Jamal Abdul Nasir

Factors associated with contraceptive approval among religious leaders in Pakistan.

Research is needed to understand the role of religion in family planning dynamics, particularly in societies where the views of religious leaders can be an important influence on the reproductive decisions of individuals. This paper attempts to describe the factors associated with approval of contraception among religious leaders in Pakistan. The data are taken from the 1999-2000 Survey of Perception of Religious Leaders about Population Welfare. Regression modelling shows that whether or not religious leaders approve of family planning is associated with their views on the ideal family size, their level of religious education, the specific religious sect to which they belong, their own knowledge and use of family planning, their exposure to television and the region of the country in which they live.

Relationship between psychological distress and resilience in rescue workers

Objectives: To assess the relationship between psychological distress and resilience in rescue workers. Following hypothesis was formulated; there would be negative correlation between psychological distress and resilience in rescue workers. Method: A correlational study was conducted from June-August 2015 in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. The sample of the present study consisted of 100 rescue workers. The age of the participants ranged from 23 to 40 year old with the mean age of 27.4±3.9 years. Demographic information form, Kessler psychological distress scale and adult resilience measure were administered on the participants to assess the level of psychological distress and resilience. Results: Pearson product moment coefficient of correlation was applied to analyze the relationship of psychological distress and resilience. Analysis of the result indicated that there is negative relationship between psychological distress and resilience (r= -0.203, p<0.01) in rescue workers. Further, contextual factors (r= -0.292, p<0.05) and its subcomponents including spiritual beliefs (r= -0.239, p<0.05) and cultural resources (r= -0.287, p<0.01) were also found to be inversely correlated with psychological distress. Conclusion: The research evidenced that rescue workers were experiencing psychological distress Resilience factors should be considered while designing trainings to preserve mental health and to enhance the psychological well-being of rescue workers.

Demographic dividend and literate life expectancy: The case of Pakistan

During the demographic transition from high mortality and fertility to low mortality and fertility, the age structure of a country changes, so that for a period the proportion of the population (which is of working ages) rises and then falls. This period during which the working-age population is relatively large is often termed the ‘demographic dividend’, a phenomenon which may be exploited by a country to accelerate economic development. The effectiveness with which a country may make use of the demographic dividend in this way, however, depends on the level of human capital of the working population, which determines its productivity. One way of measuring human capital is to use the socalled literate life expectancy, which is an estimate of the average number of years a member of the population spends in the literate state. This paper describes the calculation of the literate life expectancy for Pakistan, and compares the situation of Pakistan with that of other countries.