ESTIMATING PREVALENCE OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME AND SEVERITY USING BOSTON CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME QUESTIONNAIRE AMONG DEXTEROUS POPULATION

Objective: The study was designed to estimate the prevailing percentage of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) using Boston Carpal tunnel syndrome questionnaire (BCTSQ) in the dexterous population and to assess its severity. Study Design: This was a Cross-sectional survey. Study Settings and Participants: The study setting was Karachi where 226 Dexterous workers including; musicians, typist, dentists, butchers office workers, working for more than 1 year were recruited using non-probability convenience sampling. Outcome Measures: Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire. Results: This study enrolled 226 participants, 140 (61.9%) of which were males and 86 (38.1%) were females with mean age of 34.05±10.93. Out of the total 25 were diagnosed with CTS in which, 10 (40%) were males and 15 (60%) were females with mean age of 37.60±14.41. Hence, the prevalence of CTS among dexterous population was found to be 11.06%.                                                                            Conclusion: The results of our study revealed that CTS is a prevalent neuromuscular disorder among dexterous population. The severity level varies among the population. More epidemiological studies are required to get the approximate value to promote ergonomic awareness.

Developing Strategic Plan of a Community School in Karachi, Pakistan

Pakistani school leaders need to move from traditional approach to school development planning, i.e. from some kind of listed short-term operational activities to a more effective strategic planning (Khan, 2008). Hence, the purpose of the study was to facilitate the process of strategic planning in a community school in Karachi, Pakistan which resulted in developing a contextually relevant model of strategic planning for school improvement. For this study, participatory action research (PAR) was employed within the qualitative research paradigm. The data collection tools included document analysis, semi-structured interviews, reflections and field notes. This study had three major stages that were reconnaissance, intervention and post-intervention. During reconnaissance stage, current practices for strategic planning were explored. This was done through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with all the research participants. During intervention, McCune’s model of strategic planning was adapted to develop school’s strategic plan with the involvement of all the research participants which included a principal, parent, school management committee member, two students and two teachers. During the implementation of McCune’s model of strategic planning, research participants wrote their reflections and researcher took the field notes. At the post-intervention stage, semi-structured interviews with all the research participants were conducted to reflect on the overall experience of strategic planning, together with identifying facilitating and hindering factors faced during the process. Furthermore, their views and suggestions for the improvement of the planning process were taken. The findings of the study present a framework for strategic planning for the community schools in Pakistan. Resultantly, the study provides a framework through which community schools in Pakistan can develop their strategic plan involving all the stakeholders for sustainable school improvement.