ABSTRACT
Globally, tobacco use (smoked, secondhand, and chewing) accounted for 8.71 million deaths, which is 15.4% of all deaths in 2019. Tobacco was ranked first among males and sixth among female in terms of level 2 risk factor for attributable deaths globally. The objective of this study was to identify the perception of cigarette graphic health warnings and their impact on smoking behavior in Nepal. A cross-sectional study using purposive sampling technique was done. Out of 169 respondents, 79.9% were male, 49.1% were illiterate, and 37.9% were above 60 years of age. Eighty-four percent had initiated smoking before the age of 20, and 39.6% had smoked cigarettes for more than 40 years. All the respondents had noticed the graphic health warning on cigarette packages. The majority (80.5%) of the respondents reported that the warning informs about specific health consequences of smoking, and the percentage of respondents believing that warning motivates smokers to quit smoking, encourages smokers to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and deters potential smokers from starting to smoke was 40.2%, 33.1%, and 30.8%, respectively. More than half of the respondents (50.9%) attempted to quit smoking because of the warning. The implementation of graphic health warnings had favorable perception from majority of smokers and positive impact on smoking behavior of the respondents. Further large-scale research on impact on smoking behavior through repeated cross-sectional studies can be future research priority.
ABSTRACT
Background: The prevalence and paradigm of antenatal heart disease are contrasting between high-income, industrialized, and low- and middle-income countries. In this systematic review, we report the prevalence of heart disease and its spectrum in pregnant women of South Asia. Methods: We searched through different electronic databases (PubMed, Google-scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library) to locate relevant articles. Studies with sufficient data that met our inclusion criteria were included. Two reviewers independently screened the articles. Discrepancies were resolved by other reviewers. Subsequently, data extraction was done using a standardized form and quality assessment of studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. Meta-analysis was done using R software. Results: After various stages of screening 25 studies were included in the final quantitative synthesis. The pooled prevalence of heart disease among pregnant women was 1.46% (95% CI 0.99-2.01). Among those with heart disease, 70.25% (95% CI 64.87-75.38) had Rheumatic heart disease and 18.10% (95% CI 14.39-22.12) had congenital heart disease. The pooled prevalence of preterm labor and delivery among pregnant women with heart disease was 17.63% (95% CI 12.18-23.80). Similarly, the pooled maternal and fetal mortality rates were 26.14 (95% CI 12.47-43.55) and 50.48 (95% CI 29.59-75.83) per 1000 pregnant women with heart disease respectively. Conclusion: As pregnancy, itself is a prolonged state of physiologic stress, heart disease further adds to the risk both for the mother and fetus. Having such a high prevalence, efforts must be made to detect and closely monitor the condition antenatally, and decisions should be made according to the clinical conditions of the patient.
ABSTRACT
Medical graduates studying on full and partial scholarships are subjected to a mandatory two years of bonding service program to overcome regional inequalities in the distribution of health workers between rural and urban areas. It might be a challenging journey, but it is crucial for the personal and professional growth of young doctors. Working in places distant from home and medical school can also be difficult, especially when the doctors are not adequately trained. During the bond, young graduates are exposed to a variety of clinical and non-clinical circumstances, which can aid in their maturation. Keywords: health; health policies; rural health.
Subject(s)
Physicians , Rural Health Services , Health Workforce , Humans , Nepal , Rural PopulationABSTRACT
Clinicians and pathologists must be aware of the occurrence of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease, as one of the differential diagnoses of cervical lymphadenopathy.
