EXPLORING THE PREVALENCE OF NEUROPATHIC HAND PAIN AMONG YOUNG ADULTS AND ITS IMPACT ON HAND FUNCTION

Background and Aims: To explore the prevalence of neuropathic hand pain in young adults and how it affects hand functionality. Methodology: A convenience sampling was used to conduct a cross-sectional study on 192 medical students aged 18 to 28 years from October 2022 to March 2023. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of neuropathic hand pain in young adults and how it affects hand functionality. Both the Duruoz Hand Index and the Douleur Neuropathique Four Questionnaire were used. Results: This study included 192 participants, the majority of whom were females (84%) and aged 20-24 years. 16.1% of participants reported having had surgery or an injury to their upper limb in the past. Participants described neuropathic pain symptoms such as electric shocks (21.4%), burning pain (18.2%), and painful cold (15.6%). Limitations and Future Implications: A small sample size and a focus on a particular group of medical students may restrict the generalizability of the findings. To improve the generalizability of the findings, future research should replicate these findings using larger sample sizes and diverse populations. Insights into the development and chronicity of neuropathic hand pain in young adults may also come from longitudinal studies. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the prevalence of neuropathic hand pain in young adults and how it affects hand functionality. Female participants were more likely to experience pain and functional hand impairments.

Perceptions of the Stakeholders in the Government Education System About the Role of Professional Development Teachers

The study was conducted in the central district of Karachi, Pakistan. The sample of this study included one District Officer Education (DOE), one Supervisor, three head teachers, six teachers and three Professional Development Teachers. Since the focus of the study was to explore the perceptions of the stakeholders in the government education system about the role of PDTs, all the participants were selected from this system. The purpose of the establishment of the AKU-IED was to supplement government's efforts to improve the quality of education in the country through in-service teacher training. To achieve this objective, AKU- IED initially started working with fourteen government schools' in Karachi, called cooperating schools. Teachers from these cooperating schools participated in a two-year long Master in Education (M.Ed.) programmes offered by AKU-IED and were called Professional Development Teachers (PDTs), after completion of the programme. The purpose of the M.Ed. programme was to prepare a core of teacher educators who could, after completing the course, work with the teachers and help in improving the quality of education in their systems/contexts. Since 1995, quite a large number of teachers from the government education system, have obtained their M.Ed. degrees from AKU-IED and have been working in their systems/schools. During this time, very little effort has been made to understand the role of PDTs in the government system. This study is also a small effort to understand the role of PDTs from the perspective of the stakeholders with whom the PDTs are working. Using the qualitative research design, data was collected through interviews; using the semi structured interview guide and document analysis. This study will help to understand the role of PDTs in the government education system thus informing the stakeholders about the opportunities and challenge that the PDTs in the government system face. The study may help the administration of AKU-IED to look into the issues raised in the study and take remedial steps in order to enhance the PDTs role in the government education system, so that the goal of quality improvement can be achieved.