NepMed is a Nepal MEDLINE(Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online) by Nepal Health Research Council(NHRC) in collaboration with Nepal Medical Association. It includes bibliographic information for articles from academic biomedical journals covering medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry veterinary medicine, and allied health sciences.
Recent Submissions
Role of drug and therapeutics committee towards drug safety- experiences from western Nepal
(Kathmandu University, 2005) S, Palaian; P, Mishra
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Status of Abortion-Related Stigma in Nepal using Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs, and Actions Scale
(Nepal Health Research Council, 2024) Ghimire, Jagadishwor; Lal, Bibek Kumar; Mehata, Suresh; Joshi, Nisha Kumari; Timilsina, Amit; Lamichhane, Kritee; Phuyal, Parash Prasad; Dotel, Bhogendra Raj; Gautam, Manish; Maharjan, Sanju; Karki, Sujan
Background: Despite substantial improvements in the accessibility of safe abortion services nationwide, a noticeable underutilization of these services persists, primarily attributable to the presence of social stigma. This stigma leads to discrimination, abuse, and poor healthcare. This study aims to understand and address abortion stigma among Nepali women of reproductive age.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 2286 women of reproductive age across Nepal. SABAS was used to measure abortion stigma, which includes 18 questions. Quantitative data was collected through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires on kobo collect. Stata 15.0 software was used for data analysis.
Results: The mean SABAS score was 46.5 out of 90, indicating moderate abortion stigma in Nepal. Negative stereotypes and beliefs about abortion were more prevalent, with over 80% believing a woman's health deteriorates after abortion. Discrimination tendencies were lower, with less than 10% endorsing teasing, pointing fingers, or disgrace. Fear of contagion was also relatively low, with less than 20% agreeing that women who had abortions made others ill. Factors such as age, caste/ethnicity, education, marital status, wealth, and provinces were associated with varying levels of stigma, and women of higher age group, Madhesh, Dalit, Muslim, lower education levels, widowed, poor, Madhes province were linked to higher stigma scores. The study found that stigma levels varied among different groups.
Conclusions: The stigma level on abortion is higher in upper age group, Madheshi, Dalit, Muslim, lower education levels, widowed, poor, Madhesh province women in Nepal. Similarly, the negative stereotype and discrimination and exclusion is also high while the fear of contagion is low among Nepalese women and girls.
Keywords: Abortion-related stigma; attitudes; Nepal.
Maternal and Neonatal Factors Associated with Neonatal Mortality: a Prospective Follow-up Study in Selected Hospitals of Nepal
(Nepal Health Research Council, 2024) Yadav, Dilip Kumar; Shukla, Girija Shankar; Gupta, Neena; Shrestha, Naveen; Singh, Jitendra Kumar; Kaphle, Hari; Yadav, Pratima; Yadav, Dipendra Kumar
Background: Neonatal mortality, a sensitive indicator which indicates the availability, utilization, and effectiveness of maternal and child health services in the community, are major global public health challenges. The objective of the study was to find out the maternal and neonatal factors associated with neonatal mortality in selected hospitals of Nepal.
Methods: This was a hospital based prospective follow up study conducted among babies nested for case control study design. Among 1104 babies, 368 babies with LBW and 736 babies with normal birth weight were followed up after 28 days of birth and mortality was assessed.
Results: Neonatal mortality was about 10/1000 live birth. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, father with no formal education [AOR:12.54, 95% CI:(2.61-60.13), p=0.002], multi parity [AOR:11.26, 95% CI:(1.25-100.89), p=0.030] and depressed (<7) APGAR score at 5 minutes of birth[AOR:7.44, 95% CI:(1.18-46.80), p=0.032] were significantly associated with neonatal mortality.
Conclusions: The study identified ‘father with no formal education, multi parity and low APGAR score at 5 minutes of birth’ as the major contributors to neonatal mortality. Improving parental education, and access to child health care will help to improve neonatal outcome.
Keywords: Maternal factors; neonatal factors; neonatal mortality; Nepal.