Factors associated with nutritional status of women of reproductive age group in rural, Nepal

Background: Maternal nutrition is one of the most important health and welfare problems among women in developing countries.In women of reproductive age, malnutrition can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Maternal nutrition is the major publichealth problem in Nepal. Objective: The main purpose of the study was to establish the factors influencing the nutritional statusof non-pregnant and non-lactating women of reproductive age in Shree Kedar VDC, Baitadi of Nepal. Methodology: A descriptive,cross-sectional study involving 229 non-pregnant and non-lactating women of reproductive age (15-49) was carried out in Baitadidistrict of Nepal. Results: In a total of 229 women, 45.4% of women were of age group 20-29 years. A significant proportion 32.3%was underweight with a mean body mass index of <18.5% and 4.8% were either overweight or obese. Women of all age groups werevulnerable to undernutrition. There was an indication of insufficient food availability at the household level. 22.7% of the studypopulation reported of food inadequacy. Educational status and marital status were statistically significant in the determination ofnutritional status. The study showed that the nutrition status of the study population in Shree Kedar VDC was poor. Conclusion:Food inadequacy, inadequate information/knowledge, low educational levels, caste, income, and family size were the key contributorsto poor nutritional status. Furthermore, nutritional interventions are highly needed to improve the nutrition status of women

Developing and deploying a community healthcare worker-driven, digitally- enabled integrated care system for municipalities in rural Nepal

International audienceIntegrating care at the home and facility level is a critical yet neglected function of healthcare delivery systems. There are few examples in practice or in the academic literature of affordable, digitally-enabled integrated care approaches embedded within healthcare delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries. Simultaneous advances in affordable digital technologies and community healthcare workers offer an opportunity to address this challenge. We describe the development of an integrated care system involving community healthcare worker networks that utilize a home-to-facility electronic health record platform for rural municipalities in Nepal. Key aspects of our approach of relevance to a global audience include: community healthcare workers continuously engaging with populations through household visits every three months; community healthcare workers using digital tools during the routine course of clinical care; individual and population-level data generated routinely being utilized for program improvement; and being responsive to privacy, security, and human rights concerns. We discuss implementation, lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities for future directions in integrated care delivery systems