Chronic pain and insomnia are common and unbearable conditions that markedly affect the quality of life of an individual. Traditional pharmacological management usually results in limited long-term benefits and side effects, triggering exploration of non-pharmacological interventions. This study compared the effectiveness of two non-pharmacological interventions, yoga and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), for reducing low back pain and insomnia severity in pregnant women over an 8-week period. A two-group, pre- and post-intervention quasi-experimental design was used. Both interventions were assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Participants attending two private healthcare facilities were enrolled into two intervention groups by site, yoga (n = 50) and PMR (n = 50). Both interventions produced significant within-group reductions in pain and insomnia scores, and the yoga group showed the larger improvement. In the yoga group, the mean pre-treatment NPRS score of 8.44 ± 1.15 was reduced to 1.42 ± 1.09 post-treatment (mean difference = 7.02, p < 0.001), and the mean ISI score of 23.02 ± 2.02 was reduced to 10.02 ± 2.10 (mean difference = 13.00, p < 0.001). In the PMR group, the mean pre-treatment NPRS score of 8.92 ± 1.03 was reduced to 5.62 ± 1.05 post-treatment (mean difference = 3.30, p < 0.001), and the mean ISI score of 23.84 ± 1.97 was reduced to 16.70 ± 1.30 (mean difference = 7.14, p < 0.001). Between-group comparison showed significantly greater improvement in the yoga group for both outcomes (p < 0.001). Both interventions were beneficial for reducing pain and insomnia, and the yoga group showed significantly greater improvement. With comparable baseline characteristics between groups, these findings support yoga as the more effective of the two programs, while acknowledging the absence of a usual-care control arm.

Proper patient positioning is important in digital mammography, as even minor deviations can compromise image quality, increase retake rates, and increase radiation exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of conventional versus optimized positioning techniques on image clarity, radiation dose, and retake frequency in women undergoing routine mammographic screening. This comparative study was conducted over ten months at a private hospital and a diagnostic center in Sargodha and included 60 women aged 40 to 60 years who were undergoing digital mammography by using both conventional and optimized positioning techniques during the same session. Image quality was independently assessed by two blinded radiologists using a standardized five-point scale adapted from the perfect, good, moderate, inadequate (PGMI) classification (5 = perfect, 4 = good, 3 = moderate, 2 = suboptimal, 1 = inadequate), and the radiation dose per image and retake rates were recorded. The results of this study revealed that compared with the conventional technique, optimized positioning significantly improved the image quality score (mean: 4.28 ± 0.51 versus 3.62 ± 0.67; p < 0.001). The percentage of images rated as “perfect” or “good” increased under the optimized method, particularly in mediolateral oblique (MLO) views. Although the optimized technique resulted in a slight, nonsignificant increase in the radiation dose [2.11 ± 0.26 milligray (mGy) versus 2.04 ± 0.30 mGy; p = 0.139], it significantly reduced retake rates from 13.3% to 3.3% (McNemar exact p = 0.021). No significant period or carryover effect was detected between the two application-order subgroups (Mann–Whitney p = 0.16 for dose and p = 0.57 for image quality), supporting the adequacy of the 5-minute wash-out and the validity of the paired comparison. The study concluded that optimized patient positioning enhances image quality and reduces the need for repeat exposures without significantly increasing the radiation dose.

Gender equity is important in healthcare academic institutions for operational effectiveness, quality medical education and workforce sustainability; however, the professional careers of faculty across the globe are influenced by gender based disparities. This qualitative descriptive study explored and compared the perceptions and experiences of faculty members regarding gender equity in public and private medical colleges in Punjab, Pakistan. In depth semi structured interviews were conducted with 19 teaching faculty members from one public and one private medical college through purposive sampling to ensure variation in gender, academic rank, discipline, and years of experience. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s framework of thematic analysis. Data saturation was achieved at the tenth participant in the private sector and the ninth participant in the public sector college. Four major themes, namely, gendered career progression and promotion pathways, workplace culture and implicit gender bias, work–life balance and institutional support, and institutional context and sector specific differences, emerged. Female faculty members reported promotional delays, inadequate leadership opportunities, and an uneven distribution of household responsibilities, whereas male faculty members outlined gender-based inequities as systemic rather than intentional. Although public and private colleges differed in terms of their governance and administrative structures, gender inequities were reported in both, marked by limited institutional support mechanisms and unclear promotion processes and informal practices across the system. By providing context specific qualitative evidence, this study concludes that gender equity in healthcare academia is beyond the numerical representation of males and females in an institution and requires systemic as well as organizational reforms for the implementation of the concept in its true spirit.

Tuberculosis (TB) and malnutrition are closely intertwined, yet local data on the nutritional status of TB patients and the factors that shape it remain limited in Pakistan. This cross-sectional study determined the nutritional status of adult TB patients attending public- and private-sector hospitals in Lahore and identified its sociodemographic and health-system determinants while also describing treatment-related and facility-related barriers and their relationships with treatment adherence. A total of 379 adult patients receiving anti-TB treatment were assessed using the 18-item Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and treatment, facility, and patient experiences were recorded through a structured proforma. Nutritional status was classified using standard MNA cut-offs, and determinants of malnutrition and self-reported nonadherence (≥ 2 missed doses in two weeks) were examined using the chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression. The mean MNA score was 15.2 ± 6.1, and malnutrition was highly prevalent: 183 patients (48.3%) were malnourished, and 154 (40.6%) were at risk, leaving only 42 (11.1%) with a normal nutritional status. Female sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–2.44; p = 0.032) and rural residence (aOR 1.74, 95% CI 1.11–2.72; p = 0.015) were independently associated with malnutrition, and a higher patient-barrier score showed a borderline association (aOR 1.25, 95% CI 1.00–1.56; p = 0.048), whereas age and treatment or facility burden were not; household income was associated with malnutrition bivariately but not after adjustment. Self-reported nonadherence, reported by 293 patients (77.3%), was associated with a higher facility-barrier burden (aOR 1.59, 95% CI 1.08–2.34; p = 0.020) but not with nutritional status. The study concluded that malnutrition or its risk affects the overwhelming majority of TB patients in this setting, with women and rural patients at greatest risk, while facility-level barriers—rather than nutritional status—track with missed doses. Nutrition-sensitive TB care that prioritizes women and rural patients, coupled with health-system measures to ease facility barriers, is warranted.

An estimated 262 million people live with asthma globally, and control remains inadequate for a large share of them despite pharmacotherapy. Diaphragmatic stretching and respiratory training have each shown promise as nonpharmacological adjuncts, but they have rarely been compared directly. In a two-arm quasi-experimental study at a private hospital outpatient department in Lahore, Pakistan, 100 adults with clinically stable mild-to-moderate asthma were enrolled consecutively and assigned alternately to diaphragmatic stretching or respiratory training (50 per arm); both arms attended supervised 30-minute sessions three times weekly across 14 weeks. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1; primary outcome), forced vital capacity (FVC), six-minute walk test (6MWT), Asthma Control Test (ACT), and University of California, San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (UCSD SOBQ) were assessed at baseline and at 14 weeks. All five outcomes improved within both groups (p < 0.001). Between-group comparisons of changes in scores favored diaphragmatic stretching throughout: an FEV1 of 0.20 L (95% CI of 0.07 to 0.33), an FVC of 0.20 L (0.10 to 0.30), a 6MWT of 39.9 m (27.6 to 52.2), an ACT of 1.98 points (1.16 to 2.80), and a UCSD SOBQ of −5.08 points (−6.33 to −3.83); all p ≤ 0.003, and analysis of covariance adjusted for baseline values yielded concordant results. More participants reached the predefined minimal clinically important difference (MCID) with diaphragmatic stretching for FEV1 (60% vs 32%), FVC (58% vs 36%), the 6MWT (70% vs 14%), the ACT (54% vs 22%), and the UCSD SOBQ (60% vs 2%). Compared with respiratory training, diaphragmatic stretching therefore improved pulmonary function, exercise tolerance, and asthma-related symptoms more. Because allocation was not randomized and the groups differed at baseline, confirmation in randomized controlled trials is needed.