BackgroundWe aimed to analyse the frequency and patterns of fall-related injuries presenting to the emergency departments (EDs) across Pakistan.MethodsPakistan National Emergency Departments surveillance system collected data from November 2010 to March 2011 on a 24/7 basis using a standardized tool in seven major EDs (five public and two private hospitals) in six major cities of Pakistan. For all patients presenting with fall-related injuries, we analysed data by intent with focus on unintentional falls. Simple frequencies were run for basic patient demographics, mechanism of falls, outcomes of fall injuries, mode of arrival to ED, investigations, and procedures with outcomes.ResultsThere were 3335 fall-related injuries. In cases where intent was available, two-thirds (n = 1186, 65.3%) of fall injuries were unintentional. Among unintentional fall patients presenting to EDs, the majority (76.9%) were males and between 15-44 years of age (69%). The majority of the unintentional falls (n = 671, 56.6%) were due to slipping, followed by fall from height (n = 338, 28.5%). About two-thirds (n = 675, 66.6%) of fall injuries involved extremities, followed by head/neck (n = 257, 25.4%) and face (n = 99, 9.8%). Most of the patients were discharged from the hospital (n = 1059, 89.3%). There were 17 (1.3%) deaths among unintentional fall cases.ConclusionFalls are an important cause of injury-related visits to EDs in Pakistan. Most of the fall injury patients were men and in a productive age group. Fall injuries pose a burden on the healthcare system, especially emergency services, and future studies should therefore focus on safety measures at home and in workplaces to reduce this burden.

The paper examined the Pedagogical knowledge (PK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of teachers in the public sector universities of Sindh province of Pakistan. Based on the descriptive and a quantitative approach, this research paper looked into the perceptions of teachers and students enrolled in B.Ed. (Hons) elementary program in the universities. It was also found that teachers and students had varying and contradictory views that teachers use systematic planning for teaching, developing lesson plans for various topics and using appropriate teaching methodology. The teachers reported to have used systematic planning during delivery of their important topics which they claimed had sufficient knowledge, while the students were not in favour of those views. It was found many of the teachers overestimated their abilities and knowledge of their subjects. It is concluded that the majority of teachers possessed Pedagogical Knowledge but lacked Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)