Background: Frontline Health Care Workers are at risk of developing mental and psychological distress during Corona virus disease 2019 pandemic. This study aimed to assess level of stress, anxiety, depression and their associated factors among health care workers during Corona virus disease 2019 pandemic in Nepal.Methods: This is a web based cross-sectional survey conducted among 404 Health Care Workers during early phase of Corona virus disease 2019 pandemic. The participants were selected using convenience sampling technique and were invited to participate via various online networks. Depression, anxiety and stress were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and their associated factors were measured using structured questionnaires. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out to determine the associated factors.Results: The symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression among health care workers were found to be 28.9%, 35.6% and 17.0% respectively. Females were found to be 2 fold more likely to have anxiety and depression than male. Nurses were found to be two times more likely to have anxiety than doctors. Laboratory personnel were almost three folds more likely to have anxiety than doctors. Health care workers with insufficient/ no PPE were almost three fold more likely to have depression. health care workers working in high-risk areas had almost 2 fold higher odds of having depression.Conclusions: Health care workers experienced symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression in varied level of severity. This experience was higher among the nurses and laboratory workers than doctors. Pandemic preparedness assuring PPE and appropriate psychological interventions may be beneficial to promote mental health and well-being of health care workers.Keywords: Anxiety; associated factors; depression; health workers; stress

Introduction: Childhood obesity has now been recognized as a global health problem because of its devastating consequences and prevalence at uncontrollable rate worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence of obesity and find out the knowledge on obesity among school going adolescents. Material and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents of two private schools of Kaski district. Altogether 120 adolescent students were selected using census method. Height and weight were measured with standard scale and BMI was calculated. Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to assess knowledge. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test at 0.05 significance level was used to analyze data. Results: The mean age of adolescents was 15.1 years and 50% of them were male. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents was 3.3%. Seventy five percent of the adolescents had knowledge regarding meaning of obesity and 59.2% had mentioned high calorie intake as a risk factor of obesity. Likewise, 52.5% adolescents stated Diabetes mellitus as consequence of obesity. Ninety eight percent mentioned regular exercise as a preventive measure of obesity. More than three fourth (78.3%) of the adolescents had inadequate knowledge regarding obesity. Male adolescents had significantly higher knowledge than female adolescents (p=0.00). Conclusion: Even though very few adolescents had obesity, there were adolescents with overweight which were at more risk for getting obesity. Adolescents have inadequate knowledge regarding obesity.

IntroductionThe high burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in young children disproportionately occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The PROUD (Preventing RespiratOry syncytial virUs in unDerdeveloped countries) Taskforce of 24 RSV worldwide experts assessed key needs for RSV prevention in LMICs, including vaccine and newer preventive measures.MethodsA global, survey-based study was undertaken in 2021. An online questionnaire was developed following three meetings of the Taskforce panellists wherein factors related to RSV infection, its prevention and management were identified using iterative questioning. Each factor was scored, by non-panellists interested in RSV, on a scale of zero (very-low-relevance) to 100 (very-high-relevance) within two scenarios: (1) Current and (2) Future expectations for RSV management.ResultsNinety questionnaires were completed: 70 by respondents (71.4% physicians; 27.1% researchers/scientists) from 16 LMICs and 20 from nine high-income (HI) countries (90.0% physicians; 5.0% researchers/scientists), as a reference group. Within LMICs, RSV awareness was perceived to be low, and management was not prioritised. Of the 100 factors scored, those related to improved diagnosis particularly access to affordable point-of-care diagnostics, disease burden data generation, clinical and general education, prompt access to new interventions, and engagement with policymakers/payers were identified of paramount importance. There was a strong need for clinical education and local data generation in the lowest economies, whereas upper-middle income countries were more closely aligned with HI countries in terms of current RSV service provision.ConclusionSeven key actions for improving RSV prevention and management in LMICs are proposed.

Introduction: Sexual harassment among nurses is a major issue of work place, health and safety that seriously affects patient care. It is more common among nurses. The aim of this study was to identify experiences of sexual harassment among nurses in a tertiary hospital. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to find out the experience of sexual harassment among nurses. Two hundred and twenty-three, nurses working in a tertiary hospital were selected using purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through structured, self-administered questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Review Committee Institute of Medicine Kathmandu. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (version 16) Results: The mean age of the nurses was 29.6 (SD ± 7.4) years and 57.0% were married.  Most of the nurses (85.2%) performed as roster basis in all shifts (rotation; morning, evening and night) duty and 15.2% of the nurses were from emergency ward. Median duration of work experience was 4.17 years (range= 6months to 31 years). Total 18.5% nurses had experienced some kinds of sexual harassment in their workplace. More than half (53.8%) each were harassed by doctors and visitors; 46.2% of the nurses were harassed in emergency/ general ward/ operation theatre; 30.8% were harassed at bed side; 38.5% were harassed in the evening shift and 66.7% were harassed when they are working alone. Likewise, 28.2% reported the incident of sexual harassment; 90.9% reported verbally and 89.7% suggested that hospital need to develop policy against sexual harassment. Nurses with night shift duty (100.0%), PCL/ B. Sc level of education (20.0%), unmarried (21.8%), staff nurse (201.7%), slim body (21.3%), fierce nature (33.3%) and beautiful looks (29.8%) were more frequently victimized but that was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Workplace sexual harassment is frequent among nurses working at tertiary hospital. However, reporting rate is very low due to fear of negative consequences and lack of knowledge about how and where to report. Proper policy, law and reporting mechanism should be developed to combat sexual harassment among nurses.

COVID-19 has affected all aspects of human life so far. From the outset of the pandemic, preventing the spread of COVID-19 through the observance of health protocols, especially the use of sanitizers and disinfectants was given more attention. Despite the effectiveness of disinfection chemicals in controlling and preventing COVID-19, there are critical concerns about their adverse effects on human health. This study aims to assess the health effects of sanitizers and disinfectants on a global scale. A total of 91,056 participants from 154 countries participated in this cross-sectional study. Information on the use of sanitizers and disinfectants and health was collected using an electronic questionnaire, which was translated into 26 languages via web-based platforms. The findings of this study suggest that detergents, alcohol-based substances, and chlorinated compounds emerged as the most prevalent chemical agents compared to other sanitizers and disinfectants examined. Most frequently reported health issues include skin effects and respiratory effects. The Chi-square test showed a significant association between chlorinated compounds (sodium hypochlorite and per-chlorine) with all possible health effects under investigation ( p -value <0.001). Examination of risk factors based on multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that alcohols and alcohols-based materials were associated with skin effects (OR, 1.98; 95%CI, 1.87–2.09), per-chlorine was associated with eye effects (OR, 1.83; 95%CI, 1.74–1.93), and highly likely with itching and throat irritation (OR, 2.00; 95%CI, 1.90–2.11). Furthermore, formaldehyde was associated with a higher prevalence of neurological effects (OR, 2.17; 95%CI, 1.92–2.44). Furthermore, formaldehyde was associated with a higher prevalence of neurological effects (OR, 2.17; 95%CI, 1.92–2.44). The use of sodium hypochlorite and per-chlorine also had a high chance of having respiratory effects. The findings of the current study suggest that health authorities need to implement more awareness programs about the side effects of using sanitizers and disinfectants during viral epidemics especially when they are used or overused. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-023-27197-6.