Health literacy Knowledge and understanding of registered nurses in tertiary care teaching hospital of eastern Nepal: two important dimensions for better health results

Background: Difference in health literacy skills among peoples is a cause of health inequality and has a profound effect on health care system. Correlation between health literacy and health outcome of patient subsequently demands identification of patient’s health literacy level by health professionals. Objective: The study aims to assess the health literacy knowledge and understanding of registered nurses working in tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional method was employed among 125 registered nurses. Health Literacy Knowledge and Experience Survey (HLKES-2) was used to gather knowledge related data. Descriptive statistical tools, t Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H were used to analyze the data. A focus group discussion (N=10) was conducted to obtain nurses' understanding of health literacy. Results: Majority of nurses had not heard the term health literacy before. Finding suggest gap in health literacy knowledge among nurses. Knowledge scarcity was in almost all areas but noticeably in the area of evaluation of healthcare teaching. Half of the respondent scored less than 50% of the total score. Analysis demonstrated that Health literacy knowledge was independent of nurses' characteristics. Conclusion: limited knowledge of health literacy among nurses stresses for integration of health literacy education in nursing curriculum and continuing education

A Case Control Study on Risk Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight Babies in Eastern Nepal

Background. This study was done to assess the maternal and sociodemographic factors associated with low birth weight (LBW) babies. Methods. An unmatched case control study was done involving 159 cases (mothers having LBW singleton babies) and 159 controls (mothers having normal birth weight singleton babies). Results. More than 50% of LBW babies were from the mothers with height ≤145 cm while only 9.43% of NBW babies were from the mothers with that height. Finally, after multivariate logistic regression analysis, maternal height, time of first antenatal care (ANC) visit, number of ANC visits, iron supplementation, calcium supplementation, maternal education, any illness during pregnancy, and hypertension were found as the significant predictors of LBW. However, maternal blood group AB, normal maternal Body Mass Index (BMI), mother’s age of 30 or more years, and starting ANC visit earlier were found to be protective for LBW. Conclusion. Study findings suggest that selectively targeted interventions such as delay age at first pregnancy, improving maternal education and nutrition, and iron and calcium supplementation can prevent LBW in Nepal

Effect of gender preference on fertility: cross-sectional study among women of Tharu community from rural area of eastern region of Nepal

BACKGROUND: Son preference is predominant in developing countries especially South Asian countries and its effect is most visible when the fertility is on transition. Nepal is a country in South Asia where the fertility has declined and son is valued highly. This study examines the parent’s gender preference for children and its effect on fertility and reproductive behaviors. METHODS: Study was conducted in Sonapur village development committee of Sunsari district among women of Tharu community of reproductive age (15–49) currently in union and having at least one child. Data was collected by house to house survey. Data was analyzed with IBM SPSS 20 version. Multinomial and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship among variables. RESULTS: Three hundred women of reproductive age were included in the study. Current average age of the respondents was 31.97 years and mean age at marriage was 18.87 (SD +/-2.615). Child Sex ratio (male: female) of the respondents who didn’t want any more children was 1.41. The birth spacing following male baby was 3.09 years whereas the average birth spacing following female baby was 2.71 years. Age of the respondents and education status of the respondents were also significantly associated with contraceptive practice. Presence of only female children in family significantly increased the desire of other children (AOR = 10.153, 95% CI = 2.357-43.732). CONCLUSION: This study finds that the gender preference affects the fertility and reproductive behavior of the respondents and it is necessary to reduce son preference for the health and well being of children and women

Depression among inmates in a regional prison of eastern Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Depression is the most common form of mental disorder among inmates, with a prevalence much higher than in the general population. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of depression among inmates and identify factors associated with it. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in Jhumka Regional Prison, the largest prison in eastern Nepal, from September 2014 to August 2015. A total of 434 randomly selected inmates were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire examining socio-demographic characteristics, detention status, self-reported health problems, substance use status, and suicidal ideation. Depression was screened using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analysis were applied to determine the association between depression and related variables. Results The mean age of the participants was 35.7 years (SD 13.3). The prevalence of depression among the inmates was 35.3%. Approximately 2.3% reported suicidal ideation during imprisonment and 0.9% had attempted suicide inside the prison. In bivariate analysis, depression was significantly associated with previous incarceration (OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.05–3.47, p = 0.033), poor self-rated health (OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.16–2.64, p = 0.007), frequent appointments when encountering health problems (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.06–2.61, p = 0.028), suicidal ideation (OR = 4.44, 95%CI = 1.13–17.44, p = 0.038) and loss of weight (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.00–2.23, p = 0.049). However, only previous incarceration (AOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.04–3.74, p = 0.037) and frequent appointments when encountering health problems (AOR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.01–2.57, p = 0.046) remained significant in a multivariate model. Conclusions This study showed a high rate of depression among inmates in Nepal. The results suggest a need for psychiatric and rehabilitative care in correctional settings to improve the health status of the inmates