Browsing by Author "Thapa, Raj Kumar"
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Publication Blood Donation Practice among Undergraduate Students in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study(Nepal Medical Association, 2020) Dawadi, Pravakar; Khadka, Sabina; Khanal, Milan Chandra; Thapa, Raj KumarAbstract: Introduction: Voluntary blood donation is a reliable source of increasing the demand for blood transfusion. Medical students are the potential pool of blood donors. This study aims to find the prevalence of blood donation practice among medical students of a medical college in Nepal. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a medical college of Nepal among students studying from the first year to final year MBBS. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (Ref no. 245). A stratified random sampling technique was used to collect data. A self-administered pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2016. Results: The prevalence of blood donation practice among medical students of the medical college is 41 (22.20%) (17.35-27.05 at 95% Confidence Interval). The practice of blood donation is seen more among students of the final year 15 (35.71%) and the least among first year 3 (8.57%). Most of the donors, 24 (58.54%), have donated blood only once before. The most common reasons for donating and not donating blood before are ‘behavior of altruism’ 12 (29.27%) and ‘I am not fit/disapproved’ 44 (30.56%) respectively. Conclusions: This study shows less prevalence of blood donation practice among medical students. It points to the need for more extensive studies to explore the factors deterring medical students from donating blood. Definitive strategies are also needed to encourage medical students to increased voluntary participation in blood donation.Publication Determination of strategies used for the prevention of mosquito bites(Nepal Health Research Council, 2025) Thapa, Raj KumarAbstract Background: Vector borne diseases are one of the prevailing global healthcare problems caused by mosquito bites. The main objective of this study was to determine the strategies used for the prevention of mosquito bites by general public of Kaski district, a mosquito bite prone area of Western Nepal, as evidenced by rising dengue cases. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 435 households were surveyed, for the strategies used for mosquito bite prevention, in representative 15 wards of one metropolitan and four rural municipalities of Kaski district, selected by simple random sampling technique. The survey was conducted during a period of November, 2022 – February, 2023. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Results: Approximately 4% of study participants used traditional methods such as smoke from burnt medicinal plants, burnt clothes and grass, and the application of mustard oil for the prevention of mosquito bites. Majority (92%) of participants used non-traditional methods like mosquito net, mosquito incense, mosquito bat and mosquito repellent for the prevention of mosquito bites. Only 13% of study participants used some kind of personal use mosquito repellent; cream being the most commonly used one. Age, ethnicity, residence, education and income were found to be significantly associated with the use of mosquito bite prevention strategy. Majority of the respondents were unaware of the governmental plans and their implementation for mosquito control and bite prevention strategies. Conclusion: This study summarises the strategies used for the prevention of mosquito bites by the residents of Kaski district of Nepal. Future interventional studies are warranted to enhance the awareness about the effective strategies for the prevention of mosquito bites. Keywords: Kaski; mosquito bite; Nepal; prevention strategies; vector borne disease.