{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T16:50:19Z","timestamp":1784652619624,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,15]],"date-time":"2025-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760486400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003399","name":"Shanghai Science and Technology Commission","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["23DZ2203000"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23DZ2203000"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003399","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003399","name":"Shanghai Science and Technology Commission","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["24DZ2202800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24DZ2202800"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003399","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Major Scientific Research Project Funding Plan for High-Quality Development of Science and Technology in the Health Field of Xiamen City","award":["2024GZL-ZD04"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024GZL-ZD04"]}]},{"name":"Fujian Provincial Natural Science Foundation Project","award":["2024D029"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024D029"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJNS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Early and timely screening for congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the key challenges for healthcare professionals (HPs). This study aimed to identify barriers to the screening of CHD among healthcare professionals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted among HPs working in public and private hospitals, and data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 10.0 software until saturation following Braun and Clarke\u2019s framework. Data were reported according to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR). Participants reported critical gaps in CHD screening, including scarce resources such as a lack of pulse oximeters and echocardiography machines, inadequate training, and overburdened staff struggling with high patient volumes. Emotional distress was common when diagnosing severe CHDs, compounded by parental reluctance due to low awareness and socioeconomic barriers, including costs and travel distances. Operational inefficiencies, such as inconsistent protocols, weak referral systems, and paper-based record-keeping, further delayed diagnoses. Despite these challenges, HPs emphasized the potential of standardized screening tools, interdisciplinary coordination, and community education to improve detection rates. CHD screening in Pakistan is impeded by resource limitations, systemic fragmentation, and sociocultural factors. Prioritizing equipment procurement, HP training, public awareness campaigns, and policy-mandated screening protocols could enhance early detection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijns11040095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]],"date-time":"2025-10-17T16:13:03Z","timestamp":1760717583000},"page":"95","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Challenges Faced by Healthcare Professionals in Screening Newborns for Congenital Heart Defects in Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4852-2938","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ijaz ul","family":"Haq","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Management Office of Neonatal Screening Project for CHD, Children\u2019s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children\u2019s Medical Center, Shanghai 201102, China"},{"name":"Department of Public Health & Nutrition, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22620, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9791-6729","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Imran","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals, Saidu Sharif, Swat 19200, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9152-3269","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amir","family":"Muhammad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics Department, Lady Reading Hospital, MTI, Peshawar 25000, Khyber Pukhtunkhawa, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8349-5390","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Majid","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi 46000, Punjab, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaojing","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Management Office of Neonatal Screening Project for CHD, Children\u2019s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children\u2019s Medical Center, Shanghai 201102, China"},{"name":"Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defects, Shanghai 200032, China"},{"name":"Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases, Xiamen 361006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guo-Ying","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Management Office of Neonatal Screening Project for CHD, Children\u2019s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children\u2019s Medical Center, Shanghai 201102, China"},{"name":"Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defects, Shanghai 200032, China"},{"name":"Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases, Xiamen 361006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1016\/S2352-4642(19)30402-X","article-title":"Global, regional, and national burden of congenital heart disease, 1990\u20132017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017","volume":"4","author":"Zimmerman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet Child Adolesc. 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