Introduction

Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is a famous known Pakistan Public Service Organization which not only serves in Pakistan, but also internationally, where there are disaster struck areas and even in active war-zones. Every year, PRCS allows volunteers to take part in its summer internship program where the goal is to choose a topic of concern in the surrounding regions and apply active measures in order to address that topic of concern.

Dengue Fever Awareness Session

Our internship period was two weeks. In the first week, discussions were held, in order to highlight potential welfare problems. In the second week, the teams left out for field trips, in order to carry out their welfare ideas. Our idea was to raise Dengue Fever Awareness Session in Islamabad Grammar School (IGS). Moreover, our team also visited Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to take note on the condition of dengue patients and discuss the preventive measures they take in order to prevent the disease from spreading. Lastly, our team created an online form, in order to collect the regional awareness level of local citizens when it comes to dengue fever.

Islamabad Grammar School (IGS) Visit

The target audience for this visit was pre-matriculation children aging between 10 to 15 years old. The reason for that was because youngsters and even teenagers nowadays know well about dengue virus and its preventive measures.

The session was conducted and material was presented via a projector. The presentation included introduction to dengue fever, its symptoms, preventive measures, and question and answer session.

Our team also prepared gifts for the children and made the session very informative and interactive.

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Visit

The second objective of our team was the visit of PIMS, in order to review the condition, and the recovery progress of dengue patients. We reviewed the condition of a dengue patient who was admitted. For 10-15 days, the patient developed high grade fever which was not agitated or relieved by anything. For the next 2-3 days, the patient observed cough and shortness of breath followed by body aches and chills through out the body for the next 10-15 days.

Our team reviewed the recovery progress from expert doctors. We also verified some of our own knowledge about dengue virus.

Online Form - Data Analysis

Our field visits were based on the online forms that we conducted from the local citizens of Islamabad. As indicated in the form, most of the citizens were teenagers/university students and their knowledge of dengue virus was better as compared to the citizens who were under eighteen. Following are the statistics of the form.

Forms response chart. Question title: Age. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Gender. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Have you ever heard of dengue before?. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Which of the following symptoms are associated with dengue? (Select all that apply). Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Have you or anyone you know ever contracted dengue?. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: How do you rate your knowledge about dengue transmission and prevention?. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Which of the following methods do you use to prevent dengue? (Select all that apply). Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: How often do you take measures to prevent mosquito breeding around your home?. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Would you be interested in participating in local dengue prevention campaigns or workshops?. Number of responses: 54 responses.

Certificate

PRCS provides certificate of internship after completion of internship. Here is my certificate:

Besides, I also completed a course offered by PRCS during this period.

Conclusion

PRCS is an amazing society working to improve the condition and wellbeing of mankind. Before this internship, I honestly did not know about PRCS, but now, after seeing PRCS working in the background to help alleviate the conditions of disaster and war afflicted areas, I understand the vital role its playing for human welfare.