COVID-19 has posed massive challenges related to health, economy, and the social fabric of the entire human population. To curb the spread of the virus, the Government of Pakistan initiated a vaccination campaign against COVID-19. The objective of this research was to assess the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance or hesitancy. The data were collected telephonically using a cross-sectional survey design through a close-ended structured questionnaire from a sample of 1325 vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals with a response rate of 38%. SPSS v. 26 was used to analyze the data. The study revealed that 73% of the respondents were male, half in the 40–49 age group, 78% living in urban areas, and 45% had a monthly income between 20,001–50,000 Pakistani rupees. People felt reluctant to get vaccinated because of myths and misinformation related to it. The socio-demographic factors including male, age 60–69, middle or higher level of education, marital status, currently employed, from middle socio-economic status, living in urban areas, high access to mass media, history of influenza vaccination, physical activity, and perceived good health status were significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Concerted efforts are needed to achieve vaccine targets for the broader population through understanding and identifying barriers to vaccination.

Background Worldwide, office employees have experienced two novel phenomena during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown: working from home and reductions in their salaries. These phenomena have majorly impacted the lives of individuals as well as their families. The present study aims to measure the perceived stress levels among employees during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Pakistan. Methodology A cross-sectional approach was used to collect data from a sample of 385 employees working in three different IT-oriented private organizations. A semi-structured, Likert-scale questionnaire was used, containing the 10-item inventory from the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). A sociodemographic profile, working parameters, and frequency of PSS inventory were presented in the descriptive analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was made to compare the stress levels of the two groups resulting from their workloads and reductions in salary. Results An elevated perceived stress level (50.9%) was observed among the employees, showing a significant relationship with salary reduction and home work engagement (p<0.005). A strong negative correlation was observed (-0.860) for the salary reduction with PSS. Conclusion Working from home and reductions in salary caused increased perceived stress levels of the employees working in private organizations. Salary reductions proved to be a strong stressor, causing economic disruption and inability to cope with financial burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prevalence of malnutrition among children under five is alarmingly high in Pakistan. However, there are ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) available which may be used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This study aims to assess the efficacy of prebiotics as a synergistic additive to RUTF to enhance blood parameters and anthropometric measurements in children with uncomplicated SAM living in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A double-blind parallel treatment randomized controlled trial was conducted on 204 children aged 6–59 months. Participants were randomized and allocated to the placebo (n = 102) or experimental arms (n = 102) in a 1:1 ratio. One group of children was provided with RUTF and 4 g prebiotics, while the other group was given RUTF and starch as a placebo. Participants recruited for both arms were given treatment for eight weeks, and then their biochemical and anthropometric outcomes were evaluated. A substantial difference between the mean weight, mid-upper-arm circumference, haemoglobin, haematocrit, platelet count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, and albumin was revealed. During the two-month follow-up phase of the trial, children who were enrolled in the treatment group gained about 20% of their initial weight (pre-study mean weight = 5.44 ± 1.35 kg; post-study mean weight = 6.53 ± 1.45 kg). The analysis showed a significant difference (p < 0.005) between the control and treatment groups for MUAC and complete blood counts. Conclusively, supplementation with RUTF and prebiotics has proven to be an efficient, effective, and safe therapy for children suffering from SAM to improve their growth and development indicators and reduce the dangers of malnutrition in comparison to RUTF alone.

Prevalence of malnutrition among children under five is alarmingly high in Pakistan. However, there are ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) available which may be used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This study aims to assess the efficacy of prebiotics as a synergistic additive to RUTF to enhance blood parameters and anthropometric measurements in children with uncomplicated SAM living in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A double-blind parallel treatment randomized controlled trial was conducted on 204 children aged between 6-59 months. Participants were randomized and allocated to the placebo (n=102) and experimental arms (n=102) at a 1:1 ratio. One group of children were provided RUTF and 4 g prebiotics, while the other group were given RUTF and starch as a placebo. Participants recruited for both arms were given treatment for eight weeks, and then their biochemical and anthropometric outcomes were evaluated. A substantial difference between the mean weight, mid upper arm circumference, haemoglobin, haematocrit, platelet count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, and albumin was revealed. Conclusively, supplementation with RUTF and prebiotics has proven to be an efficient, effective and safe therapy for children suffering from SAM to improve their growth and development indicators and reduce the dangers of malnutrition in comparison to RUTF alone.

Aim: To explore the lived experiences of patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD)to understand how the physical and psychological challenges associated with the disease influenced their life and what role did resilience play to cope up with the physical and psychological challenges. Method: The present study is qualitative in nature and used the phenomenological research design to study the lived experiences of CKD patients. Thirty seven participants were selected through purposive sampling from the nephrology departments of three government hospitals of Lahore which included Jinnah Hospital, Sheikh Zayed Hospital and General Hospital. Data was collected through in-depth interviews. Results: The study revealed that resilience is a major factor which helps to cope up with the physical and psychological challenges associated with CKD by reducing stress, developing a positive self-image, encouraging to fight back, finding alternative treatment options and increasing the will power of CKD patients. Practical implications: Findings of the present study will be helpful for the health care professionals and clinical psychologists to develop strategies and training programs which can increase resilience among patients. Training the patients and care givers regarding how to fight with CKD will lead to an improvement in their quality of life. Conclusion: Resilience enables CKD patients to have a self-worth and brings them back to life by motivating them to participate in the normal activities of life. On the basis of these results, it is expected that this factor can be helpful for the health care professionals, caregivers and patients themselves in order to minimize the negative impacts of the disease through counseling. Keywords: Chronic kidney disease, Resilience, Physical challenges, Psychological challenges