2.4 Participants:
The final pre-tested questionnaire was utilized to create a Google
survey form and published as a cross-sectional survey on
1st of December 2022. The link of the Google survey
form was designed in such a way that only 1 response can be generated
using one device. The inclusion criteria were Pakistani citizens of both
sexes, aged ≥ 18, and residing within the country. The recruitment was
accomplished online (Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram, and
Twitter) and offline methods (data collectors took responses
conveniently). In order to avoid selection biases, the data collectors
were hired from different regions of Pakistan to have a representative
sample (four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), and
Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administrative
territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan). Moreover,
the data collectors included participants from different age groups.
Participants dеclarеd their consent to voluntarily participate in this
study prior to filling out the survey.