Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to 198 countries, with approximately 2.4 million confirmed cases and 150,000 deaths globally as of April 18. Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) face a substantially higher risk of infection and death due to excessive COVID-19 exposure. This review aimed at summarizing the evidence of the physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on health-care workers (HCWs). Methods: We used the Arksey O’Malley framework to conduct a scoping review. A systematic literature search was conducted using two databases: PubMed and Google Scholar. We found 154 studies, and out of which 10 met our criteria. We collected information on the date of publication, first author’s country, the title of the article, study design, study population, intervention and outcome, and key findings, and divided all research articles into two domains: physical and mental health impact. Results: We reviewed a total of 154 articles from PubMed (126) and Google Scholar (28), of which 58 were found to be duplicate articles and were excluded. Of the remaining 96 articles, 82 were excluded after screening for eligibility, and 4 articles did not have available full texts. Ten full-text articles were reviewed and included in this study. Our findings identified the following risk factors for COVID-19-related health impact: working in a high-risk department, diagnosed family member, inadequate hand hygiene, suboptimal hand hygiene before and after contact with patients, improper PPE use, close contact with patients (≥ 12 times/day), long daily contact hours (≥ 15 h), and unprotected exposure. The most common symptoms identified amongst HCWs were fever (85%), cough (70%), and weakness (70%). Prolonged PPE usage led to cutaneous manifestations and skin damage (97%), with the nasal bridge (83%) most commonly affected site. HCWs experienced high levels of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress. Female HCWs and nurses were disproportionately affected. Conclusion: The frontline healthcare workers are at risk of physical and mental consequences directly as the result of providing care to patients with COVID-19. Even though there are few intervention studies, early data suggest implementation strategies to reduce the chances of infections, shorter shift lengths, and mechanisms for mental health support could reduce the morbidity and mortality amongst HCWs.

Background: Traditional, instructor led, in-person training of CPR skills has become more challenging due to COVID-19 pandemic. We compared the learning outcomes of standard in-person CPR training (ST) with alternative methods of training such as hybrid or online-only training (AT) on CPR performance, quality, and knowledge among laypersons with no previous CPR training. Methods: We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for relevant articles from January 1995 to May 2020. Covidence was used to review articles by two independent researchers. Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool was used to assess quality of the manuscripts. Results: Of the 978 articles screened, twenty met the final inclusion criteria. All included studies had an experimental design and moderate to strong global quality rating. The trainees in ST group performed better on calling 911, time to initiate chest compressions, hand placement and chest compression depth. Trainees in AT group performed better in assessing scene safety, calling for help, response time including initiating first rescue breathing, adequate ventilation volume, compression rates, shorter hands-off time, confidence, willingness to perform CPR, ability to follow CPR algorithm, and equivalent or better knowledge retention than standard teaching methodology. Conclusion: AT methods of CPR training provide an effective alternative to the standard in-person CPR for large scale public training.

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the perception of teachers, parents and students’ regarding implementation of a school-based lifesaving skills program and help predict potential barriers and solutions. Methods: This qualitative exploratory study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, from December 2020- to October 2021. We included students, teachers, and parents of secondary (grades VIII, IX, and X) and higher secondary level students (grades XI and XII) in Karachi, Pakistan's public and private schools and colleges. We selected one public, two semi-private, and two private schools. We recruited students, teachers, and parents through convenience sampling. We conducted fifteen focus group discussions (FGDs) with the students, six FGDs with the teachers, and eighteen in-depth interviews (IDIs) with parents. We transcribed the data from audio recordings and translated it into the English language. Finally, we manually analyzed the data using thematic analyses. Results: This study found that bystanders' main barriers to performing lifesaving skills are lack of knowledge, fear of legal involvement, fear of hurting the patient by incorrect technique, lack of empathy among community stakeholders, and gender bias. However, the participants had a positive and supportive attitude toward implementing lifesaving skills training in schools. They suggested starting student training in the early teenage years, preferred medical staff as trainers, and suggested frequent small sessions in English/Urdu both or Urdu language and training via theory and practical hands-on drills. Furthermore, the training was proposed to be integrated into the school curriculum to make it sustainable. Finally, the government needs to support the program and make the legal environment more conducive for bystanders. Conclusion: This study identified the significant barriers to performing lifesaving skills in an emergency in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). The participants supported implementing a national lifesaving skills program in schools and colleges. However, the participants expressed that support is needed by the government for sustainability, integrating lifesaving skills into the school curriculum, providing legal support to the bystanders, and creating awareness among the general public.

We piloted the development and implementation of a multifaceted intervention package for improving respiratory health among textile workers using a pre-post design at six mills in Karachi. The intervention, implemented following a baseline survey (n = 498), included health and safety training of workers and managers, promotion of cotton dust control measures, and the provision of facemasks. Follow-up surveys were conducted at 1, 6, and 12 months post-intervention. Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) scores and respiratory symptoms were assessed through a questionnaire and spirometry was conducted. The intervention was provided to 230 workers and led to an improvement in KAP scores that was more likely among workers with a higher educational status, spinners, smokers, those with a permanent employment status, working in morning shifts, and with ⩾5 years of textile experience. We found the intervention acceptable and feasible in these textile mills henceforth, trials are required to determine its effectiveness.

Trauma registries are essential tools for improving trauma care quality and efficiency, but many fail to capture long-term patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Focusing on these outcomes is crucial for understanding the extent of disability patients experience and identifying potential post-discharge interventions to optimize recovery. Studies reflecting the experience from low- and middle-income countries in this area are limited. Therefore, we aim to develop a digital trauma registry in Pakistan to prospectively capture patient-reported outcome measures at one, three, six, and twelve months post-injury. We will develop and implement a digital trauma registry at two tertiary care facilities in Karachi, Pakistan: Aga Khan University Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center. The registry will include all admitted adult trauma patients (≥ 18 years). Data collection will be conducted digitally using tablets, with mortality, level of disability, functional status, and quality of life as primary outcomes. Follow-up data will be collected through telephone interviews with patients and caregivers. We will employ descriptive statistics to summarize participant’s socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Additionally, we will perform survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models and utilize mixed-effects linear regression to adjust for potential confounders for primary outcomes. The trauma registry will fill the current gap in knowledge regarding long-term outcomes among trauma patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study will delineate future direction for capturing post-discharge data, enhancing our understanding of recovery, and informing the design of interventions aimed at improving long-term outcomes.

This study aimed to document the evolution of perceptions of frontline healthcare workers (FHCW) regarding their well-being and the quality of health systems' response to the COVID-19 pandemic over four months in Pakistan. We conducted this prospective longitudinal qualitative study during the four months (June–September 2020) coinciding with the peak and trough of the first wave of Pakistan's COVID-19 pandemic. We approached frontline healthcare workers (physicians and nurses) working in emergency departments (ED) in two hospitals using the WhatsApp group of the Pakistan Society of Emergency Physicians (PSEM). Participants were asked to self-record their perception of their wellness and their level of satisfaction with the quality of their hospitals' response to the pandemic. We transcribed, translated, and analysed manually using MAXQDA 2020 software and conducted the thematic analysis to identify themes and sub-themes. We invited approximately 200 FHCWs associated with PSEM to participate in the study. Of the 61 who agreed to participate, 27 completed the study. A total of 149 audio recordings were received and transcribed. Three themes and eight sub-themes have emerged from the data. The themes were individual-level challenges, health system-level challenges, and hope for the future. Sub-themes for individual-level challenges were: fear of getting or transmitting infection, feeling demotivated and unappreciated, disappointment due to people’s lack of compliance with COVID-19 protocols, physical exhaustion, and fatigue. For the healthcare system, sub-themes were: Infrastructure, logistics, management, and communications response of the hospital/healthcare system and financial stressors. For sub-themes under hope for the future were the improved disease knowledge and vaccine development. The overall perceptions and experiences of FHCWs evolved from fear, grief, and negativity to hope and positivity as the curve of COVID-19 went down. This study shows that the individuals and systems were not prepared to deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight the challenges faced by individuals and health systems during the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The healthcare workers were emotionally and physically taxed, while the health systems were overwhelmed by COVID-19. The overall perceptions of FHCWs evolved with time and became negative to positive as the curve of COVID-19 went down during the first wave of COVID-19 in Pakistan.