing among young surgeons. Material and Methods This two-week prospective audit involved 60 young residents and house officers after ensuring ethical implications. Participants were observed unannounced for donning sterile surgical gloves in the surgical operation theatre (OT) according to the standard criteria set by World Health Organization (WHO) before and after the relevant intervention. The intervention was made through a clinical lecture, live demonstration, and hands-on sessions. After a detailed literature study, a pro forma was generated to record participants' compliance with 14 steps of donning sterile surgical gloves. Data was sent to a statistician for descriptive analysis. Results About 72.14% of the participants followed the standard criteria of donning sterile surgical gloves before intervention. This percentage raised to 90.71% after the intervention, showing marked improvement. Conclusion Pre-intervention and post-intervention observations showed apparent differences in compliance rates for the standard criteria of donning sterile surgical gloves. This scientific study signifies the need for such clinical audits to boost standard surgical practices, especially among newcomers.