Elderly is the vulnerable age; and their health status and well-being is an important area of concern which is reflected by Quality of Life (QOL). With the increasing population of the aged in developed as well as developing world, proportion of elderly living in old age homes is also in increasing trend due to migration of children and nuclear family concept. The objective of the study waste assesses the QOL of the elderly people residing in old age homes at Biratnagar with the use of WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Cross-sectional descriptive study including the census of the elderly living at selected old age homes was used. Data was collected from the 57 elderly meeting the inclusion criteria through face to face interview by using interview guide. The findings of the study showed that the participants were of age group from 60 and above, and 66.70%of them were female. Among 57 respondents, 42 (76.39%) were married and 15(23.61%) were unmarried. Of those married, nearly half of them (47.61%) had no children. More than 1/3 rd (71.92%) of the respondents were illiterate and nearly half (45.61%) of them were involved in agriculture in the past. As perceived by the elderly themselves, the overall quality of life was found to be good in less than half (42.10%) and overall quality of health score was found to be satisfied in more than half (59.64%) of them. Also, the study has revealed higher score in physical domain and psychological domain which reflects that the components of these domains as physical needs, health needs, religious and spiritual needs, financial needs have been addressed. Thus, it can be concluded that quality of life is perceived good by less than half and quality of health is perceived satisfactory by more than half with higher score in physical and psychological domain. However, they are in need of social support and relationship which can be promoted to some extent by inculcating the content of geriatric care in school curriculum. Also, there should be provision of visit to geriatric centers so that awareness regarding this area could be raised.

Introduction: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is the new public health crisis rapidly threatening the world. A deeper understanding of these devastating lifetime experiences helps to develop a more complete picture of how holistic health may have been affected in survivors from pandemic. The objective of the study was to explore the lived experiences of COVID-19 survivors. Methods: A phenomenological qualitative research design was adopted following purposive sampling traced from the hospital record of Koshi Covid Hospital of Biratnagar, Province 1 Nepal. Based on principles of data saturation, ten covid survivors were interviewed following the interview guide. The obtained data were transcribed in reference to notes and tape recordings, and themes were generated. The data collection and analysis were carried out simultaneously, using thematic analysis phases of Gibson manually. Results: The study findings emerged five themes: key stakeholders in COVID-19 pandemic, mystery of COVID-19, social stigma and discrimination, mass media influence, and safety measures. Most (8/10) of the participants reported COVID-19 as mysterious disease with unknown cause and few (2/10) reported peculiar symptoms (something stuck in throat, presence of abscess in chest, etc). Seven of them faced stigmatizing responses from health care workers and most of them reported inadequate health counseling at health care institutions. Conclusions: COVID-19 survivors were scared of infecting their family and neighbors and of death related to infection. Interventions for breaking the chain of transmission were carried out, however, healthcare workers’ approach of care was inadequate along with stigma and discrimination. Adequate counseling is vital to address physical and psychological issues among survivors.

Introduction: There are many effective prevention interventions available for those experiencing occupational exposure, and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is one of them. Different studies worldwide have shown low utilization of PEP for HIV due to lack of adequate knowledge. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge on PEP of HIV among nurses. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional research design was used and all the 130 nurses working in a private hospital of Biratnagar were the sample. Self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics as percentage, mean, median and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. Results: Almost all of the nurses knew the meaning of PEP and the majority were aware about components, indications and best time for initiating PEP after exposure. Less than half had knowledge about appropriate treatment regimen, antiretroviral drugs used for PEP, PEP drugs contraindicated during pregnancy, effectiveness of PEP and duration of protection by PEP. Findings also revealed that only one-third of the nurses (35.8%) had adequate knowledge on PEP of HIV. Conclusion: In least developed and developing countries like Nepal, healthcare workers including nurses have to work in resource-limited settings, putting themselves at higher risk of contracting different blood borne infections, including HIV, a disease without cure so far. Thus the findings reflect the need for the in-service awareness program and the integration of content in the pre-service curriculum on PEP of HIV for the nurses who are at risk for occupational exposure.

Dental caries is a major public health problem globally and is one of the most chronic diseases in children. Children are susceptible to caries as soon as the first teeth appear. Parents are the primary decision-makers in matters of children's healthcare. If the parents are knowledgeable about the child's oral health care then childhood dental caries can be prevented. The objective of this study was to identify the knowledge on childhood dental caries among parents of under five children. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out among parents of under five children in a community of Biratnagar 12. Sample was selected using non probability purposive sampling method and data was collected by face-to-face interview using a self-developed, semi-structured interview guideline. Descriptive statistics i.e. frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation was used to assess the level of knowledge and inferential statistics i.e chi square was used to find the association between dependent and independent variables. About three fourths (71%) of the parents were of age group 20-30 years and 88% of them were mothers. Most of the parents (90%) were aware that dental caries can occur in under five children and excessive sugar intake was the most common cause as reported by all of them. Only 40% knew that dental caries is transmissible and among them 97.6% responded by sharing of toothbrush. Regarding good brushing habit, most of the parents were aware. Almost all (95%) knew that proper tooth brushing helps to prevent dental caries whereas only 19% were aware about use of fluoridated tooth paste as preventive measures. Meanwhile, only 12% of the parents were aware that first dental visit should be done when first tooth erupts or within 1 year of age More than half (79%) had good knowledge on childhood dental caries but there was no association of knowledge with socio-demographic variables. The study concluded that more than half of the respondents had good knowledge on childhood dental caries and none of the socio-demographic variables were associated with the level of knowledge of parents on dental caries. Despite good knowledge, prevalence of childhood dental caries is high in our society thus reflecting the need to assess the practice of dental care.