Prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among adolescent girls on Weekly Iron Folic Acid supplementation (WIFAS) implemented and non-implemented schools at Tokha municipality, Kathmandu.

Anemia, the prevailing nutritional disorder worldwide, exerts its greatest impact on individuals in developing nations, exhibiting a heightened prevalence among adolescents. There is a window of opportunity for children to improve their nutritional status during their adolescence period. Weekly iron-folic acid supplementation is the preventive measure to break the intergenerational cycle of anemia. The correlation between the consumption of iron folic acid supplements and the prevention of anemia has been firmly established by numerous studies, revealing a statistically significant association. Therefore, this study was undertaken with the aim to assess the difference in the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among adolescent girls in Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) implemented and non-implemented schools at Tokha Municipality, Kathmandu. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 602 adolescent girls from grade six to ten equally divided into WIFAS implemented and WIFAS non-implemented schools. Hemoglobin estimation was done using the HemoCue Hb 301 method. The descriptive, univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done using SPSS version 25 to identify a significant association between anemia and its associated variables at p-value<0.05. The overall prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls was found to be 17.4% out of which, 14% and 20.9% from WIFAS-implemented and non-implemented schools respectively. The factors like type of school, fathers' education and dietary diversity were found to be statistically significant with anemia during multivariable logistic regression analysis. Given the findings of this research, proper counseling and promotion of utilization of WIFAS in order to decrease the prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls are recommended.

Anxiety and depression among people living in quarantine centers during COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed method study from western Nepal.

BACKGROUND: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, incoming travelers were quarantined at specific centers in Nepal and major checkpoints in Nepal-India border. Nepal adopted a generic public health approaches to control and quarantine returnee migrants, with little attention towards the quality of quarantine facilities and its aftermath, such as the poor mental health of the returnee migrants. The main objective of this study was to explore the status of anxiety and depression, and factors affecting them among returnee migrants living in institutional quarantine centers of western Nepal. METHODS: A mixed method approach in this study included a quantitative survey and in-depth interviews (IDIs) among respondents in quarantine centers of Karnali province between 21st April and 15th May 2020. Survey questionnaire utilized Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) tools, which were administered among 441 quarantined returnee migrants. IDIs were conducted among 12 participants which included a mix of six quarantined migrants and healthcare workers each from the quarantine centres. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted on quantitative data; and thematic analysis was utilized for qualitative data. RESULTS: Mild depression (9.1%; 40/441) and anxiety (16.1%; 71/441) was common among respondents followed by moderate depression and anxiety {depression (3.4%; 15/441), anxiety (4.1%; 18/441)} and severe depression and anxiety {depression (1.1%; 5/441), anxiety (0.7%; 3/441)}. Anxiety and depression were independent of their socio-demographic characteristics. Perceived fear of contracting COVID-19, severity and death were prominent among the respondents. Respondents experienced stigma and discrimination in addition to being at the risk of disease and possible loss of employment and financial responsibilities. In addition, poor (quality and access to) health services, and poor living condition at the quarantine centres adversely affected respondents' mental health. CONCLUSION: Depression and anxiety were high among quarantined population and warrants more research. Institutional quarantine centers of Karnali province of Nepal were in poor conditions which adversely impacted mental health of the respondents. Poor resource allocation for health, hygiene and living conditions can be counterproductive to the population quarantined.

May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Nepal.

May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative to screen high blood pressure (BP) in the community and increase awareness at the population level. High BP is the leading risk factor for mortality worldwide and in Nepal. This study presents the results of the 2019 MMM in Nepal. Opportunistic BP screening was conducted in 30 out of 77 districts across Nepal and aged ≥18 years at the community and public places. BP was measured three times in a seated position. A total of 74 205 individuals participated in the study, mean age 39.9 years, and 58% were male. BP measurements for the second and third readings were available for 69 292 (93.3%) individuals. The proportion of the population that were hypertensive was 27.5% (n = 20 429). Among those hypertensives, 46.3% were aware of their hypertensive status and of these, 37.5% were on antihypertensive medication. Only 54.3% of those on antihypertensive medication had their BP controlled. Of the community screened, those self reporting to have diabetes, current tobacco users, and current alcohol drinkers were 6.7%, 23.6%, and 31.9%, respectively; 20.6% of the participants were overweight, and 6.5% were obese. Since the first BP screening campaign, MMM 2017 in Nepal, the number of participants screened has largely increased over the years. MMM's success in Nepal is through a coordinated mobilization of trained health science students and volunteers in the communities. The Nepal MMM data demonstrates that large community-based BP screening campaigns are possible in low resource settings.

Frontline Healthcare Workers' Knowledge and Perception of COVID-19, and Willingness to Work during the Pandemic in Nepal.

This study investigated the contextual factors associated with the knowledge, perceptions, and the willingness of frontline healthcare workers (FHWs) to work during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal among a total of 1051 FHWs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to identify independent associations between predictors and outcome variables. Of the total study subjects, 17.2% reported inadequate knowledge on COVID-19, 63.6% reported that they perceived the government response as unsatisfactory, and 35.9% showed an unwillingness to work during the pandemic. Our analyses demonstrated that FHWs at local public health facilities, pharmacists, Ayurvedic health workers (HWs), and those with chronic diseases were less likely, and male FHWs were more likely, to have adequate knowledge of COVID-19. Likewise, nurses/midwives, public health workers, FHWs from Karnali and Far-West provinces, and those who had adequate knowledge of COVID-19 were more likely to have satisfactory perceptions towards the government response. Further, FHWs-paramedics, nurse/midwives, public health workers, laboratory workers-FHWs from Karnali Province and Far-West Province, and those with satisfactory perceptions of government responses to COVID-19 were predictors of willingness to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest that prompt actions are required to improve FHWs' knowledge of COVID-19, address negative perceptions of government responses, and motivate them through specific measures to provide healthcare services during the pandemic.