Background/Objective:The importance of maternal health services in lessening maternal mortality and morbidity as well as neonatal deaths has received substantial recognition in the past decade. The lack of antenatal care has been identified as a risk factor for maternal mortality and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting attendance of antenatal care services in Nepal.Methods:This is a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in Central Nepal. Using semi-structured questionnaire, interviews were conducted with married women aged between 15-49 years, who had delivered their babies within one year. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the sample. Results were obtained by frequency distribution and cross-tabulation of the variables.Results:More than half of the women were not aware of the consequences of lack of antenatal care. Age, education, income, type of family were strongly associated with the attendance at antenatal care service.Conclusions and Public Health Implications:In Nepal and in other developing countries, maternal mortality and morbidity continue to pose challenges to the health care delivery system. Variety of factors including socio-demographic, socio-economic, cultural and service availability as well as accessibility influences the use of maternal health services.

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Objectives: To analyze the association between exposure to mass media and use of contraceptive. Methods:In this cross sectional descriptive study, 387 married males of Hatiya VDC were randomly selected. This study uses semi-structured questionnaire to acquire information regarding background character of respondents and the exposure of family planning message to mass media.Results: Both print and electronic media were found major reproductive health information dissemination tools. Exposure was positively related to age, education level, income, partner approval and discussed family planning with partner. There was no significant difference in exposure based on number of living children. Conclusion:Findings from this study are consistent with the interpretation that mass media promotion of the family planning message motivated sexual partners to discuss use of the contraceptives, and that discussion exerted a strong influence on their intention to use it. The programmatic implications of these findings are that multiple media channels should continue to be used to promote family planning and other reproductive health issues. Priority should be given to media channels that reach large numbers of the intended audience, but supporting channels (such as print and interpersonal communication) should also be included in the media mix.

Aims: Diabetes self-care requires a multipronged approach, wherein the diabetic patient has a significant role to play. This study was undertaken to explore self-care practices of diabetic patients residing in two sub-metropolitan cities of Nepal. Study Design: A cross-sectional comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out from March 2019 to June 2020. Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was done among 415 diabetic patients aged above 25 years. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. A structured questionnaire was adopted and making necessary contextual to collect the data. Descriptive statistics along with association between means, t-tests and ANOVA were calculated and a p < 0.05 was considered significant for data analysis. Results: Regarding the diabetes self-care activities in different domains with respect to sociodemographic independent variables, blood sugar testing and foot care was a statistically significant associated with education i.e.  (p= 0.018) and (p=0.003) simultaneously. The study also reveals that specific diet, physical activity/exercise and blood sugar testing are significantly associated with HbA1c of diabetic patients. i.e. (p=0.003), (p=0.004) and (p=0.037) respectively. Conclusion: The general awareness regarding both general and specific diet, physical activity/exercise, blood sugar testing, foot care and medications were poor in our study. More strategies need to be explored to make sure patients adhere to self-care activities.