The COVID‐19 Pandemic Not Only Poses Challenges, but Also Opens Opportunities for Sustainable Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and “brain gain,” and local governments' exercising authorities

Data from: Caregivers' attitude towards people with mental illness and perceived stigma: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital in Nepal

Background: Mental illness is stigmatized in most of the communities and people with such illness are often subjected to defame. Stigma impairs an individual’s and their caregiver’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing, and health-seeking behavior. Sufficient literature on how often the caregivers of people with mental illness from low and middle-income countries are stigmatized and how they perceive people with mental illness is unavailable. In this study, we examined caregivers’ attitude towards people with mental illness and perceived stigma. Methods: We conducted face-to-face interviews with 170 caregivers in an outpatient clinic of a hospital in Nepal using a structured questionnaire. We calculated median and inter-quartile range of the attitude and perceived stigma scores. To assess the correlates, Kruskal Wallis H test and Mann Whitney U test were carried out. Results: Overall median score for the domains: attitude (score range: 18–90) and perceived stigma (score range: 12–60) were 42 and 28 respectively, inter-quartile range being 8 each. Attitude score differed significantly by the sex of caregiver (p<0.05), educational status of caregiver (p<0.001), sex of patient (p<0.05) and type of mental illness (p<0.05). Perceived stigma score varied significantly by caregiver’s sex (p<0.05), marital status (p<0.001), educational status (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.05), relation with the patient (p<0.005) and use of alternative treatment modalities (p<0.05). Conclusion: Sex of participant, educational status, sex of patient and type of mental illness were the correlates of attitude towards mental illness. Similarly, sex of participant, marital status, educational status, occupation, caregiver’s relation with patient and use of alternative treatment modalities were correlates of perceived stigma. Findings of this study suggest that interventions targeting these high-risk populations might be beneficial to help build a positive attitude and overcome the perceived social stigma

Impacts of Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy in Nepal: a qualitative study

Abstract Background Despite the legalization of abortion in 2002 and the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Health and Population, abortion services remain inaccessible for many Nepali women. In 2017, the United States government enacted the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) policy, which prohibited international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) from receiving United States global health assistance from providing abortion services or referrals or engaging in advocacy on liberalizing abortion laws that may have had an impact on abortion services. Though this policy was revoked in January 2021, there is a need to assess its impacts in Nepal and mitigate its lingering effects, if any. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 21 national-level stakeholders selected purposively on the basis of their experiences and expertise in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Nepal. Interviews were conducted two times: first between August and November 2020 when PLGHA was in place, and then between July and August 2021 after PLGHA was revoked. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, translated and analysed thematically. Results Most participants reported that the implementation of PLGHA created gaps in SRHR services, affecting marginalized and underserved populations in Nepal. Participants reported that this policy has compromised the work of INGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs), posing additional risk to the sustainability of SRHR program achievements made so far. Beyond funding loss, participants also mentioned that PLGHA curtailed their freedom, with limited working areas and partnerships for CSOs leading to low or no utilization of services. Most participants welcomed the revocation of PLGHA and hoped it would have positive impacts on SRHR services by permanently repealing PLGHA. Most participants believed that the revocation of PLGHA opened opportunities for new funding and could re-establish partnerships and collaboration, though immediate results had not yet been seen. Conclusions PLGHA had negative impacts on access to and quality of SRHR services. The Nepal government and other donor agencies need to bridge the funding gap created by the policy. The revocation of the policy has created the hope of bringing positive impacts in SRHR sector; however, the implementation of revocation at the ground level and impacts made on SRHR programs in Nepal remains to be explored

Compliance of iron and folic acid supplementation and status of anaemia during pregnancy in the Eastern Terai of Nepal: findings from hospital based cross sectional study

Abstract Objectives Our study aimed to assess local data for compliance with IFA supplementation and prevalence of anaemia among the pregnant mothers visiting government health facilities of eastern Nepal. Results In our study samples, IFA compliance rate was 58% during pregnancy and 42% were anaemic. Anemia was 24 times more likely to occur in IFA noncompliant women during pregnancy than their counterparts (aOR = 24.2, 95% CI 10.1–58.3), and anemia was three times less likely to be found in those taking foods rich in heme–iron than their counterparts (aOR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.4–8.1)

Caregivers’ Attitude towards People with Mental Illness and Perceived Stigma: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Nepal

<div><p>Background</p><p>Mental illness is stigmatized in most of the communities and people with such illness are often subjected to defame. Stigma impairs an individual’s and their caregiver’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing, and health-seeking behavior. Sufficient literature on how often the caregivers of people with mental illness from low and middle-income countries are stigmatized and how they perceive people with mental illness is unavailable. In this study, we examined caregivers’ attitude towards people with mental illness and perceived stigma.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We conducted face-to-face interviews with 170 caregivers in an outpatient clinic of a hospital in Nepal using a structured questionnaire. We calculated median and inter-quartile range of the attitude and perceived stigma scores. To assess the correlates, Kruskal Wallis H test and Mann Whitney U test were carried out.</p><p>Results</p><p>Overall median score for the domains: attitude (score range: 18–90) and perceived stigma (score range: 12–60) were 42 and 28 respectively, inter-quartile range being 8 each. Attitude score differed significantly by the sex of caregiver (p<0.05), educational status of caregiver (p<0.001), sex of patient (p<0.05) and type of mental illness (p<0.05). Perceived stigma score varied significantly by caregiver’s sex (p<0.05), marital status (p<0.001), educational status (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.05), relation with the patient (p<0.005) and use of alternative treatment modalities (p<0.05).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Sex of participant, educational status, sex of patient and type of mental illness were the correlates of attitude towards mental illness. Similarly, sex of participant, marital status, educational status, occupation, caregiver’s relation with patient and use of alternative treatment modalities were correlates of perceived stigma. Findings of this study suggest that interventions targeting these high-risk populations might be beneficial to help build a positive attitude and overcome the perceived social stigma.</p></div

Dataset- Caregivers' Stigma

This file contains the data form the study "Caregivers’ Attitude towards People with Mental Illness and Perceived Stigma: A Cross-Sectional Study in A Tertiary Hospital in Nepal

Median score of items measuring perceived stigma.

<p>Median score of items measuring perceived stigma.</p

Median score of items measuring attitude towards PWMI.

<p>Median score of items measuring attitude towards PWMI.</p

Socio-demographic characteristics in relation to attitude towards PWMI and perceived stigma.

<p>Socio-demographic characteristics in relation to attitude towards PWMI and perceived stigma.</p

Additional file 1: of Breast cancer literacy among higher secondary students: results from a cross-sectional study in Western Nepal

Questionnaire. (PDF 56 kb