Purpose The under-5 mortality rate in Nepal remains high in comparison to neighboring countries and developed nations. The result of this problem on Nepal’s social, economic, political and cultural development makes it an urgent priority requiring the Nepalese Government to address this issue. The purpose of this paper is to find out if Nepal’s high female labor force participation (FLFP), the caste system and no paid maternity leave are contributing factors to under-5 deaths in Nepal. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were taken from Nepal’s cross-sectional demographic health survey 2016–2017. The study sample included 5,060 children born to 3,074 mothers in the five years preceding the survey. Data were collected by interviewing respondents via a structured questionnaire selected through stratified random sampling methods. Findings The study found that the hazard ratio for FLFP, the caste of the mother and paid maternity were 1.145, 1.485 and 0.556, respectively, with a p-value <0.001. Therefore, the risk of death in children under-5 years for a working mother, a Terai caste mother and a mother who did not get paid maternity was 14, 45 and 48 percent, respectively, higher than for non-working mothers, mothers from other castes and mothers who got paid maternity. Originality/value This research demonstrated that FLFP, the caste of the mother and paid maternity leave are important factors for determining the risk of death in children under the age of 5.

Background The number of breastfeeding mothers participating in a labor force to generate income has been increasing in Nepal. In this regard, the study aims to assess the survival of Under 3 children in Nepal from the mother based on their labor force participation and breastfeeding status. Methods Data for the study were obtained from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The sample size of the study was 2,994 live births children, born in the last three years prior to the day of the interview. The robust hazard ratio and cox proportional hazard regression were conducted between dependent and independent variables with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to conclude. Results From a total of 2,994 live births, 85 children died within 36 months of birth. More than 80% of the non-working mothers were breastfeeding their children. The findings shows that the survival of children under-3 is positively associated with the interaction with the mother’s work and breastfeeding status (Hazard Ratio 0.428, 95% CI 0.24, 0.75), family structure (Hazard Ratio 1.511; 95% CI 1.37, 1.655), relationship with the household head (Hazard Ratio 0.452; 95% CI 0.311, 0.65), wealth quintiles (Hazard Ratio 0.390; 95% CI 0.33, 0.46), caste (Hazard Ratio 0.652; 95% CI 0.60, 0.69), and religion (Hazard Ratio 2.015; 95% CI 1.09, 3.70) with model CI 95%, Log pseudo likelihood = -521.39236, prob. χ2 = 0.005 and time at risk = 52,748. Conclusions The highest rate of child survival was from the working mothers as well as continuing breastfeeding their children followed by mothers breastfeeding the child but not working, compared to mothers working but not breastfeeding the child, and mothers who were neither working nor breastfeeding their children respectively. This study provides clear evidence that breastfeeding is very important for the probability of survival of the child aged below 36 months and work of mother also have some positive impact on child survival. Employers should be encouraged to have a breastfeeding policy in the workplace through the establishment of a breastfeeding facility, and a flexible work schedule. At the same time government should also regulate the paid maternity leave and encourage societal support for the breastfeeding mothers.

Introduction: The Fertility of Thailand declined to 1.6 in 2014 compared to 6.5 in the early sixties. This fertility revolution was accompanied by a concurrent revolution of contraceptive behavior among Thai people. This study examined the role of individual and geospatial factors to explain the variation in contraceptive method choice among married in two selected districts of Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. Methods: The sample size in this study was 1468. The study population was currently married women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were residing in two selected districts of Kanchanaburi province, Sai Yok and Muang districts, collected under the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance Site (KDSS) project from 2004 to 2006. The study performed multinomial logistic regression for statistical analysis and Arc view GIS for spatial analysis to identify the factors associated with contraceptive method choice. Results: The women in the middle age group and urban women were more likely to use permanent methods over non use and temporary methods compared to young and rural women respectively. Women having higher than secondary education used both temporary and permanent contraceptive methods 2.5 times more than uneducated women (AOR 2.43; 95% CI 1.33– 4.46 for temporary versus none and AOR 2.54; 95% CI 1.29 – 5.01 for permanent versus none respectively). If women has no children, they were significantly less likely to use permanent method over non-use as well as over temporary methods. Geo-spatial analysis results showed transportation facilities determine the contraceptive choice. Conclusion: The better transportation network facilitated women to use a permanent contraceptive method rather than the temporary method. It is necessary to establish a better transportation system and education system in the areas, especially in the mountainous regions to improve accessibility and to realize reproductive health services. Further, investments in increasing women's access to various contraceptive options are urgently needed.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are known as chronic diseases which do not transmit from person to person. NCDs have a long duration and slow progression. Chronic non-communicable diseases constitute the major burdens of illness and disability in almost all countries of the world. The study assessed the prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases among young adults in the Shuklagandaki Municipality of Tanahun district.A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from June to October 2018 among young adults (20-40 years) in the Shuklagandaki Municipality of Tanahun district. The required study sample size was 336. Multistage probability sampling was applied to study sites and respondents and used World Health Organization’s (WHO) STEPWISE SURVEY 1 and 2 to collect data. For this, we adopted WHO’s STEPS tool edition 2.2, Nepalese translated by NHRC during the stepwise survey in 2013. The proportion of smoking was 14% which was higher in males (30%) than in females (6.2%). Alcohol consumption among young adults was 23.5%. Physical inactivity was seen among 38.4% of respondents. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and CVDs were 5.7%, 6% and 7% respectively. Sex and marital status were found to be significantly associated (p-value&#60;0.005) with smoking. Likewise, sex and monthly income were associated (P-value&#60;0.005) with alcohol consumption. Sex, marital status and education were associated (P-value&#60;0.005) with physical inactivity. Smoking and sitting time were associated (P-value&#60;0.005) with hypertension. The study showed a high prevalence of smoking and alcoholism amongst the young adult population. Awareness programs on prevalent risk factors have to be conducted for preventing exposure to risk factors.