Knowledge and practice on menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls of selected slums in Kathmandu valley

Introductions: Hygiene related practices during menstruation are of considerable importance. This study assesses the existing level of knowledge on menstrual hygiene, and its compliance, among adolescent girls of selected slum areas in Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: Descriptive cross sectional study design was applied and slums in Kathmandu district were selected conveniently as research site. Primary data were collected through interview by using structured questionnaire. The association between knowledge and practices were identified through chi square test. Results: There were 282 respondents for study. Less than half 121 (42.9%) had adequate knowledge related to menstruation and its hygiene. Two-third 185(65.6%) of the participants used sanitary pads, 183 (98.9%), washed hands after pad change, 271 (96.1%) cleaned perineal area during menstruation, 227(80.5%) were aware about the myth and 61.9% followed social norms and restriction related with menstruation. Age of the participant, their education level and the income sources were found statistically significant with their level of knowledge on menstruation. Conclusions: More than half of adolescent girls of slums in Kathmandu district had inadequate knowledge regarding menstruation and two-third practiced menstrual hygiene. Keywords: adolescent, slum, menarche, menstruation hygien

Health seeking behaviour on child morbidity among minority group of people of Chandranighapur VDC, Rautahat district, Nepal

Background and Objectives: Health seeking behavior is the behavior of seeking health care during diseased condition. Various studies from developing countries have reported that delay in seeking appropriate care and not seeking any care contributes to the large number can lead to large number of child deaths. The study was carried out to assess the health seeking behavior during child morbidity and availability of modern health care facilities among Minority groups of people. Methods: A descriptive cross- sectional study was conducted among the minority group in Chandranighapur VDC of Rautahat District of Nepal. Among the total respondents only 100 respondents were selected purposively having child below 5 years of age on the household basis. Results: The study revealed that during the period of last one year all children were found to be exposed to any type of illness. Diarrhea, common cold and fever were the most leading cause of illness. One year incidence of childhood illness was higher among children of uneducated mothers. Similarly, children from joint families and from traditional household were found to be more likely to be exposed to sickness. Likewise, all of the respondents accepted treatment from modern health care services. Treatment success rate was found to be 100 percent. Feeding practices during diseased conditions were not found to be satisfactory and very few respondents knew about proper home care of these disease condition. Conclusions: Majority of respondents were found to seek modern health care for one year. Majority of respondents didn’t have access to modern health care facilities due to high transportation cost and high cost for medicine

Knowledge regarding Alzheimer’s Disease among College Students of Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction. Alzheimer’s, a neurodegenerative disease, is becoming a growing burden and the leading cause of disability among older people, and there is no cure for it. It is set to be the biggest killer among the growing elderly population. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease among college students in Kathmandu metropolitan city. Methods. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 385 randomly selected bachelor students of Kathmandu metropolitan city. The questionnaire included 2 sections. Section I addressed the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. Section II addressed or covered the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) test. ADKS contains a set of 30 items, with true and false options. 1 point was given for the correct answer and 0 for the incorrect answer. The final sum was then the total score of the participant. Frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were calculated, and the chi-square test was used to measure the association between two categorical variables. Results. The mean ADKS (Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale) score is 15.45±2.95 with the lowest and highest mean total scores of 8 and 26, respectively. 49.5% of the respondents scored above the mean. The number of male and female respondents who scored above the mean is 68 and 95, respectively, with p value 0.71 and odds ratio 0.922. There is no association between gender and knowledge level. Gender seemed to have no effect on the knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease on the basis of the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS). However, science students had comparatively better knowledge about disease than management students. The mean score of science and management is 15.9 and 15.04, respectively, with p value 0.004. There is association between knowledge score and faculty. Conclusion. This study concluded that the knowledge level of college students on Alzheimer’s disease is below moderate. The findings concluded that there is association between faculty and knowledge score

Knowledge and Understanding of Personal Protective Equipment Use among Laborer Population of the Nepalese Workforce

The constructing laborers are mainly unskilled, untrained, migrant, socially backward, and uneducated with low bargaining power. Thus, we assessed the knowledge and prevalence on occupational safety and health (OSH) of laborers working at private constructing sites. A descriptive cross-sectional study of 229 laborers working at private constructing sites selected by 30 cluster sampling methods from the Lalitpur metropolitan city and Mahalaxmi municipality was conducted using a structured questionnaire and observation checklist. EpiData and SPSS were used for data analysis. Most of the laborers (62%) had inadequate knowledge on OSH. The level of knowledge was significantly associated with sex, education, and family type at 95% CI (p value < 0.05). The prevalence of occupational accidents within a year was 19.7% and was significantly associated with the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at 95% CI (p value < 0.05). About one-fifth of the participants had occupational accidents within a year because of the inadequate knowledge of OSH

Linkage of Depression with Elder Abuse among Institutionalized Older Persons in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Background. To identify the association between elderly abuse and depression among elderly living in old age homes of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 5 old age homes of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The Geriatric Mistreatment Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale were used to collect information from 220 elderly aged 65 or above, and face-to-face interviews were conducted. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the association between elderly abuse and geriatric depression. Results. Among the different types of abuse analyzed, the multivariate analysis showed that neglect (AOR=2.995; CI: 1.249-7.181) and economical abuse (AOR=4.728, CI: 1.836-12.173) were significantly associated with increased risk of geriatric depression. Furthermore, the study identified that future saving and absence of chronic disease significantly reduced the risk of psychological abuse, neglect, and geriatric depression. Conclusions. Neglect and economical abuse are a predictor of geriatric depression. Efforts should be directed to increase awareness about the different forms of abuse among the primary caregivers of the elderly. Counseling services and support programs should be introduced in old age homes to address the high burden of geriatric depression

Depression among Adolescents of Rural Nepal: A Community-Based Study

This community-based study is aimed at finding out the prevalence of depression, and its correlates among adolescents of rural Nepal. Data were collected among adolescents after multistage stratified proportionate random sampling by using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess the depression among adolescent. Chi-square test and logistic regression model were applied. The prevalence of depression was found to be 27%. Adolescents who were not satisfied with their academic performance were 2.4 times more likely to have the risk of depression (AOR=2.417, CI: 1.097-5.326). Likewise, tobacco users were almost fourteen times (AOR=13.858, CI: 2.090-91.90), who intended to harm themselves were two times (AOR=2.323, CI: 1.078-5.005), sleep deprivation were fifteen folds (AOR=14.911, CI: 7.376-30.145), often scolded by their parents was almost three times (AOR=2.931, CI: 1.195-7.436), and having poor relationship with friends were 2.4 times more likely (AOR=2.371, CI: 1.078-5.215) of having depression. Sleep deprivation has a long-term negative impact on health leading depression