PREVENTIVE MEDICINE DEPARTMENT;

SERVES BETTER IN HOSPITALS

Abstract

Objectives: To measure the current status of preventive activities in civil and military hospitals. To compare the quantum of
preventive and curative activities in the hospitals. To make recommendations for promotion of preventive activities to reduce the curative burden
from the hospitals. Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Sampling Technique: Universal sampling. All the major military and public
sector hospitals having bed strength more than 400 in Rawalpindi were included in the study. All the preventive and curative work was taken into
account. Methodology: A structured questionnaire was developed and data regarding the quantum of work was collected from all the four
major Military and civil hospitals having bed strength more than 400 beds through registers and annual reports of the hospital and was analyzed
in the form of frequencies, tabulation, cross tabulation, percentages and was displayed in tables and graphs using SPSS (10.5), Microsoft Excel
and calculus. Results: Only seven percent work is preventive and ninety three percent is curative. In the preventive activity MH is marginally
higher than the rest of the hospitals. In all the hospitals among the preventive activities 31% are antenatal visits, 20 % tetanus toxoid injection,
19% BCG, Growth monitoring 13%, Measles injection 11% and family planning 6% in all the hospitals. Ante natal activities in the army sector
hospitals are more prominent 39-44% and also in the public sector 17-26%. Next to the antenatal are tetanus toxoids to pregnant ladies which
range from 16-35% in military and 16-20 % in the public sector hospitals. Growth monitoring is more efficiently carried out in the Rawalpindi
General Hospital i.e. 17% while in others 7-12%. Family Planning services are delivered very poorly only 9% in RGH and 6% in DHQ, zero % in
CMH and 5% in MH. Measles vaccination is carried out efficiently in DHQ 27%, 11% in RGH and 8% in MH and again poorly 3% in CMH. BCG is
27% in DHQ, 20% in MH, 17% in RGH and 10% in CMH. Conclusions: The study show that hospitals are showing very poor performance in
preventive aspect and this is the reason that countries like Pakistan are facing economic burden on the national exchequer and this burden will
keep on increasing if no appropriate action is taken.