Zahida Qureshi

Bio: Zahida Qureshi is an academic researcher from University of Nairobi. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 27, co-authored 72 publications receiving 3335 citations. Previous affiliations of Zahida Qureshi include Health Science University & College of Health Sciences, Bahrain.

Birth preparedness among antenatal clients.

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate birth preparedness and complication readiness among antenatal care clients. Design: A descriptive cross- sectional study. Setting: Antenatal care clinic at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. Subjects: Three hundred and ninety four women attending antenatal care at Kenyatta National hospital were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire between May 2006 and August 2006. Clients who were above 32 weeks gestation and had attended the clinic more than twice were recruited. Systematic sampling was used to select the study participants with every third client being interviewed. Main outcome measures: Health education on birth preparedness, knowledge of danger signs, preparations for delivery and emergencies. Results: Over 60% of the respondents were counselled by health workers on various elements of birth preparedness. Eighty seven point three per cent of the respondents were aware of their expected date of delivery, 84.3% had set aside funds for transport to hospital during labour while 62.9% had funds for emergencies. Sixty seven per cent of the respondents knew at least one danger sign in pregnancy while only 6.9% knew of three or more danger signs. One hundred and nine per cent of the respondents did not have a clear plan of what to do in case of an obstetric emergency. Level of education positively influenced birth preparedness. Conclusions: Education and counselling on different aspects of birth preparedness was not provided to all clients. Respondents knowledge of danger signs in pregnancy was low. Many respondents did not know about birth preparedness and had no plans for emergencies. East African Medical Journla Vol. 85 (6) 2008: pp. 275-283

Reporting of noninferiority and equivalence randomized trials: an extension of the CONSORT statement.

Abstract: The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement, including a checklist and a flow diagram, was developed to help authors improve their reporting of randomized controlled trials. Its primary focus was on individually randomized trials with 2 parallel groups that assess the possible superiority of one treatment compared with another but is now being extended to other trial designs. Noninferiority and equivalence trials have methodological features that differ from superiority trials and present particular difficulties in design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation. Although the rationale for such trials occurs frequently, those designed and described specifically as noninferiority or equivalence trials appear less commonly in the medical literature. The quality of reporting of those that are published is often inadequate. In this article, we present an adapted CONSORT checklist for reporting noninferiority and equivalence trials and provide illustrative examples and explanations for those items amended from the original CONSORT checklist. The intent is to improve reporting of noninferiority and equivalence trials, enabling readers to assess the validity of their results and conclusions.

The Increasing Trend in Caesarean Section Rates: Global, Regional and National Estimates: 1990-2014.

Abstract: Background Caesarean section (CS) rates continue to evoke worldwide concern because of their steady increase, lack of consensus on the appropriate CS rate and the associated additional short- and long-term risks and costs. We present the latest CS rates and trends over the last 24 years. Methods We collected nationally-representative data on CS rates between 1990 to 2014 and calculated regional and subregional weighted averages. We conducted a longitudinal analysis calculating differences in CS rates as absolute change and as the average annual rate of increase (AARI). Results According to the latest data from 150 countries, currently 18.6% of all births occur by CS, ranging from 6% to 27.2% in the least and most developed regions, respectively. Latin America and the Caribbean region has the highest CS rates (40.5%), followed by Northern America (32.3%), Oceania (31.1%), Europe (25%), Asia (19.2%) and Africa (7.3%). Based on the data from 121 countries, the trend analysis showed that between 1990 and 2014, the global average CS rate increased 12.4% (from 6.7% to 19.1%) with an average annual rate of increase of 4.4%. The largest absolute increases occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (19.4%, from 22.8% to 42.2%), followed by Asia (15.1%, from 4.4% to 19.5%), Oceania (14.1%, from 18.5% to 32.6%), Europe (13.8%, from 11.2% to 25%), Northern America (10%, from 22.3% to 32.3%) and Africa (4.5%, from 2.9% to 7.4%). Asia and Northern America were the regions with the highest and lowest average annual rate of increase (6.4% and 1.6%, respectively). Conclusion The use of CS worldwide has increased to unprecedented levels although the gap between higher- and lower-resource settings remains. The information presented is essential to inform policy and global and regional strategies aimed at optimizing the use of CS.

About the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - NICE.

Abstract: