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Article History

Received: 12 September 2025

Accepted: 19 March 2026

First Online: 29 March 2026

Declarations

:

: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Bioethics Committee (IBC) of the University of Karachi (Approval No. IBC KU-453/2024, dated October 10, 2024). The protocol was performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations established by the Declaration of Helsinki. The informed consent process was integrated as a mandatory section within the questionnaire itself. For online participants, the informed consent statement was presented at the beginning of the Google Forms questionnaire and required acknowledgment before participants could proceed to the actual survey questions. For in-person participants, verbal informed consent was obtained with witness documentation. The complete informed consent documentation, including the consent language and procedures for both online and in-person participants, was submitted to and approved by the Institutional Bioethics Committee as part of the study protocol approval (IBC KU-453/2024).

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.