Background Excessive use of the internet among adolescents often led to later bedtimes and poor sleep quality. This study assessed the relationship between internet addiction and sleep quality among adolescents in a peri-urban setting in Nepal. Method This cross-sectional study employed a questionnaire survey among 390 adolescent students recruited from two schools in Kirtipur Municipality in Nepal. The Internet Addiction Test and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess internet addiction and poor sleep quality respectively. The association between internet addiction and sleep quality was analysed by logistic regression. Results One-fifth (21.5%) of the participants were identified with borderline internet addiction and 13.3% with possible internet addiction. Poor sleep quality was found among 31% of the participants. Internet addiction was significantly associated with poor sleep quality (OR = 1.85, p = 0.022 for borderline, and OR = 3.98, p = <0.001 for possible internet addiction compared to no internet addiction). Conclusion Adolescents with internet addiction were more vulnerable to suffer from poor sleep quality. It is recommended that municipalities and schools should aware the adolescent students on the adverse effects of excessive internet use including poor sleep quality. The findings have implications for adolescents, parents, school authorities and researchers.
Background Parental knowledge about sexual and reproductive health issues and adequate communication with their adolescent on these issues are crucial in promoting adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Although there are evidence on adolescent perceptions of their sexual health issues, research on parental perspectives of adolescent sexual health and parent-adolescent communication about sexual health issues in Nepal remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to assess parental knowledge and communication practice about sexual and reproductive health with their adolescent children in Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2019 among randomly selected 308 parents of adolescents (aged 10–19 years) residing in Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. Face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires were conducted to collect the data. The collected data were entered into EpiData software v3.1, and data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 21.0 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA). The statistical significance was considered at a p-value <0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Of 308 parents, one-third of parents were found to have correct knowledge about safe abortion, menstrual hygiene and management, modern contraceptives, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, wet dreams among male adolescents, abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile period, and the possibility of a male adolescent to impregnate a girl. In addition, only 40.9% of parents were found to have communicated with their adolescent children about sexual and reproductive health issues. Parents who have knowledge about puberty (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2–3.9), belong to Bharamin/Chhetri ethnic group (aOR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.1–2.2), self-employed (aOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3–4.0), having two or more adolescent children (aOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1–3.6), and whose adolescent children were staying in school hostel (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI:1.0–3.0) were more likely to have parental communication about sexual and reproductive health with their adolescent children. Conclusions Most parents do not communicate with their adolescent children on sexual health topics, although they feel sexual health education is essential to adolescents. The majority of parents were found inadequately aware of adolescent sexual health issues. It is crucial to have contextual interventions that would encourage parent-adolescent communication on sexual health matters in an integrated way to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Nepal lacks pre-hospital emergency care system , victims of trauma or medical emergencies in Kathmandu are transported to hospital either by taxi or private vehicle, with no medical care en route. Since there is no three-digit emergency phone number, such as 999 in the UK or 911 in the US, many patients are not transported to hospital in time for meaningful medical intervention. Many patients suffer grievous complications or even die as a result. According to a study by Patan Hospital, of patients arriving at emergency rooms, only 10% arrive by ambulance while 54% arrive by taxi.
Varietal screening of cucumber in the Eastern Terai of Nepal by using nine different varieties of cucumber i.e., Malini, Kangana, Kamini,, Syngeta glossy and Bhaktapur local was conducted in Sundarharaicha, Morang during the month of February to June (2020) to find the best yielding variety. The experimental setup was designed on randomized complete block design having three replications and nine treatments. There was a significant difference among the varieties in terms of yield. NS-404 gave the highest yield (5468.66gm/harvest), highest number of harvest (8.80 harvests) and highest number of fruits/harvest (14.53 fruits/harvest). Encounter-962 gave the lowest yield (2689.73 gm/harvest). This study showed NS-404 as high yield variety and should be recommended in Sundarharaicha, Morang.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted real suffering in many parts of the world and is expected to impact different sectors. Lockdown is considered to be an effective measure in slowing the spread of coronavirus. The study expects to understand community and healthcare providers’ perspectives on COVID-19 and pandemic responses during and after the lockdown in Nepal. Methods and Materials: Data were collected through telephone interviews with six representatives of community-based organizations and nine healthcare providers, and the collation of information about COVID-19 from social media, news outlets and government announcements. Data were thematically coded and analyzed according to the themes. Results: Although rapid dissemination of educational information through various social media was found, people reported an information overload on COVID-19 while questioning the authenticity of their sources. Several misbeliefs on the COVID-19 virus are rooted in the Nepalese community. Lockdown for a longer period was deemed an unsustainable preventive measure that directly impacted the income source of daily-wage workers. The fear of contracting coronavirus among healthcare providers at their workplaces was further triggered by the poor working conditions and non-availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). In fighting the pandemic, screening and management of other health issues were ignored. Conclusion: The prevention measures against COVID-19 are important for the local context, however, the communities need access of basic commodities and access to reliable information to enable them to follow these measures. Availability of appropriate PPE for the healthcare providers is required to reduce the fear of contracting the virus from the patients and workplace. Essential health-care services must also be continued to help reduce excess mortality and morbidity.
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