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Background Emerging and reemerging pathogens are global challenges for public health and the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019is a reemerging case of an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corornavirus-2. Health care worker worldwide are at higher risk worldwide and the situation is the same in Nepal. The knowledge and attitude of health workers will certainly mark the outcome towards this pandemic. So, this study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of community health workers towards the prevention of COVID-19 virus. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the community health workers of various provinces of Nepal. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was prepared in Google form and circulated to the sampled health workers through various social media platforms like face book, messenger, Instagram and g-mails. A total of 650 invitations were send and among them 420 responded and among them only 399 provided complete response. Responses containing anonymized data was collected analyzed in using SPSS-version-20. The results were interpreted and was checked with various demographic and enabling factors using chi-square test and logistic regression model. Also, ethical approval was taken from NHRC (Nepal Health Research Council (protocol registration number: 360/2020P) prior to the conduction of study. Results Out the total sample size of 450, we took 399 responses taking into consideration all the inclusion criteria. So, from 399 valid response, 230 (47.6%) were males and 169 (42.4%) were females. 380 (95.2%) employed participants thought that wearing PPE will reduce the chances of getting COVID-19, majority of the participants 80.5% (321) responded that COVID-19 will successfully be controlled and staffs receiving excellent support from palika had high knowledge level. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the enabling factor “support from palika” (P = 0.045).45.9% of the respondents had no availability of COVID-19 response medical items for prevention of COVID-19 at their respective health facilities. Also the logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of knowledge level was 2 times higher (AOR=1.913 at 95% CI: 1.266-2.891) compared to the female participants (Ref- female). Conclusions Proper and adequate knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 is a paramount in the prevention and control of SARS-COV-2. Health care workers are knowledgeable about COVID-19 and are proactively practicing the preventive measures to minimize the spread of infection but some lack optimistic attitude. Hence, the constantly updated educational programs related to COVID-19 will surely contribute to improving the healthcare workers knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Oral health problems of school children are one of the most common health related problem in the world. The prevalence of dental caries is significantly higher in school children. In Nepal, the morbidity of dental caries is very high among school children compared to other age groups. Dental caries is neglected at initial stages in children, but when the disease becomes progressive the treatment options being one of the most expensive and unaffordable. This study sought to identity the prevalence and associated risk factors of dental caries among basic school children age group from 6-12 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Analytical cross-sectional study design was carried out among school children. . A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and face to face interview method was used to collect information from two public schools and two private schools of Kathmandu metropolitan City. Purposive sampling technique was applied. DMFT (Decayed, Missed, Filled, Teeth) index was adopted to measure mixed dentition, and also to assess the oral health status of school children. The collected data was entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS-20. RESULTS: Among 274 participants, there were equal number of female and male students (Female: 137, Male: 137), likewise the number of participants from public and private school was also equal. The prevalence of dental caries among school children was found to be 55.84% and there was significant association between frequency of brushing with dental caries (p=0.001). 176 (64.2%) of the participants consumed normal food, 56 (20.4%) consumed junk food and 39 (14.2%) consumed spicy food. The consumption of different food types played a significant role in the occurrence of dental caries. CONCLUSIONS: Frequency of brushing and types of food consumption are significantly associated with the higher prevalence of dental caries among school children. Regular dental check-up and good brushing practice can reduce the prevalence of dental caries in school children. Hence, continuous oral health programs including demonstration of proper brushing technique along with oral health awareness programs at school can help to reduce the burden of dental caries among school children.

INTRODUCTION: Assorted beauty products such as skin care products, hair products, fragrances and nail products that may contain toxic chemicals and that can be harmful to health are especially used by women. The objective of this study was to assess the utilization of cosmetics and its knowledge among intermediate level female students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted at Public Youth Campus, Janakpurdham using descriptive cross-sectional study design. Purposive sampling technique was used. Intermediate level female students were included in the study. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Version 23. Descriptive and inferential analysis was carried out to find out frequency and association between socio-demographic variables, and knowledge regarding the effects of cosmetics utilization. RESULTS: The study revealed that 53.8% of respondents had started using cosmetics at the age of 12-16 years, 20% of respondents had started using cosmetics at the age of 16-20 years, whereas 26.3% had started using cosmetics before the age of 12. Moreover, 68.8% of respondents believed that long-term usage of cosmetic products was beneficial whereas 31.2% of respondents had experienced the adverse effects of cosmetics utilization. Additionally, 28.7% of respondents had a high level of knowledge regarding cosmetics utilization. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that the knowledge regarding the effect of cosmetics utilization was moderate among the respondents. It was also found that the adverse effects of cosmetic use lead to allergic reactions and skin discoloration upon long term usage of cosmetic products. Health education program to the target population is crucial with focus on cosmetic use and its adverse effects on health.

1. Background: Emerging and reemerging pathogens are global challenges for public health and the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 is a reemerging case of an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corornavirus-2 . Health care worker worldwide are at higher risk worldwide and the situation is the same in Nepal. The knowledge and attitude of health workers will certainly mark the outcome towards this pandemic. So, this study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of community health workers towards the prevention of COVID-19 virus.2. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the community health workers of various provinces of Nepal. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was prepared in google form and circulated to the sampled health workers through various social media platforms like Facebook, messenger, Instagram, g-mails and messengers. Responses containing anonymized data was collected analyzed in using SPSS-version-20. The results were interpreted and was checked with various demographic and enabling factors using chi-square test and logistic regression model. Also, ethical approval was taken from NHRC (ERB protocol registration number: 360/2020P) prior to the conduction of study.3. Results: Out the total sample size of 450, we took 399 responses taking into consideration all the inclusion criteria. So, from 399 valid response, 230 (47.6%) were males and 169 (42.4%) were females. 380 (95.2%) employed participants thought that wearing PPE will reduce the chances of getting COVID-19, majority of the participants 80.5%(321) responded that COVID-19 will successfully be controlled and staffs receiving excellent support from palika had high knowledge level. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the enabling factor “support from palika” (P=0.045).4. Conclusions: Proper and adequate knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 is a paramount in the prevention and control of SARS-COV2 for everyone and especially the HCW’s who are the frontline workers. There is a need to orient more HCW’s regarding COVID-19, preventive measures. 45.9% of the respondents had no availability of COVID-19 response medical items for prevention of COVID-19 at their respective health facilities which is a serious issue which need to address very quickly to fight against the pandemic.