Background The Internet has become a major source of health-related information. In order to provide better health services and health-care education to society, nurses should have acceptable electronic health (eHealth) literacy. Objective The main aim was to measure eHealth-literacy skills among nursing students of Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 152 Bachelor of Science nursing students at the hospital. Data were collected using the self-administered eHealth Literacy Scale. This is an eight-item tool that is assessed on 5-point likert scale to measure consumers’ perceived skills at finding, evaluating, and applying eHealth information to health problems. Demographical and personal variables were collected to explore their relationship with eHealth literacy. Results A total of 152 nursing students with mean age of 19.84±1.62 years participated in the study. While 44.7% perceived that they had average Internet skills, 65.1% found the Internet useful in helping them make decisions about their health. Nursing students had a moderate self-perceived level of eHealth literacy (median 3.69, IQR 0.87). Related factors included students’ Internet skills, frequency of using the Internet for health related purposes, and self-perception of the usefulness and importance of the Internet. Conclusion This study represents a baseline reference for eHealth literacy among nursing students. Students have some basic necessary skills, while other skills still need to be improved. There is a need to pay attention to eHealth-literacy needs of nursing students.
IntroductionMale involvement in reproductive health is an essential component in promoting maternal and family health. In Nepal, men are not actively engaged in most maternal and child health (MCH) services nor in other reproductive health programs. There is a need to know about the understanding of key professionals in such practices. This study explores gendered perspectives among teachers and health professionals to understand the factors contributing to male involvement in reproductive health.MethodsThe data were collected through two focus group discussions (FGDs) and seven key informant interviews (KIIs). FGDs were held among male teachers of selected schools, and KIIs were conducted with health professionals of the health post of Bungamati, Lalitpur. An unstructured interview guide was used to explore their experiences and perceptions. All KIIs and FGDs were recorded, translated and transcribed verbatim.ResultsFindings show limited male involvement in reproductive health. Participants reported several hindering and challenging factors such as sociocultural and psychological norms, lack of education, and misinformation and dominance of female as health care providers in many MCH clinics. Perceived motivating factors included positive attitude in men, literacy and awareness, inclusion of reproductive health in school curriculum and certain incentives. Participants also recommended a range of strategies for increasing men’s involvement in reproductive health in Nepal.ConclusionMen’s education and attitude, knowledge and awareness, sociocultural factors, psychological factors, health system factors, and policies play important roles in male involvement in reproductive health. Programs on effective implementation of men involvement in reproductive health initiatives should address the barriers and challenges to men’s supportive activities. This study also suggests increasing literacy of reproductive health among men that enhances their positivity and motivates them to participate in reproductive health services.
Conducted in a Mumbai slum population, this study examines the vocabulary men use to describe sexual health problems, cultural views about categorization, and the views of local health practitioners. Structured qualitative methods including free-listing, pile sorting and ratings were used. In addition to sexually transmitted infections, men are equally or more concerned about the quality and quantity of semen and`impotence', which includes erectile de®ciencies and premature ejaculation. A number of problems that may be indicative of the presence of STIs are thought to be transmitted through both sexual contact and other means subsumed under the category garmi. Men, as well as untrained non-allopathic sexual health practitioners, perceived the indiscreet wastage of semen through excessive masturbation, wet dreams or excessive sexual desire to be a major cause of these problems. A comprehensive reproductive health programme should address these male sexual health problems in order to motivate men to play more active and positive roles in reproductive health and family planning.
T he making of a doctor comprises of a multitude of factors. Professional knowledge, skills, relationship towards patients and peers and lastly attitude towards life and the profession are a few hallmarks of being a successful doctor.As teachers of medicine it is our duty to see that a competent individual steps out into society with these aforementioned trademarks.However the question arises, how do we evaluate these attributes?Our current examination system is old fashioned with focus on evaluation of the candidates' quantifi able knowledge that is of text books alone.So what are the other aspects we should be looking into?First of all the most important aspect of any evaluation is transparency and "near close reproducibility". However transparency has to be maintained by the evaluation system, not only of the candidate being evaluated, but the evaluator as well. This process should be both objective as well as subjective. As stated earlier assessing safe medical personnel is not only assessment of quantifi able knowledge, but that of qualitative attitude and behaviour.It is harsh in the end of the course to evaluate a candidate unsuccessful on these grounds. Thus it is very important that an ideal screening at the time of admission is framed to ensure that the correct candidates enter the programme.Planting the right seed yields a fruitful crop.This obviously is not possible all the time in the real world thus a second intervention at the fi rst university hurdle examination would be a kinder supportive way to fi lter the candidate not suitable for the medical carrier. Assessing their strong attributes and then encouraging them to pursue another career or path at this stage would be more supportive then ensuring that they move on to the second and third stage only to succumb to failure.Thus it is mandatory that we limit the number of attempts to three. This procedural rule needs to be stressed strongly at the time of admission.Failing to secure a pass in the fi rst university examination should not result in penalty of loosing six months. This results in low moral and self esteem in a candidate who is already unsure of him or herself with further compounding effect. Rather a second attempt within three months, allowing the candidate to continue with his or her batch would be a kinder way to treat individuals.However if he or she was to fail again then the third and last attempt should be planned with the junior batch thus ensuring that the candidate continues with a regular batch. This would remove the dogma as well as the need of a compartmental batch.With this background I can only emphasize the advantage of a common entrance at the time of admission. This entrance needs to be handled by an entirely independent body preferably the Medical Council .A body that will have no benefi t over the selection of any candidate. A similar approach for postgraduate programme would be equally credible.This would ensure elimination of induction of corruption. This would also ensure that nepotism that does exist would be b...
Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of deaths and disability in Nepal. Health systems can improve CVD health outcomes even in resource-limited settings by directing efforts to meet critical system gaps. This study aimed to identify Nepal’s health systems gaps to prevent and manage CVDs. Methods We formed a task force composed of the government and non-government representatives and assessed health system performance across six building blocks: governance, service delivery, human resources, medical products, information system, and financing in terms of equity, access, coverage, efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability. We reviewed 125 national health policies, plans, strategies, guidelines, reports and websites and conducted 52 key informant interviews. We grouped notes from desk review and transcripts’ codes into equity, access, coverage, efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability of the health system. Results National health insurance covers less than 10% of the population; and more than 50% of the health spending is out of pocket. The efficiency of CVDs prevention and management programs in Nepal is affected by the shortage of human resources, weak monitoring and supervision, and inadequate engagement of stakeholders. There are policies and strategies in place to ensure quality of care, however their implementation and supervision is weak. The total budget on health has been increasing over the past five years. However, the funding on CVDs is negligible. Conclusion Governments at the federal, provincial and local levels should prioritize CVDs care and partner with non-government organizations to improve preventive and curative CVDs services.
Transition metal nitride (TMN) thin films exhibit outstanding physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, making them best suitable for a wide variety of applications. The most commonly used technique to produce metal nitride thin films with specific properties at optimum conditions is magnetron sputtering. Considering this, this review begins with advancements in the sputtering process from basic diode sputtering to the most commonly used pulsed magnetron sputtering. Further, the literature on several TMNs deposited via magnetron sputtering is summarized, referring to several articles that have been published during the last decades. The main emphasis lies on nitride-based thin films' structural, morphological, and mechanical aspects for various applications. In addition, the influence of reactive gas flow rate, substrate temperature, layer thickness, postannealing temperature, substrate bias voltage, protective layers, the sputtering technique adopted, etc. on the quality and performance of the thin films is also focused. The overall review work can be beneficial for the students and researchers in understanding the basic sputtering phenomenon with its advancements, the relationship between deposition parameters and surface properties, and to know the current research trend for exploring several research gaps in the literature.
IntroductionIn Nepal, approximately 31% of adult industrial employees have diabetes. While the prevention of type 2 diabetes through behavioural intervention has been disseminated, worksite could be an effective platform for the translation of this knowledge into action as employed adults spend most of their workday waking hours at workplaces.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a behavioural and a canteen intervention on diabetes risk reduction among those who are prediabetic at two worksites in eastern Nepal. We will recruit 162 adult full-time factory workers with haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 5.7%–6.4% at baseline or fasting blood sugar of 100–125 mg/dL. The 8–14 months’ control period will be followed by the behavioural intervention where half of the participants will be randomised to receive the behavioural intervention and half will act as a control and will not receive any intervention. Then, all participants will receive the canteen intervention. The analysis will be intent-to-treat, comparing the difference in the change in HbA1c% between the behavioural intervention group and the control group using a two-sample t-test. The within-participant changes in HbA1c after 6 or more months on the canteen intervention among those not randomised to the behavioural intervention in the previous period will be assessed using the paired t-test.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at Yale School of Public Health, New Havens, USA and the Nepal Health Research Council.Trial registration numberNCT04161937.
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