Perinatal mental health is a major public health issue that arises during pregnancy and/or after birth, with substantial implications for social, parental, and maternal functioning, as well as overall quality of life. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of perinatal depression and its associated risk factors among women who visited a maternity hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital in Kathmandu. A total of 300 women in their perinatal period were interviewed. The Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure perinatal depression. The Poisson regression model was used to determine risk factors associated with perinatal depression. The mean age of respondents was 25.5 (SD 4.5) years; average age during their first pregnancy was 23.5 (SD 3.7) years; and 53.7% of respondents were in the antenatal period. The prevalence of depressive symptoms (EPDS ≥ 10) was 40% (95% CI 31.4% to 45.8%). Unsupportive family members (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 2.23; 95% CI 1.75–2.86), postnatal period (aPR 2.64; 95% CI 1.97–3.53), complications faced during delivery (aPR 1.76; 95%CI 1.30–2.39), history of intimate partner violence (aPR 0.48; 95% CI 0.36–0.64), and first pregnancy at the age of ≤25 years (aPR 0.61; 95% CI 0.42–0.88) were identified as key risk factors of perinatal depression. Strong family support and the active involvement of partners in counselling can contribute to alleviating perinatal depression symptoms. Targeted interventions in health and well-being services should be implemented to address mental health burden during both pregnancy and postpartum periods.

Background and objectives: The present study was conducted to explore the mean age at menarche and associating factors among the Nepali school girls of Jorpati, Kathmandu. Materials and methods: The 500 girls of aged between 9-18 years were collected from the seven school of Gokarneshowr Municipality, Jorpati, Kathmandu after taking ethical clearance from NHRC. The healthy girls without any growth-related disorders and genetic abnormalities were included in the study. The consent was taken from the school authority and individual student by providing written consent and ascent form. The data thus collected were tabulated and analyzed by using SPSS 16. Results: The age at menarche of the respondents was 12.56 ±1.12years and menarchial age varied from 9-16 years. Similarly, the mean age at menarche of sisters and mothers were 12.96 ± 1.25 and 14.30 ± 1.58 respectively. The mean age at menarche of vegetarian group was 12.42 years as compared to non-vegetarian was 12.58 years. The lowest mean age at menarche was in Newar (12.30 years) and highest mean age at menarche in Limbu (13.33years). Followed by age at menarche in Brahmin (12.58 years), Chhetri (12.74 years), Rai (12.60 years), Lama (12.43 years), Gurung (12.66 years) and others (12.56 years). Conclusions: There was decrease in age at menarche with successive generation as a result of increase in urbanization, better dwelling and smaller family size as compared to previous generation.

Introduction: Infertility is being a common global problem affecting one couple in six. Approximately 167 million ever married women aged 15-49 years in developing countries were infertile. The problem of infertility has not given attention considering the fact that it is not the life threatening, but, it has substantial community health problems such as depression, anxiety domestic violence and social isolation. The purpose of the study was to explore the causes of infertility among couples who visited the infertility centre. Methodology: Hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study had been carried out in infertility centre Kathmandu Nepal. One hundred and sixty five married couple with infertility problem availing the infertility treatment was selected on first come first serve basic sampling method from infertility treatment centre. Result: The infertility problem varied with the age. The problem was highest among the females of age group 26-30 years (51%), similarly in males it was predominant at the age of 31-35 years (45%). The most common causes of female infertility were ovarian cyst (37%) and heavy bleeding (18.7%), uterine fibroids (9%), Pelvic inflammation (9%), Thyroid disease (21.8%), whereas in males the infertility were mostly due to Oligospermia (17.5%), Azoospermia (5.5%), Hydrocele (7.8), Mumps orchids (6%). Conclusion: Infertility was due to various causes in the male or/and the female partner, however, the infertility among couples were mostly due to the problem in females. Infertility is a complex problem that should be considered carefully by the individual, community peoples, government and stakeholders in each country.

Background and Aims: Malaria continues to be a significant global health challenge, leading to preventable illnesses and loss of lives. This cross‐sectional descriptive study, employing a mixed‐method approach, aimed to investigate the health service‐related factors affecting health‐seeking behavior during episodes of malaria fever in a high‐risk region of Nepal.Methods: Using a cross‐sectional descriptive design with a mixed‐method approach, the research focused on Kanchanpur district, selected from 20 high‐risk malaria districts of Nepal. Belauri Municipality within Kanchanpur, identified for its concentration of high and moderate‐risk wards, was the specific study area. A random selection process identified 387 households for a comprehensive survey. Face‐to‐face interviews with household heads were conducted after obtaining written informed consent and ethical approval from the Nepal Health Research Council. Data analysis, employing statistical measures such as percentages, frequency, mean, and the Chi‐square test, was performed using SPSS version 20.Results: Means of reaching the public health facility (AOR = 8.324, 95% CI = 3.677–18.844, p < 0.001), time to reach public health facility (AOR = 0.234, 95% CI = 0.059–0.918, p = 0.017), regular availability of service providers (AOR = 0.155, 95% CI = 0.054–0.442, p < 0.001), most of the time availability of service provider (AOR = 0.115, 95% CI = 0.039–0.334, p < 0.001), opening hours of health facility (AOR = 0.301, 95% CI = 0.156–0.581, p < 0.001), and perceived quality of service (AOR = 0.256, 95% CI = 0.154–0.424, p < 0.001), having to pay for transportation (COR = 0.275, 95% CI = 0.164–0.461, p < 0.001), travel cost (COR = 0.744, 95% CI = 0.640–0.865, p < 0.001), were the significant factors in health‐seeking behavior during malaria fever.Conclusion: Collectively, these findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of health‐seeking behavior in the context of malaria fever and emphasize the importance of addressing various factors to improve healthcare utilization. Subsidized transportation for the poor helps to overcome financial barriers, establish additional facilities or mobile clinics to reduce travel time, ensure healthcare workforce availability, extend health facility hours, patient‐centered initiatives to enhance service quality can increase the likelihood of people seeking care from modern health facilities in Nepal.

Background: Acute appendicitis is the most common general surgical disease, worldwide. The exact etiology is still in conjecture. However, the inadequate fiber in diet, smoking, mechanical obstruction in appendiceal lumen, has been attributed as factors for appendicitis. Appendicitis presents throughout months of the year, however, incidence increases in particular months. The objective of this study is to observe the appendicitis incidence variation with months of the year in high altitude region of Nepal. Methods: The cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences, Jumla situated at the altitude above 2500 m from sea level. The clinical data were retrieved from the hospital record book in the Operation Theater that included age, gender, ethnicity, month of the appendectomy executed, pre-operative clinical presentation, and operative findings. The period of study was from July 2014 to March 2020. The data were entered in Microsoft Excel software and descriptive analysis was done to get mean, median percentage, standard deviation by SPSS 16. Results: A total of 119 appendectomies performed during 5 years period, from 2014 to 2020, in the surgery department of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences were recorded. The mean age of appendectomy was 27 years. There were 53% female (n=64) and 46% male (n=55) patients. The months in which the highest appendectomy executed were July/August/September and February with 16% (n=19), 13.4% (n=16), (n=15) 12.6% and 13.4% (n=16) respectively. The lowest incidence was 1.7% in the month of April. Conclusion: The incidence of appendicitis is high in the months from July to September with the lowest incidence is in the months of April and May. This information could be useful to decrease the disease-associated morbidity and mortality as well as it can be useful for hospital administration for enrolling the needed health-workers in those particular time periods.

Introduction: Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs play a critical role in self-care, markedly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Nepal. Understanding and practices related to OTC drug use among health science students are crucial, given their role in the future of healthcare. This study was conducted with the objective to compare and assess the understanding and practices of OTC drugs for self-care among medical, pharmacy, and nursing students and evaluate the impact of their education on these practices. Methods: A multicenter comparative cross-sectional study was conducted across three health science colleges affiliated with different universities in Nepal. A total of 129 health science students from medicine (77), pharmacy (23), and nursing (29) faculties were selected. Understanding and practice scores were analyzed, and socio-demographic variables were examined for associations with OTC drug use. Results: Most students exhibited moderate to poor understanding and practices regarding OTC drug use. Understanding scores were comparable across faculties, with medical students showing the highest proportion of good understanding (7.8%). Practice scores were highest among pharmacy students (4.34%). A significant number of students self-medicated without consulting healthcare professionals and often used OTC drugs due to convenience. There were no statistically significant differences in understanding and practice of OTC based on socio-demographic factors, including faculties. Conclusion: The study highlighted a general lack of understanding and inadequate practices related to OTC drugs among health science students. These findings underscore the need for improved education and regulation to promote responsible self-medication practices.