Background Maternal and child health care services are available in both public and private facilities in Nepal. Studies have not yet looked at trends in maternal and child health service use over time in Nepal. This paper assesses trends in and determinants of visiting private health facilities for maternal and child health needs using nationally representative data from the last three successive Nepal Demographic Health Surveys (NDHS). Methods Data from the NDHS conducted in 2006, 2011, and 2016 were used. Maternal and child health-seeking was established using data on place of antenatal care (ANC), place of delivery, and place of treatment for child diarrhoea and fever/cough. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify trends in and determinants of health-seeking at private facilities. Results The results indicate an increase in the use of private facilities for maternal and child health care over time. Across the three survey waves, women from the highest wealth quintile had the highest odds of accessing ANC services at private health facilities (AOR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.53, 5.91 in 2006; AOR = 5.6, 95% CI = 3.51, 8.81 in 2011; AOR = 6.0, 95% CI = 3.78, 9.52 in 2016). Women from the highest wealth quintile (AOR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.54, 7.09 in 2006; AOR = 7.3, 95% CI = 3.91, 13.54 in 2011; AOR = 8.3, 95% CI = 3.97, 17.42 in 2016) and women with more years of schooling (AOR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.17, 1.27 in 2006; AOR = 1.1, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.14 in 2011; AOR = 1.1, 95% CI = 1.07, 1.16 in 2016) were more likely to deliver in private health facilities. Likewise, children belonging to the highest wealth quintile (AOR = 8.0, 95% CI = 2.43, 26.54 in 2006; AOR = 6.4, 95% CI = 1.59, 25.85 in 2016) were more likely to receive diarrhoea treatment in private health facilities. Conclusions Women are increasingly visiting private health facilities for maternal and child health care in Nepal. Household wealth quintile and more years of schooling were the major determinants for selecting private health facilities for these services. These trends indicate the importance of collaboration between private and public health facilities in Nepal to foster a public private partnership approach in the Nepalese health care sector.
Background: Stunting is one of the most commonly used indicators of child nutrition and health status. Despite significant efforts by the government and external development partners to improve maternal and child health and nutrition, stunting is consistently high in Nepal. This paper assesses the potential determinants of stunting among children aged 0-59 months using the last three successive Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS). Methods: We used three nationally representative cross-sectional household surveys, known as the NDHS-2006, 2011 and 2016. Logistic regression was used to identify the potential determinants of stunting. The sub sample for this study includes n = 5083 in 2006, n = 2485 in 2011, and n = 2421 in 2016. Results: Rates of stunting decreased from nearly 50% in 2006 to about 36% in 2016. The prevalence of stunting was higher among children from larger families (51.Conclusions: This study found that household wealth status, age of child, size of child at time of birth, and child anemia comprised the common determinants of stunting in all three surveys in Nepal. Study findings underscore the need for effective implementation of evidence-based nutrition interventions in health and non-health sectors to reduce the high rates of child stunting in Nepal.
Malnutrition is a threat to optimal child development, with its occurrence during foetal and infancy stages associated with poor cognitive, motor and socio-emotional skills. However, information on the effects of various types of malnutrition on early childhood development (ECD) is limited in Nepal. To assess the association of stunting, wasting and underweight (three prominent forms of malnutrition) with the four domains of the ECD index (literacy-numeracy, physical, social-emotional and learning development) among children 36-59 months of age, we conducted an adjusted logistic regression using Nepal's national household Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 data set. The study sample consisted of children aged 36-59 months (n = 2871). Children were considered developmentally on track if they met criteria in each of the four ECD domains. Regarding ECD status of children 36-59 months old, 35% of children were not developmentally on track for the ECD index. The adjusted odds ratio indicated that stunting was associated with lower odds of not being developmentally on track according to the ECD index as well as the literacy-numeracy, physical and learning domains of the ECD index. Likewise, underweight was associated with lower odds of not being developmentally on track according to the ECD index, primarily for ECD domains of literacy-numeracy, physical and learning. Notably, no association between wasting and ECD indicators was observed. Children's nutrition status impacts child development outcomes. Adding ECD interventions, such as responsive and stimulating caregiving, within nutrition programmes among children who are stunted and underweight could improve child development outcomes.
Background and Aims: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally with 17.9 million deaths in 2016. Nepal is facing a high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with 66% of people dying from NCDs in 2018. In this study, we aim to assess the knowledge, attitudeand practice regarding CVDs among people of Pakhribas Municipality in Eastern Nepal. Methods: Observational cross-sectional study was conducted among residents of Pakhribas Municipality in eastern Nepal from 9th December to 22nd December 2018. We recruited a convenient sample of 458 permanent residents of Pakhribas municipality. A semi-structured questionnaire based on the CARRF-KL scale survey for knowledge, attitude and practice (after thorough literature review) was used to elicit the information. Descriptive and thematic analysis was done. Result: Fifty-five percent of the respondents belonged to the age group of 30-60 years. Half of the respondents were females. Janjati community was the most dominant ethnicity. One-fourth of the participants were illiterate. The knowledge was found to be average with only 51.5% realizing that family history of CVDs increases the risk of CVDs. Similarly, 46% didn’t know that coronary heart disease could be prevented. The attitude was found to be good with 90.4%, 93.6% and 90.6% respectively stating that they will exercise more, change eating habits and quit smoking if they had CVDs. Regarding practices, people visit traditional healers when they are ill and drink alcohol to fight cold despite knowing it as a risk factor for CVDs. Conclusion: The knowledge of people of Pakhribas Municipality regarding CVD was average. However, the attitude was good. Regarding the practice, people have mixed practices.
This practice note reports on the work of the Namaste Community Health Partnership, an academic-community partnership established to address health disparities in a metro-area Bhutanese–Nepali refugee community in the western United States. Partners worked together to develop, implement, and evaluate a culturally-tailored health promotion program where Bhutanese–Nepali individuals led weekly walking groups and shared health promotion information and behavior change tools with community participants. The program was implemented with approximately 70 community members across two metro-area neighborhoods and two adult day care centers serving elders. Evaluation strategies included documenting walk attendance, tracking engagement with health promotion goals, and focus group discussions with program participants. Once enrolled, most participants consistently attended walks and achieved weekly goals—some even increased walking frequency beyond program requirements. Participants provided positive feedback about having a community leader and reported learning new information and enjoying participating with other community members. Challenges and lessons learned included difficulties engaging younger adults from the community, concerns about signing research consent forms, cultural norms discouraging the distribution of individual research participation incentives, variability across groups in preferences for program activities, and barriers to administering survey-based evaluation instruments. This academic–community partnership built capacity in the local Bhutanese–Nepali community, produced culturally relevant health programming, and trained and employed community members as health educators and physical activity leaders. The program resulting from this work has the potential to improve health knowledge and chronic disease prevention practices and ultimately reduce health disparities in an underserved refugee community.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.