Research Capacity for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and their Risk Factors in Nepal: Findings of a Needs Assessment Study.

Background Despite a high burden, there are limited trainings in non-communicable disease research in Nepal. Objective We conducted a needs assessment to assess existing research training capacity in academic health institutions of Nepal for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, identify gaps in research, and explore the feasibility of developing research training program in Nepal targeting non-communicable diseases. Method We did mixed-method research and reviewed academic institution curricula and scientific articles authored by Nepali researchers. We conducted 14 Focus Group Discussions with bachelor and masters level students of public health and community medicine; 25 In-depth Interviews with department heads and faculties, and government stakeholders. We surveyed medical and public health students on their research knowledge and skills development. Result Research methodology component was addressed differently across academic programs. One-third (33.7%) of students expressed lack of skills for analysis and interpretation of data. They felt that there is a wide scope and career-interest in non-communicable diseases research in Nepal. However, specific objectives in the curriculum and practical aspects regarding non-communicable diseases were lacking. Most of the non-communicable diseases research in Nepal are prevalence studies. Lack of funding, conflicting priorities with curative services, and inadequate training for advanced research tools were reported as major barriers. Conclusion Nepal must strengthen the whole spectrum of research capacity: epidemiological skills, research management, and fund development. Generation of a critical mass of non-communicable disease researchers must go together with improved funding from the government, non-governmental, and external funding organizations.

A National Equity Initiative to Address Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries: Findings and Recommendation from the Nepal NCDI Poverty Commission.

We aimed to assess the burden of NCDIs across socioeconomic groups, their economic impact, existing health service readiness and availability, current policy frameworks and national investment, and planned programmatic initiatives in Nepal through a comprehensive literature review. Secondary data from Global Burden of Disease estimates from GBD 2015 and National Living Standard Survey 2011 were used to estimate the burden of NCDI and present the relationship of NCDI burden with socioeconomic status. The Commission used these data to define priority NCDI conditions and recommend potential cost-effective, poverty-averting, and equity-promoting health system interventions. NCDIs disproportionately affect the health and well-being of poorer populations in Nepal and cause significant impoverishment. The Commission found a high diversity of NCDIs in Nepal, with approximately 60% of the morbidity and mortality caused by NCDIs without primary quantified behavioral or metabolic risk factors, and nearly half of all NCDI-related DALYs occurring in Nepalese younger than 40 years. The Commission prioritized an expanded set of twenty-five NCDI conditions and recommended introduction or scale-up of twenty-three evidence-based health sector interventions. Implementation of these interventions would avert an estimated 9680 premature deaths per annum by 2030 and would cost approximately $8.76 per capita. The Commission modelled potential financing mechanisms, including increased excise taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages, which would provide significant revenue for NCDI-related expenditures. Overall, the Commission's conclusions are expected to be a valuable contribution to equitable NCDI planning in Nepal and similar resource-constrained settings globally.

Needs Assessment of Leadership and Governance in Cardiovascular Health in Nepal.

Background Good governance and leadership are essential to improve healthy life expectancy particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to epitomize the challenges and opportunities for leadership and good governance for the health system to address non-communicable diseases particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Nepal. Objective The objective of this study was to understand and document CVD programs and policy formulation processes and to identify the government capacity to engage stakeholders for planning and implementation purposes. Method A national-level task force was formed to coordinate and steer the overall need assessment process. A qualitative study design was adopted using "The Health System Assessment Approach". Eighteen indicators under six topical areas in leadership and governance in cardiovascular health were assessed using desk review and key informant interviews. Result Voice and accountability exist in planning for health from the local level. The government has shown a strong willingness and has a strategy to work together with the private and non-government sectors in health however, the coordination has not been effective. There are strong rules in place for regulatory quality, control of corruption, and maintaining financial transparency. The government frequently relies on evidence generated from large-scale surveys for health policy formulation and planning but research in cardiovascular health has been minimum. There is a scarcity of cardiovascular disease-specific protocols. Conclusion Despite plenty of opportunities, much homework is needed to improve leadership and governance in cardiovascular health in Nepal. The government needs to designate a workforce for specific programs to help monitor the enforcement of health sector regulations, allocate enough funding to encourage CVD research, and work towards developing CVD-specific guidelines, protocols, and capacity building. KEY WORDS Cardiovascular diseases, Governance, Leadership, Needs assessment, Nepal.

National Needs Assessment of Health Information System to Address Cardiovascular Diseases in Nepal: A Mixed Method Study.

Background Health financing is a major domain of health system building blocks. With the epidemiological transition and increasing trend of Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), it is crucial to assess the status of health financing to address the gap of prevention, control, and treatment of CVDs in Nepal. Objective This paper aims to assess the situation of healthcare financing on Cardiovascular diseases in Nepal. We framed three key functions of health system financing: (a) revenue collection, (b) pooling of resources, and (c) purchasing of services for this study. Method We used sequential explanatory mixed-method research design. We conducted desk reviews, analyzed secondary data on health financing followed by Key-Informant Interviews with five relevant policymakers and experts between February and September 2019. We obtained the Ethical clearance from the Nepal Health Research Council. Result Out of pocket (OOP) expenditure remains the highest source (52%) of total health care expenditure in Nepal, and two third of it is made for NCDs. Out of total current health expenditure on outpatient and inpatient services for fiscal year 2015/16, only 7% of total NCDs was spent on CVDs. Hypertension is the third-most utilized insurance service out of 36 CVD related services provided by the Health Insurance Board. The existing health related social service schemes covers the high costs associated with treatment, and streamlining these services including provider payment mechanisms with the health insurance program could open up opportunities to expand quality CVD services and make it accessible to the marginalized population. Conclusion Health Financing is the integral part of the health system. With the rising burden of cardiovascular diseases and its impact on impoverishment due to high OOP, integrated health care services, budget specification based on the evidence-based burden of disease such as CVD needs to be prioritized by the government.

Analysis of Antimicrobial Drugs Usage Pattern and it's Cost Analysis in the Pediatric Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background Antimicrobials agents are the most widely and often imprudently used therapeutic drugs globally. The pediatric population comprises 20-25% of the total world population, and various acute and chronic diseases are prone to this group. It is also estimated that 50% to 85% of children are prescribed with antimicrobials in developed and developing countries. The misuse of antimicrobials not only contributes not only to the development of antimicrobial resistance but also results in economic burden on the health care system. Objective To analyze the antimicrobial usage and its cost analysis in the Pediatric department of a tertiary care hospital at sub-urban area. Method A hospital based retrospective study was conducted among patient (aged 1 to 18 years) admitted in pediatric ward and intensive care unit for at least 24 hours and dispensed at least one antimicrobial drug from January 2018 to December 2019. Data were collected from electronic medical record using a structured data collection form. The data was entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. A descriptive analysis was presented as mean ± (standard deviation) for the continuous variables and frequencies and proportions for categorical variables. Result Among the 1,281 patients, the antimicrobials were prescribed mostly in the respiratory tract infection (39.6%), followed by sepsis (19.75%), enteric fever (11.94%), seizure (10.07%), urinary tract infection (4.29%). Penicillins (1238 times) were highly prescribed followed by Cephalosporin (733 times), Nitro-imidazole (292 times), Aminoglycosides (180 times) and Fluoroquinolones (144 times). During study period in the Pediatric Department, approximately NRs. 1,619,121.11 was spent in the antimicrobial drugs and the highest expenditure was found to be in the Cephalosporin group of antimicrobials (NRs. 530,988.6), followed by Penicillin group of drug (NRs. 3,81,842.2). Conclusion The study concludes that the Penicillin groups of drugs were the most commonly prescribed drug and the highest cost was found to be in Cephalosporin group drugs followed by Penicillin group of drugs.

First Reported Death of a Postpartum Woman Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Nepal: A Lesson Learnt.

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 was reported on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, China where the average case fatality rate was 6.1 ± 2.9%. There are 453 deaths as of September 24, 2020 in Nepal. We report the first death of a 29-years-old postpartum woman due to COVID-19 in Nepal who was referred from a rural health center to Dhulikhel Hospital. On arrival, she was taken to the acute respiratory zone of the emergency department to provide immediate lifesaving procedures. Despite the repeated resuscitative measures, return of spontaneous circulation could not be achieved. The real time polymerase chain reaction test was positive. Our case report highlights the importance of early clinical suspicion, importance of "safety first" in healthcare settings, and the chain of management in such patients. We consider the fact that a postpartum woman registered as the first case of COVID-19 related death in Nepal to be an area of further study.

Prehypertension and its Risk Factors in Suburban Nepal -Findings from the Dhulikhel Heart Study.

Background Prehypertension, defined as a systolic blood pressure of 120-139 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mmHg, leads to higher rates of incident hypertension, and is associated with excess morbidity and deaths from cardiovascular diseases. Objective To estimate the prevalence of and examine the factors associated with prehypertension in Dhulikhel. Method This cross-sectional study utilized data from the 752 participants of the Dhulikhel Heart Study (DHS). The data collectors interviewed the participants at their home using a tablet based structured pre-tested questionnaire and measured blood pressure using a standard digital blood pressure machine (Microlife, Switzerland). Multivariate analysis was conducted using generalized estimating equations with multivariate logistic regression (with household as cluster) adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, income, education, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and food consumption. Result Males had a three-fold higher odds of prehypertension than females (OR:3.17, 95% CI:1.91-5.26). The odds of prehypertension increased with being overweight (OR:2.29, 95% CI:1.42-3.70) and with being obese (OR:5.00, 95% CI:1.81-13.79) compared to normal BMI. Education reduced the odds of developing prehypertension (OR:0.51, 95% CI:0.29-0.91). Those who met the recommended level of physical activity (OR:0.61, 95% CI:0.40-0.95) also were associated with lower prehypertension prevalence. Conclusion Obese/overweight and being male increased the odds of prehypertension whereas formal education and recommended level of physical activities were associated with lower prehypertension prevalence. Primordial prevention against cardiovascular risk factors at the community level, especially targeting the young adult male, is imperative.

Quit Intentions and Attempts among Smokers in Sub-urban Nepal: Findings from the Dhulikhel Heart Study.

Background The most effective way for smokers to avoid or minimize the harmful effects is to quit smoking. Smoking cessation has been attributed to multiple factors operating at physiological, psychological, environmental and social level. There is common consensus that smoking cessation programs should be tailored for specific populations. However, there has been lack of data regarding factors that influence smoking cessation in Nepal, which has hindered the development of effective smoking-cessation interventions. Objective To assess the prevalence of quit attempts, successful quitting and the factors associated with them in a randomly selected, population-based adult participants in sub-urban Nepal. Method This cross-sectional study utilized data from the first wave of the baseline survey of the Dhulikhel Heart Study (DHS). A total of 2225 households of Dhulikhel city were enumerated and a third of the households (n=735) were randomly selected. Questions on tobacco use were ascertained using the questions based on the WHO STEPS survey questionnaire and questions on past quit attempts. Result Out of 1073 participants, 248 (23.1%) were current smokers and 99 (9.2%) were former smokers. Only 58% of the current smokers mentioned that they had attempted to quit smoking. When asked if they were interested in quitting if helped, almost 90.5% mentioned they were willing. Brahmins were less likely to have quit smoking (former smoker) compared to Newars (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.18-0.90). We also observed that those who had high alcohol consumption were less likely to have quit smoking (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.17-0.76). We didn't find any meaningful significant association between socio-demographic factors or other CVD risk factors and the quit attempts. Conclusion As the country braces to address the burden of non-communicable diseases in Nepal, it is crucial to incorporate tobacco cessation programs in the national health system to meet the global target of bringing tobacco consumption to less than 5% by 2040. We recommend future studies to get a broader understanding of quit effort and factors associated with thereby supporting the development of evidence-based strategies to address tobacco cessation.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Medication Adherence Pattern and Factors Affecting the Adherence in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is considered as a major health problem, associated with mortality and morbidities. Various disease management strategies have been established to optimize patient's longevity and functional status where patient adherence to the prescribed treatment plays a key role. Poor adherence to medication is common among COPD patients and is affected by number of factors like number of medicines, delivery devices and patient-related factors. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the adherence pattern in the management of COPD and factors affecting patient adherence to the prescribed treatment. METHOD: This study is a cross-sectional study which was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Those patients suffering from COPD of all age were enrolled in this study and prior informed consent was obtained from patients. The structured questionnaire was used to interview those patients. RESULT: Total 100 patients were enrolled in this study, among which most patients (45%) were of age groups 60-70 years. Unintentional non-adherence to medication attributed for 65% of patients and the major reason was forgetfulness (52.3%). Most patients had discontinued the medication due to experience of side effects (63.3%). The result showed significant association between adherence and polypharmacy (p=0.00). However, there was no significant association between adherence and age, sex, mode of administration of drugs, technics to use delivery devices etc. CONCLUSION: Majority of COPD patients were elderly (mean age= 68.4 years). Forgetfulness was associated with medication non-adherence. Most of the patients had discontinued medication because of side effects. Polypharmacy is one of the major factors associated with non-adherence to medication in COPD.

Study of Pre-disposing Factors of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Antibiotic Prescribing Pattern with Reference to Antibiotic Sensitivity Test.

Background Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) affects about 329 million people worldwide, which is nearly 5% of the entire global population. In the context of Nepal, COPD accounts for 43% of the non-communicable disease burden and 2.56% of hospitalizations. Various pre-disposing factors like bacterial, viral, fungal, smoking, occupational exposures and genetic factors have been proposed to precipitate COPD and its exacerbation though, the definitive pre-disposing factors and factors related to acute exacerbation have not been determined in the context of Nepal. Objective To find out the pre-disposing factors and the related causative agents for COPD. Method A cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Patients of all age group who were diagnosed as COPD and admitted in the hospital were included in this study. Patients were interviewed using structured questionnaire. The sociodemographic data including personal and medical history were recorded from those participants. In addition, sputum from those patients was sent for culture to investigate the possible responsible pathogens as well as its antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Result A total of 150 patients having Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD) who have admitted from either emergency or out-patient department of the hospital were included in this study. Among the total number of patients, more than half of them were female (n=82). In addition, analysis of occupations shows that most of them were either farmer (36.0%) or housewife (30.7%). In total studied patients (n=150), most of them were using traditional firewood (83%) for cooking purpose and majority of patients (91%) were smokers. Most of the sputum samples show growth of gram-positive cocci (26.7%) and gram negative bacilli (27.5%). Considering the overall sensitivity pattern, the higher sensitivity was recorded for Co-trimoxazole and Ciprofloxacin while higher rate of resistance was noted for Penicillin group of drugs. The most widely used antibiotics were found to be Cephalosporin group of drugs (68%). Conclusion The present study revealed that the case of COPD is more in female and the commonest pre-disposing factor is found to be smoke/firewood. Cephalosporin group of drugs is the most commonly prescribed drug.

Medication adherence to oral hypoglycemic agents among type II diabetic patients and their clinical outcomes with special reference to fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels.

BACKGROUND: Oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) are the major treatment for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). However, non-adherence to OHAs remains as one of the main reasons for poor glycemic control. OBJECTIVES: To assess the adherence pattern to OHAs and clinical outcomes with special reference to fasting blood glucose (FBG) level and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. METHODS: Informed consent was obtained from patients fulfilling the criteria and from the patient party in case of incapacitated patients. Information was obtained by interviewing them and filled in the appropriate questionnaire. All the medical information of the patients was obtained from the medical case records and laboratory reports. RESULTS: OHAs had been discontinued by 25% of patients. Overall 38% had ever discontinued and/ or often missed OHAs. Intentional discontinuation of OHAs attributed for 72% of the patients, followed by forgetfulness (42.9%), carelessness (30.6%), and hypoglycemia, (24%). There were 50.50% patients who had uncontrolled FBG (>130 mg/dl) level and 39% had uncontrolled HbA1c (≥ 7%) level. Taking reference age group 51-60 years, control of FBG level was found to be statistically associated with the decreasing age group (p = 0.006, OR = 4.8) as well as increasing age group (p = 0.008, OR = 4.034). There was significant association between controlled HbA1c level and patients' knowledge about the precautions to be taken while using OHAs (p = 0.044, OR = 4). However, there was no significant association between glycemic control and OHAs adherence. CONCLUSION: Majority of the patients who had missed OHAs attributed it to forgetfulness. Hypoglycemia may also be one of the contributing factors for poor adherence to OHAs. However no association was found between adherence and various other factors like age groups, treatment complexity, health literacy and social or family support.