An Analytical Study of the Outcomes and Impacts of Religious Education of Pakistan, the Challenges and Opportunities

This study focuses on the impact of Religious Education in Pakistan at individual and collective levels. The research discusses the educational basis for the study of religion and analyzes the contribution of religious education towards the intellectual growth of individuals. The study raises few questions regarding religious education in Pakistan such as; why has our education system been divided into religious and secular education system. Whether the existing religious education is able to create a linkage between religion and society or not, if not what are the areas which need to be focused. What are the possibilities of sidelining the religious education and what could be its effects. The research focuses on the aims and objectives or religious education in Pakistan by analyzing the nature of curriculums of religious education at various levels. This study highlights the deficiency of the inclusion of the teachings of other religions in our religious education. The research consists of a current survey of the said topic, some findings and conclusions on the issue and few recommendations as well.

Hepatitis B Vaccination Rate and Determining Factors Amongst Health Care Workers at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi

Aim: To determine Hepatitis B vaccination rate and determining factors for health care workers (HCWs) at AKUHN. Design: Cross sectional analytical study Study subjects and setting: Aga Khan University Hospital-Nairobi, is a 254 bed tertiary hospital, with 815 HCWs with occupational risk of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). The hospital has a HCW vaccination policy and vaccine available to HCWs as part of medical scheme Methodology: Two hundred and sixty six (266) eligible HCWs of all cadres were stratified then randomly recruited after giving informed consent. A questionnaire was then administered to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards HBV infection, risk of infection, vaccination status and reasons for non vaccination. The analysis included vaccination rate, association between knowledge, attitude and practice with vaccination rates and reasons for non vaccination. Results: The hepatitis B vaccination rate is 56.01%. More than 95.5% of the HCWs know about hepatitis B, more than 86.8% know the routes of transmission. There is an association between knowledge of Hepatitis B and vaccination status (p=0.01). Fifty three percent (53%) of the non vaccinated HCWs either didn‟t know the need or procedure for vaccination, while 19.6% were concerned about side effects and costs of vaccination. Conclusion: The vaccination rate is low and efforts should be put in place to educate the HCWs on vaccination, offer reassurance on the safety of the vaccines and maintain updated vaccination records.