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Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

Heat waves are the second leading cause of weather-related morbidity and mortality affecting millions of individuals globally, every year. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions and practices of community residents and healthcare professionals with respect to identification and trea...

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Autores principales: Khan, Uzma Rahim, Ahmed, Naveed, Naeem, Rubaba, Khudadad, Umerdad, Masud, Sarwat, Khan, Nadeem Ullah, Razzak, Junaid Abdul
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125281/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33946755
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094736
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author Khan, Uzma Rahim
Ahmed, Naveed
Naeem, Rubaba
Khudadad, Umerdad
Masud, Sarwat
Khan, Nadeem Ullah
Razzak, Junaid Abdul
author_facet Khan, Uzma Rahim
Ahmed, Naveed
Naeem, Rubaba
Khudadad, Umerdad
Masud, Sarwat
Khan, Nadeem Ullah
Razzak, Junaid Abdul
author_sort Khan, Uzma Rahim
collection PubMed
description Heat waves are the second leading cause of weather-related morbidity and mortality affecting millions of individuals globally, every year. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions and practices of community residents and healthcare professionals with respect to identification and treatment of heat emergencies. A qualitative study was conducted using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, with the residents of an urban squatter settlement, community health workers, and physicians and nurses working in the emergency departments of three local hospitals in Karachi. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The themes that emerged were (1) perceptions of the community on heat emergencies; (2) recognition and early treatment at home; (3) access and quality of care in the hospital; (4) recognition and treatment at the health facility; (5) facility level plan; (6) training. Community members were able to recognize dehydration as a heat emergency. Males, elderly, and school-going children were considered at high risk for heat emergencies. The timely treatment of heat emergencies was widely linked with availability of financial resources. Limited availability of water, electricity, and open public spaces were identified as risk factors for heat emergencies. Home based remedies were reported as the preferred practice for treatment by community members. Both community members and healthcare professionals were cognizant of recognizing heat related emergencies.
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spelling pubmed-81252812021-05-17 Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study Khan, Uzma Rahim Ahmed, Naveed Naeem, Rubaba Khudadad, Umerdad Masud, Sarwat Khan, Nadeem Ullah Razzak, Junaid Abdul Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Heat waves are the second leading cause of weather-related morbidity and mortality affecting millions of individuals globally, every year. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions and practices of community residents and healthcare professionals with respect to identification and treatment of heat emergencies. A qualitative study was conducted using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, with the residents of an urban squatter settlement, community health workers, and physicians and nurses working in the emergency departments of three local hospitals in Karachi. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The themes that emerged were (1) perceptions of the community on heat emergencies; (2) recognition and early treatment at home; (3) access and quality of care in the hospital; (4) recognition and treatment at the health facility; (5) facility level plan; (6) training. Community members were able to recognize dehydration as a heat emergency. Males, elderly, and school-going children were considered at high risk for heat emergencies. The timely treatment of heat emergencies was widely linked with availability of financial resources. Limited availability of water, electricity, and open public spaces were identified as risk factors for heat emergencies. Home based remedies were reported as the preferred practice for treatment by community members. Both community members and healthcare professionals were cognizant of recognizing heat related emergencies. MDPI 2021-04-29 /pmc/articles/PMC8125281/ /pubmed/33946755 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094736 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Khan, Uzma Rahim
Ahmed, Naveed
Naeem, Rubaba
Khudadad, Umerdad
Masud, Sarwat
Khan, Nadeem Ullah
Razzak, Junaid Abdul
Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
title Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
title_full Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
title_short Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
title_sort heat emergencies: perceptions and practices of community members and emergency department healthcare providers in karachi, pakistan: a qualitative study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125281/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33946755
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094736
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