P Thapa

Psychosocial Problems among Adolescent Students: An Exploratory Study in the Central Region of Nepal

Background Recently, schools have drawn attention as dominant factors for psychosocial development of students. Nepal, however, has limited studies on this issue. This study sought to assess the prevalence of psychosocial dysfunction and its association with family-related factors among adolescent Nepali students. Methods Taking 787 adolescent students from 13 schools of Hetauda municipality, we accomplished a cross-sectional study. A set of structured questionnaire and Y-PSC was adopted to collect data, which were analyzed using SPSS with 95% of confidence interval. Results One-fifth (17.03%) adolescent students suffered with psychosocial dysfunction. Male students (9.50%) were more affected, compared to female students (7.80%). The proportion of psychosocial dysfunction rose with the rise in age group and grade. Frequency of family dispute was significantly associated with psychosocial dysfunction OR = 13.24 (95% CI: 2.27–17.23). Conclusion Interventions on psychosocial dysfunction need a great start, targeting adolescents, their caregivers, and community stakeholders, with a special emphasis on the school setting.

Risk of ARI among Non-exclusively Breastfed Under-Five Passive Smoker Children: A Hospital-Based Cross-sectional Study of Nepal

Background As Nepal witnesses high burden of both acute respiratory infection (ARI) and passive smoking among under-five children, studies on effect modification of exclusive breastfeeding on passive smoking and ARI carry huge significance. With Nepal holding no evidence in this regard, findings would be useful to promote a cost-effective intervention: exclusive breastfeeding. This study was therefore conceived as an effort to bring to light the modifying effect that exclusive breastfeeding may have on the association between household passive smoking and ARI among under-five children. Methods One hundred and ninety-eight parents of under-five children from Kanti Children’s Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal, participated in this descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out in October 2012. Data collected from a semi-structured questionnaire were subjected to univariate, bivariate, and multivariable analysis in R version 3.1.2. Results Non-exclusively breastfed children with presence of anyone smoking at their house [aOR = 4.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.7–13.2] and smoking in presence of children (aOR = 6.4, 95% CI: 1.1–38.3) had higher chances of ARI; nevertheless, this remained insignificant among the exclusively breastfed ones. Having a separate kitchen in the house showed protective effect against ARI among exclusively breastfed children (aOR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.6). Children whose mothers spent at least 2 h per day in the kitchen had a higher chance of developing ARI, regardless of being exclusively breastfed (aOR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.5–13.1) or non-exclusively breastfed (aOR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.4–14.2) compared to those who spent <2 h per day. Conclusion Non-exclusive breastfeeding may increase the chances of deleterious effects of household passive smoking, such as ARI, among under-five children. As these findings are not conclusive, studies with better design and larger samples are warranted to confirm the effect.