Introduction: Breast feeding provides complete and balanced nutrition to the baby. The survey done in 1995 by health ministry, Pakistan reported that although 94 % of the children were ever breastfed, only less than 16 % of the children were exclusively breastfed. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding breastfeeding among undergraduate students of medical colleges of Karachi. Materials and Methods: Data Source: Female medical students from Clinical and preclinical years. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Liaquat National Medical College (LNMC) and Sir Syed College of Medical Sciences (SSCMS), Karachi. Period of study: 3 months. Material and Methods: Total 222 female students filled a multiple choice semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Out of total 222 female students 32.9% were in pre-clinical group while 67.1% were in clinical group. It was observed that educational level of the student was strongly associated with the knowledge regarding initiation of breastfeeding and age till which exclusive breastfeeding should be continued (p=0.000). Clinical group had more knowledge regarding colostrums as compare to the pre-clinical group (p=0.000). Conclusions: A significant difference was found between preclinical and clinical students regarding the knowledge of breastfeeding. In this study most students were from clinical level of undergraduate medical education which made them more aware regarding the significance of breastfeeding.
Bacckground: Swine flu is a viral disease affecting upper as well as lower respiratory tracts. Due to limited resources in a developing country like Pakistan, medical students (the future medical practitioners) should be familiar with the basic knowledge, attitude and practice regarding this infectious disease so that they can help the community during its outbreaks. Objective: To determine the basic knowledge and awareness of swine flu among the medical students of Shaikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan. Methodology: This cross sectional observational study was carried out among the medical students of Shaikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan during April – May 2019 through a pre-designed pro-forma. A total of three hundred pro-forma were distributed in all classes of MBBS from first year to final year, among which 211 were returned, completely filled by the respondents. The responses of 45 students were disregarded as they hadn’t heard about swine flu. Remaining 166 questionnaires were included in the study and further analyzed for results. Data was then analyzed with SPSS version 22.0. Results: Majority of respondents (n=151, 91%) correctly replied “virus as its causative agent”. Majority of respondents (n=138, 83.1%) responded “respiratory droplet as mode of transmission”. One hundred and sixty six questionnaires were further analyzed for results. Regarding treatment and prevention of swine flu, 123 (74.1%) replied it as treatable disease and a significant number of students (n=154, 92.8%) deemed it as preventable. About half (45.8%) of participants did not know about vaccine availability in Pakistan and only 42 (25.3%) students correctly answered that vaccination was the best measure to prevent swine flu. Conclusion: Satisfactory results were seen about knowledge and awareness regarding epidemiology, etiology and mode of transmission. However, deficiencies were seen in awareness about vaccination and prevention of swine flu. So there is a need for health education awareness programs in medical and dental schools on regular basis.
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