Ali, Hassan
Zakar, Rubeena
Junaid, Khunsa
Khan, Amjad
Fischer, Florian
Funding for this research was provided by:
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Article History
Received: 9 November 2020
Accepted: 10 May 2021
First Online: 27 May 2021
Change Date: 29 October 2021
Change Type: Update
Change Details: In the original publication, the AuthorComment files were incomplete The article has been updated and the Funding section has been corrected.
Declarations
:
: Ethical approval was taken from Institutional Ethics Review Board, University of the Punjab, Lahore (Ref No: 1125/IERB/PU). In addition, approvals for data collection were obtained from HIV clinics of selected hospitals of Lahore as well as from the project director of Punjab AIDS Control Program (PACP/Admin/24786), Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), Government of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Confidentiality, anonymity, and privacy of all study respondents was guaranteed at all levels in this study. No identifying information of the patient such as name, date of birth, telephone number, or address was recorded. Informed consent was taken from all subjects. The aim of research was explained to the patients in detail. Patients were also informed about the possible risks/discomfort involved. Data collection process was carried out in a comfortable environment where patients had the opportunity to speak openly and they also had the right to ask any question about the study. All methods were carried out in accordance with the “Guidelines and Recommendations to Assure Good Epidemiologic Practice” developed by the German Society for Epidemiology [CitationRef removed].
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. FF serves as Academic Editor for BMC Public Health.