Background: The traditional joint family system in a culturally diverse Pakistani society shows great respect and care for older population by the families and their generations. However, in the recent years the phenomenon of population ageing in Pakistan is rapidly increasing due to demographic shift influencing life expectancy, along with changes in socio-cultural values. This transition has resulted in institutionalization of the elderly as an emerging shelter alternative. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the elderly people and to identify the reason which compelled them to reside in these shelter homes. Method: A qualitative methodology, with a descriptive exploratory design, was adopted for the study. A purposive sample of 14 elderly males and females were selected, from two different shelter homes in Karachi, Pakistan. Semistructured interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Content analysis was done to extract the themes and comprehend the data. Results: Content analysis revealed five major themes: the circumstances of leaving home, experiences, and challenges to wellbeing before entering the care facility, coping with challenges, and decision to live in a shelter home. The analysis discovered that the elderly were experiencing lack of physical, psychological, emotional, and financial support from their family and children. It also indicated that migration of children for better career and employment opportunities, entrance of women into the workforce, and insensitive behaviour of children, left the senior citizens neglected and helpless. The findings also uncovered the challenges of unemployment and family disputes that the elderly had to face made them dependent, distressed, helpless, and lonely resulting in both their apparently willing and forceful decision to reside in shelter homes. Conclusion: The findings point to need for further investigation of the identified areas in this study through qualitative and quantitative researches. There is a dire need for increasing public awareness through the social, electronic, and print media, and providing capacity building training to HCPs for the care of the elderly. The lobbying group can act as a catalyst in persuading the government officials for the execution of a policy on retirement, day care and subsidized provision of health services for the betterment of the elderly.

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Pakistan ranks 125th out of 169 countries on the Gender Development Index and has high prevalence rates of Violence against Women (VAW). Contributing factors toward gender based violence at the micro, meso and macro levels include the acceptability of violence amongst both men and women, internalization of deservability, economic disempowerment, lack of formal education, joint family systems, entrenched patriarchal norms and values, and a lack of awareness of legal and other support systems. These factors have a long-lasting impact on the health of women and children. The gender disparities in the experience of women seeking health care in Pakistan are well-recognized and documented. In the past, common government policy responses to these disparities have included developing the role of community health workers (CHWs) and lady health visitors (LHVs). Despite being commendable initiatives, these too have been unsuccessful in addressing these multi-faceted disparities. Within this complex scenario, new interventions to address VAW and its impact on health in Pakistan include Group Counselling, Economic Skills Building, Health-Based Microfinance, and Family-Based models that increase male involvement, especially at the primary health care level. The purpose of this article is to outline key contributing factors to VAW, explore tested and new interventions, and highlight the opportunities that exist in implementing them.

Work place violence is the most distressing subject globally, and has been a concern for many decades affecting home and work environment. This cancer has even invaded health care sector worldwide. Nursing professionals whether they are at hospital or at academics institutions are subjected to violence. Although, it has been a burning issue, among nursing health care workers it has often gone unchecked, and people tend to accept it as the part of the system. In this paper I would be discussing and deliberating that work place violence particularly verbal abuse is a serious matter and it can have negative consequences not only on person's health but also on the productivity of the employee. This will be followed by some strategies to promote healthy work environment and how can we combat violence at individual, organizational and country level.

The teaching learning journey is a dynamic, continuous and challenging process. It is beyond the boundaries to what we learn in schools in our initial years of life. We learn from our environment, positive and negative past experiences, and from the people with whom we interact. It is the teacher who brings an enormous impact on shaping the personality of the learners. Every classroom presents a unique community of learners that vary not only in abilities, but also in learning styles. It is the teacher who provides students with the necessary tools to develop their knowledge and skills and facilitates them to think critically. In addition, when the positive learning atmosphere is coupled with innovative teaching and learning strategies, creates environment conducive for critical and lifelong learning. This paper will highlight on my teaching philosophy under diverse spheres of student, teachers, teaching and learning cycle and the learning environment, and how combined phenomena can foster lifelong learning among learners.