In many developing countries, where rabies is prevalent among dog populations, humans are at risk of contracting the disease. Recent reports from Nepal suggest that around 30,000 cases of pet and more than 100 human rabies cases occur each year, with the highest risk being in the Terai, although these numbers may be underestimated. Knowledge and practices related to rabies prevention are crucial in combating the disease. However, there is not enough data on the understanding and preventive measures of rabies among the local population in Nepal. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices regarding rabies prevention among the people of Bharatpur-12, Chitwan, Nepal. The study, conducted in February 2022, involved a cross-sectional survey of 271 respondents selected through systematic random sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for one-on-one interviews. Among the surveyed respondents, a significant proportion (81.50%; n = 221/271) correctly understood rabies is zoonotic disease. Furthermore, 73.10% (n = 198/271) could correctly identify the animals susceptible to rabies, while 39.9% (n = 108/271) knew the causative agent. Additionally, 46.5% accurately listed the modes of transmission, and a majority (86.70%; n = 235/271) recognized the signs and symptoms of rabies in animals and humans. Overall, 42.06% (n = 114/271) of the respondents demonstrated satisfactory knowledge. Out of the 271 respondents, 22.9% (n = 62) owned pets, and 39.11% (n = 106) reported incidents of animal bites within their families, with dog bites being the most commonly mentioned (92.46%; n = 98/106). The majority (81.14%; n = 86/106) sought treatment on the same day as the incident occurred. About half of them (50%; n = 53/106) cleaned the wound with soap and water, while a small percentage (5.66%; n = 6/106) relied on traditional medicine as immediate first aid after an animal bite. The level of knowledge was found to be associated with gender (p = 0.04), educational status (p = 0.05), and family monthly income (p = 0.007). These findings highlight the importance of educating the community in Nepal about rabies control and prevention measures and underscore the need for targeted educational interventions to improve rabies awareness and the potential of effective awareness campaigns to save lives. Raising awareness about health-seeking behavior and community members’ role in controlling, preventing, and eliminating rabies is crucial.

Introduction: The outbreak of coronavirus disease in Nepal led medical colleges to suspend in person teaching-learning activities and ultimately online platform was introduced to deliver the contents of medical education. The objective of this study was to describe the perception of medical students towards online teaching-learning introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal. Methods: An online survey using a descriptive cross-sectional study design was carried out among 515 undergraduate medical students currently enrolled in medical colleges in Nepal. A semi-structured questionnaire in Google form was utilized to collect data. The link of the Google form was sent to the potential respondents through email and social media. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to analyze data in SPSS vs20. Ethical approval was sought from Nepal Health Research Council to conduct this study, and digital informed consent was taken from study respondents. Results: The overall score of perception of online teaching-learning was 17.61±7.19, which indicated many problems in this method of teaching-learning. The mean score of perception of online teaching-learning was found to be different across sex, location of enrolled medical colleges, having a personal electronic device, having an internet connection at residence, having separate room/space for attending online classes, and self-rated computer skills. Moreover, only 28 (5.4%) of respondents had perceived online teaching-learning as a better method of delivering content of medical curricula. Conclusions: Surveyed medical students in Nepal were found to perceive many problems in online teaching-learning. Moreover, management and faculty members need to take the necessary measures for enhancing the online teaching-learning quality.

Background: With the surge of internet-based smart gadgets worldwide in 21st century the problem of internet addiction is emerging as a major behavioural addiction pandemic of the contemporary era. Excessive Internet use has become significant mental health concerns especially among students. Internet use has many advantages if used in right fashion, it has an enormous amount of negative consequences as well such as depression, attention deficit and so forth.Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study was done among 356 undergraduate students of Bharatpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. Multistaged random sampling was applied to select undergraduate students and semi structured self-administered questionnaire along with structured standard Young’s tool for Internet Addiction Test was used for collecting information during June 2019 to August 2019.Result: Alarmingly High proportions of participants (73%) were found addicted to Internet, where, 48%, 20.5% and4.5% had mild, moderate and severe Internet addiction respectively. Higher prevalence of Internet addiction was observed among those whose father’s occupation was ‘foreign employment’ as compared to agriculture. (AOR?=?2.34, 95% CI 1.02-5.33, p?=?0.04), Failed in the recent exam as compared to Pass in the recent exam. (AOR = 2.81 CI 1.40 – 3.561, and among non-science stream as compared to science stream (AOR?=?3.10, 95%CI 1.81-5.32), p=<0.001) Conclusions: The finding suggests that prevalence of Internet addiction was tremendously high among undergraduate students. There is critical need of awareness programmes targeted to the students as well as parents regarding the negative impacts of unwise Internet use.Keywords: Bharatpur metropolitan; internet addiction; undergraduate students.

Background: First phase of COVID-19 vaccination was initiated in Nepal in January 2021 tar­geting the frontline health care workers. Vaccine side effects have a significant role in public confidence regarding the vaccine and its uptake. We aimed to determine the acceptability and explore the side effects of first dose of ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 (Covishield) vaccine among the health care workers of Chitwan Medical College. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among the health care workers at Chitwan Medi­cal College. Total enumeration sampling technique was used and a self-constructed questionnaire was circulated among the health care workers to self-report their socio-demographic information and vaccination experience. Chi square test was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sci­ences version 20 for statistical analysis and p-value<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 589 respondents, 537 (91.2%) had received the first dose of Covishield vaccine among which, 424 (78.9%) reported one or more side effects. Majority of them had very mild systemic side effects (55.9%) and injection site related side effects (25.2%). The side effects were more prevalent in 30 years age group. Conclusions: Most of the vaccine recipients had very mild side effects which showed that Cov­ishield vaccine has a good safety profile.

Background: Osteoporosis is the most common skeletal disorder that weakens bones and increases their susceptibility to fractures. It is becoming an urgent and serious global epidemic. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with it. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of osteoporosis among patients attending at Manakamana Hospital, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was adopted and 623 patients attending at orthopaedic outpatients department (OPD) of Manakamana Hospital were selected using non-probability consecutive sampling technique. Data were collected from 15^th October 2021 to 15^th April, 2022, by using interview schedule, chart review and Bone Mineral Density (BMD) measurement through calcaneal ultrasonography. Ethical approval was obtained from Nepal Health Research Council Ethical Review Board prior to study procedures. Obtained data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Association between the variables were measured using chi-square test. Results: The mean age of the patients was 43.5 (±14.26) years. Nearly half (44%, n = 274) were middle aged adults, 59.7% were female and 56.0% were involved in agriculture and household chores. Nearly half of the patients (45.7%) were overweight/ obese, 7.9% were smokers and 13.5% had habit of alcohol use. Osteopenia or low bone density was detected in 58.9% patients and 19.4% had osteoporosis. The prevalence of osteoporosis was significantly associated with age group (p = <0.001) and educational status (p = 0.013) of the patients. Conclusions and recommendations: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are prevalent in patients attending in the hospital. Hence, awareness, early screening, and treatment are necessary for the hospital attended patients to enhance their health and, minimize the risk of osteoporosis and the consequences associated with it.

Background and Aims: Healthcare students are expected to lead healthy lives yet they may engage in health risk behaviors (HRBs) like physical inactivity, poor diet, and substance use. These behaviors can have negative consequences for both the individual's health and well‐being, as well as their ability to perform their future roles as healthcare providers. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of HRBs and associated factors among medical and nursing students at Lumbini Medical College, Nepal.Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 412 undergraduate healthcare students using a self‐administered questionnaire. HRBs across various domains were assessed. Validated scales screened for anxiety and depression. Regression analyses determined associations between mental health and HRBs.Results: Low physical activity was prevalent, with only 10.7% exercising ≥5 times/week. Inadequate fruit/vegetable intake (1–2 servings/day) was reported by 79.9% students. Short sleep duration (5–6 h) on weeknights (51.2%) was common. More than three quarter (76.5%) of students met the screening cutoff score for HRBs. The study highlighted that students with addiction, depression and anxiety are more likely to exhibit HRBs (p < 0.01).Conclusion: Multiple HRBs were highly prevalent among the students. A considerable proportion demonstrated a clustering of risky lifestyle factors, which were linked to poor mental health. Interventions should address academic burden, promote positive health behaviors, and target mental well‐being in this vulnerable group.