BackgroundSexually transmitted Infections (STIs) rank among the most important health issues for the people especially the young adults worldwide. Young people tend to engage in sexual activity at younger ages in the past decade than in the 1970s, and 1980s. Knowledge is an essential precursor of sexual risk reduction. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, to produce the baseline information about school students' awareness and perception about sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) and their sexual activity to help establish control and education programmes.MethodsStudents from form 4 (aged between 15 to 16 years), form 5 (aged between 16 to 17 years) and form 6 (aged between 18 to 20 years) in their class rooms were approached and asked to complete self administered and anonymous pre-validated questionnaires. SPSS for windows version 13 was used to analyze the results statistically and results were presented in tabular form.ResultsData was collected from 1139 students aged between 15 to 20 years, 10.6% of which claimed that they never heard about STIs. Sexual experience related significantly with gender, race, and education level. Approximately 12.6% claimed to have sexual experience of which 75.7% had their sexual debut at 15-19 years and 38.2% were having more than 3 partners. Sexual experience was found to be significantly associated with gender (p = 0.003), ethnicity (p = 0.001) and education level (p = 0.030). However, multiple partner behaviour was significantly associated only with gender (p = 0.010). Mean knowledge score was 11.60 ± 8.781 and knowledge level was significantly associated with religion (p = 0.005) education level (p = 0.000), course stream (p = 0.000), socioeconomic class (p = 0.000) and sexual experience (p = 0.022).ConclusionsIt was concluded that school students have moderate level of knowledge about STIs although they are sexually active. Interventions such as reinforcing the link between STIs and HIV/AIDS, assessing the current status of sexuality education in schools and arranging public talks and seminars focusing on STIs prevention education are needed to improve their awareness.

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This study confirmed the range of 30%-100% CAM use among individuals infected with HIV/AIDS. Although, on the one hand some types of CAM reduced viral load and enhanced the immune system, on the other hand some forms of CAM produced a detrimental effect on the virological suppression, opening this platform to more research and investigation in order to optimize the use of CAM among patients with HIV/AIDS.

Minor illnesses are usually treated in home and community contexts. Despite, or perhaps because of, their commonness, responses to minor illness are poorly researched, especially outside developed countries. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the range of everyday symptoms and minor illnesses that people in Pakistan might experience and types of responses they make to minor illnesses. The information gathered was to inform the design of a larger project to prospectively explore the responses of people to minor illnesses. Twentyfour participants, aged between 18 and 55 years, were approached through snowball sampling and social networking to take part in in-depth interviews or focus groups. Participants reported a wide range of everyday symptoms, which were then classified based on human physiological systems. Self-care, self-medication, use of home and herbal remedies and spiritual healing were found to be the most common responses to these symptoms. Factors affecting participants' treatment decision-making included past experience, friends' or relatives' experience and advice, family practice, presence of a health professional in the family or circle of friends, and cultural practice. Consulting with a doctor was not a preferred option in treating minor illness. An understanding of how people experience illness and how they make decisions about their responses can inform health services and health policy.

This study was intended to evaluate the mental health literacy vis-à-vis depression among inhabitants of Penang state in North Malaysia. Using a clustered random sampling method, 1,855 respondents were approached to participate in the survey. A total of 1,149 respondents actually participated, for a 61.9% response rate. Face to face interviews were then conducted using a pre-validated 21-item questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents was 30 years (SD +/-11.5). The majority (n = 884; 76.9%) could recognize three or more symptoms of depression. Chinese and/or female respondents performed the best in this domain. Respondents with a personal experience of depression displayed a significantly better knowledge of symptoms of and therapies for depression than those who did not (t = -35.745, P = <0.001). Overall, a moderate knowledge level of the symptoms of depression and a cursory knowledge towards therapy were observed among the general population in Penang. Notably, respondents were generally inclined towards the use of alternative medicine. The study suggests that strong beliefs in alternative and traditional medicines could undermine the respondents' willingness and ability to seek evidence-based mental health care.

This perspective is a reflection of the Personal teaching experience of the authors. The aim of this perspective is to identify the weaknesses in the pharmacy curriculum development in Asian developing nations and to propose a methodological approach for curriculum validation. It has been seen that improper selection of the course contents were the common limitations found in the pharmacy curriculum in developing nations. Furthermore, lack of facilities and improper student evaluation system were the other flaws that are acting as a main challenge to pharmacy education in developing nations. A systemic way for the curriculum designing and validation can be a solution to manage the observed deficiencies. Keeping in view this motivation a set of task are defined in the form of Pharmacy Curriculum Development and Validation Model (PCDVM) that can be a guideline for the pharmacy educators for the evaluation and validation of the curriculum. Partial or full implementation of this model will enable the pharmacy institutions to deliver quality knowledge to pharmacy students which will further contribute to quality health care system in developing countries.

ObjectivesPrevalence of symptoms in everyday life and how people respond to these symptoms is little studied outside Western culture and developed countries. We sought to use modified diary methods to explore the prevalence of and responses to symptoms in Pakistan.DesignProspective daily survey of symptoms and response.Setting8 cities across four provinces in Pakistan.ParticipantsStratified intercept in each city to recruit 153 participants of which 151 completed.Primary and secondary outcome measuresEach day for 30 days, participants were prompted by text message (short message service (SMS)) to complete a symptom diary. On days where symptoms were experienced, participants also reported how they responded. Prevalence was adjusted to population age and gender distributions.Results92% of participants experienced symptoms (adjusted prevalence 94%, 95% CI 91% to 97%), with musculoskeletal pain (83%, adj. 84%, 95% CI 84% to 90%) and respiratory symptoms (75%, adj. 77%, 95% CI 71% to 84%) the most prevalent types of symptoms. Self-medication and use of home remedies and traditional medicines were the most common responses. Seeking professional help or using conventional medicine were less common, and self-medication responses included the use of antibiotics without prescription. The range of home remedies and traditional medicines was very diverse.ConclusionsWhile symptom experience in Pakistan was similar to Western countries, home remedies were much more frequently used to respond to symptoms. Understanding how people respond and manage their experience of symptoms outside formal healthcare is important for designing effective policy and interventions, and this needs to be understood within the broader context including the cultural and economic setting, the health system and other structural determinants of health.

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