Widespread acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial for achieving sufficient immunization coverage to end the global pandemic, yet few studies have investigated COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in lower-income countries, where large-scale vaccination is just beginning. We analyze COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across 15 survey samples covering 10 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia, Africa and South America, Russia (an upper-middle-income country) and the United States, including a total of 44,260 individuals. We find considerably higher willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine in our LMIC samples (mean 80.3%; median 78%; range 30.1 percentage points) compared with the United States (mean 64.6%) and Russia (mean 30.4%). Vaccine acceptance in LMICs is primarily explained by an interest in personal protection against COVID-19, while concern about side effects is the most common reason for hesitancy. Health workers are the most trusted sources of guidance about COVID-19 vaccines. Evidence from this sample of LMICs suggests that prioritizing vaccine distribution to the Global South should yield high returns in advancing global immunization coverage. Vaccination campaigns should focus on translating the high levels of stated acceptance into actual uptake. Messages highlighting vaccine efficacy and safety, delivered by healthcare workers, could be effective for addressing any remaining hesitancy in the analyzed LMICs.
Introduction:Blood donation is necessary in order to maintain an adequate supply of blood to patients who are suffering from any kind of disease or trauma, which requires them to have blood transfusion. Female non-blood donors are generally low in number. Therefore, this research was carried out to assess the main reasons behind the lack of blood donations made by females, and their knowledge, attitude and perceptions towards voluntary blood donation.Methodology:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 664 female health professionals, who were selected by non-probability convenience sampling from two tertiary care hospitals. A pretested questionnaire was presented to the sample population, and the data was entered and analyzed on SPSS (V17).Results:94.6 % were aware with the fact that blood is screened for AIDS, Hepatitis B and C before transfusion. Moreover, 83.7% said that they will only donate blood if a family, relative or friend would need it and similarly 83.4% suggested that they would donate blood if blood donation camps are arranged in hospital premises. 81.8 % thought that blood donors can contract Hepatitis B after donation whereas only 29.5% did not blood due already blood loss in menstrual cycle.Conclusion:The participants had adequate knowledge about the benefits of blood donation. The most important reason identified for not donating blood is the lack of facilities within the workplace or lack of approach by responsible authorities. The results of the study may help in minimizing the misconceptions of the participants about blood transfusion, which would increase their contribution towards blood donation.
In the process of educational reforms for promoting equity and inclusion in education, pre-service teacher preparedness has been identified as a vital factor that has an impact on the success of inclusive education. Bangladesh, like other parts of the world, has taken various initiatives to promote inclusive education in the country context. This study is an attempt to explore factors related to pre-service teachers' preparedness for inclusive education in Bangladesh. The current study is an extension of the work completed in previous studies and specifically examined participants' attitudes and factors that influenced their attitudes. Following a mixed method design, this multi-phase study measured 1,623 pre-service teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in phase 1. By applying a multiple regression procedure, several variables were identified that impacted on pre-service teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. The results indicated that Bangladeshi pre-service teachers hold a less positive attitude towards the inclusion of children who have high support needs (that is, those who use Braille or sign language, or those who need to have an Individualised Academic Programme). In order to better understand the findings about apprehensive attitudes among pre-service teachers, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six institutional heads of pre-service teacher education institutions. The interviews provided a new perspective on apprehensive attitudes among participants. Several curriculum reform suggestions are made
Background: Asthma is a non-curable but preventable disease that can be controlled by a proper approach. Inhalational route is considered to be one of the fastest, non-invasive course for the management of asthma. Despite its importance, compliance towards proper inhalational technique remains quite low. Thus, United Kingdom guidelines and Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (GINA) recommend regular assessment of inhaler techniques in all asthma patients. Objective: To evaluate the inhalational technique of asthma patients visiting outpatient departments of public sector tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi and correlate with various demographic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 209 respondents visiting the outpatient department of public sector hospitals in Rawalpindi. Asthmatic patients were included via a non-probability consecutive sampling technique and were assessed for inhaler techniques via a structured checklist. Statistical data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®), version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results: Two hundred and nine asthma patients were included. Only 10% of patients demonstrated the correct inhaler technique. Continuing inhaling till lungs are full, holding breath for five to 10 seconds, and breathing out slowly after using the inhaler were most poorly followed. Conclusion: Most asthma patients are using poor inhalation technique, risking sub-optimal drug delivery and inadequate effects. Hence, it is the need of the hour to focus on patient training and education.
Background: Pakistan is one of the 34 countries yet to achieve the neonatal tetanus global elimination target set by the World Health Organization. Lack of vaccination, inadequate knowledge about prevention, and unsafe practices are major causes of spread. The study aims to determine the effectiveness of health education messages in improving tetanus health literacy among women age 16 to 45 years.Methods: The quasi-experimental study which was carried out from April 2018 to June 2018 at Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi consisted of 150 female respondents of age 16 to 45 years selected by non-probability convenience sampling. Written informed consent was taken from each participant. Afterward, respondents were sequentially delivered pre-test proforma, health education message (verbally and in the form of the pamphlet), and a post-test proforma after a gap of 2 days. The pre-test and post-test proformas assessed knowledge about tetanus. Data were analyzed via SPSS version 22.Results: Out of 150 women 20.1% were uneducated and 79.9% were educated. The area of residence was urban for 83.3% and rural for 16.7%. Mean tetanus health literacy scores increased significantly from 6.32 ± 2.85 to 10.55 ± 3.87 (p=0.01). Health education message was more effective for students and employees compared with housewives (p=0.01). Similarly, women possessing higher education were more likely to have high scores on post-tests (p=0.01).Conclusions: The health education message is effective in improving tetanus health literacy among women.
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