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Article History

Received: 29 December 2024

Accepted: 28 October 2025

First Online: 10 December 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The study does not require formal approval from the UST BANNU Ethical Committee, as it is ensuring compliance with the institutional guidelines for research involving human participants and study is based on data collection from local university students and does not involve any human trials/experiments. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards set by the institutional and national research committees, adhering to the principles outlined in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its subsequent amendments or comparable ethical standards ( ). As participants are from the same university and it does not involve any kind of human trial as well as participants were fully informed about the study’s objectives, methods, potential risks, and benefits before providing their voluntary consent. Hence this exemption to ethical adherence ensures the integrity of the research, particularly in the sensitive area of Bannu, KP Pakistan. Moreover, the proposal of the study was submitted to the undersigned and exemption was approved on 20 February 2024 accordingly.

: Informed consent was electronically obtained in writing from all participants who are above 18 years old and legally capable of providing their consent independently before their involvement in the study. Conducted via an online questionnaire, the consent process included a dedicated section explaining the study’s purpose, procedures, data usage, and participants’ rights, including voluntary participation and withdrawal without consequences. Participants confirmed consent by selecting an “Agree” button in the survey landing page before any question was displayed; those who declined were redirected away from the survey. The first consent was recorded on 15 April 2024 and the last consent on 28 May 2024 during the data collection process. All responses were anonymous and treated as confidential. The study did not involve vulnerable individuals, and no financial or material incentives were provided.