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Background: Kathmandu Valley experiences over 5,500 road traffic accidents annually, causing significant fatalities. Despite taxis being a safer transport option, they are still involved in accidents that is attributed to compromised knowledge related to road traffic accidents (RTAs). This study investigates taxi drivers' knowledge on road traffic accident prevention in Kathmandu Valley. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design and was conducted across various junctions in Kathmandu Valley. A sample of 322 taxi drivers was selected using a purposive method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, with pre-testing conducted beforehand. Data were entered into Epi- Data and analyzed using SPSS version 16, with all ethical considerations strictly adhered. Results: The study found that 98% of the drivers were male, with a mean age of 37 years. Most were married, and over half identified as Janajatis. About half had secondary education, and 80% earned less than 50,000 per month. Despite 86% being satisfied with their income, knowledge gaps were evident. On average, 42% had poor knowledge of human-related factors, 62% lacked understanding of vehicular factors, and 20% were incorrect about environmental factors affecting RTAs. Conclusions: The study highlights significant gaps in taxi drivers' knowledge about factors contributing to RTAs. The findings suggest that targeted education programs and stricter regulations could help improve drivers' understanding and potentially reduce RTAs in the future.

Background: Kathmandu Valley experiences over 5,500 road traffic accidents annually, causing significant fatalities. Despite taxis being a safer transport option, they are still involved in accidents that is attributed to compromised knowledge related to road traffic accidents (RTAs). This study investigates taxi drivers' knowledge on road traffic accident prevention in Kathmandu Valley. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design and was conducted across various junctions in Kathmandu Valley. A sample of 322 taxi drivers was selected using a purposive method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, with pre-testing conducted beforehand. Data were entered into Epi- Data and analyzed using SPSS version 16, with all ethical considerations strictly adhered. Results: The study found that 98% of the drivers were male, with a mean age of 37 years. Most were married, and over half identified as Janajatis. About half had secondary education, and 80% earned less than 50,000 per month. Despite 86% being satisfied with their income, knowledge gaps were evident. On average, 42% had poor knowledge of human-related factors, 62% lacked understanding of vehicular factors, and 20% were incorrect about environmental factors affecting RTAs. Conclusions: The study highlights significant gaps in taxi drivers' knowledge about factors contributing to RTAs. The findings suggest that targeted education programs and stricter regulations could help improve drivers' understanding and potentially reduce RTAs in the future.

Background: An increase in the number of natural disasters and consequently the rate of disability has been also increased. So, purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about disaster preparedness among health care workers at a tertiary care center of a disaster-prone developing country like Nepal. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 135 participants were included. Self-administered multiple sets of questionnaires with four sections i.e., Demographic information, Knowledge Questionnaire, Aptitude Checklist, and Practice based questionnaire were used for study. The study was conducted in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital and the study period was two months, from December to February 2021. The respondents were the staffs working in Kathmandu medical college teaching hospital with or without formal training and work-related experiences of disaster preparedness and management in the past. The data was entered into the Microsoft Excel software and analyzed using the statistical package for social studies (SPSS) software 23.0 version and P-value was set at 0.5 with 95% CI. Results: Among 135 participants, female participants were 90 (66.7 %). There were 41 Doctors (37.0%) and 45 nurses (37.8%). Equal participation from every department was ensured. Their overall knowledge, attitude, and practice in disaster preparedness were good. 80.7% of the participants had knowledge of the disaster, and 7.0% agreed with the necessity to have a disaster plan. Conclusions: Health Care professionals have a significant level of knowledge. Attitude is a significant predictor of readiness to practice. Educators and health policymakers should build a robust curriculum in disaster medicine management and preparedness for the future of competent health care professionals in our country Nepal.

Background: Nurses professionals experience an overwhelming level of depression and anxiety; which remain taboo, despite the prevalence of these mental health conditions within the field. This cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted to identify the prevalence of anxiety, depression and associated factors among nightshift working nurses of hospitals in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Methods: Cross-sectional hospital-based study was done among randomly sampled nightshift working nurses. Total 206 samples derived by using the formula; n=z²pq/e2. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale used to assess the level of anxiety, depression and associated factors. The self-administered Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was pretested and finalized before data collection. Nightshift working nurses were respondents and the purpose of the study explained to the respondents before data collection. Verbal informed consent was obtained from nurses and ethical approval from Nepal Health Research Council was taken. Scientific Package for Social Science version-20 used for data analysis and relevant statistical test applied. Results: Mean age of nurses was 24.46 ± 3.7 SD. years Forty-one percent of the nurses were between 22-26 years and 70.9% of them were unmarried. Three in four (75.0%) of nightshift working nurses had anxiety and nearly half (49.5%) of them had depression. Age of the nurses and level of anxiety (p= 0.032); working duration of the nurses and level of depression (p= 0.02) was found significantly associated with the depression. Conclusions: Remarkable proportion of hospital working nurses of Kathmandu Valley has anxiety and depression. Age and working duration of nurses were the factors associated with anxiety and depression respectively. So, there is an insistent need to develop policies, plans and programs to resolve the issues related to the prevalence of anxiety and depression among the hospital working nurses in Kathmandu Valley.

Background: Cardiac arrest is a substantial public health problem estimated to account for 15-20% of all death. Cardiac arrest is one of the most common emergencies within the emergency department leading to serious and life threatening results which can be managed if medical and paramedical personnel working in the emergency department have adequate knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and if they are well trained to administer it effectively. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding CPR amongst interns in tertiary medical center of Nepal and comprehend the depth of knowledge about CPR and practice regarding defibrillation used during CPR. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital using a semi structured pretested questionnaire. We requested interns to answer the questionnaire, which included 25 questions to assess the knowledge of BLS. Similarly, subjects were inquired about the attitude level questionnaire by the researcher and scoring was done accordingly. We analyzed the statistics through frequency, percentage, mean and mean percentw. Results: Out of 150 interns , regarding knowledge, on an average 11.71 questions were correctly answered. Highest score of 22 was scored by five participants and lowest of 5 scored by seven participants. Eleven questions were rightly answered by more than 50%. All the participants agreed that resuscitation training need to be added in the curriculum . . Conclusion: The present study identified the attitude score was good however, knowledge score of BLS was poor among medical interns. BLS training should be the part of the MBBS curriculum to solve this very critical issue. The unconsolidated knowledge about resuscitation among the interns is not adequate. This study emphasizes the necessity for standardized systemic resuscitation program in the undergraduate curriculum and effort should be made to introduce an appropriate, efficient and effective course design.

Background: Bacteriological aetiology and its culture sensitivity pattern is an important parameter for evaluating antibiotic use in Emergency Department. Blood-stream infections cause significant morbidity and mortality, increase in length of hospital stay and increased cost of care. Frequent inappropriate antibiotic use contributes to emergence of drug-resistant bacteria pathogens. Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify likely etiologic agents’ and antibiotic sensitivity profile of bacteria from blood stream infection in Emergency Department of Patan Hospital. Methodology: The study was conducted at tertiary care hospital from July to August 2014 blood culture was done and antibiotic susceptibility test was performed following Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique and growth and sensitivity pattern of organisms isolated were analyzed. Results: There were 282 blood culture sent from the Emergency Department. The most common bacterial isolates were Enterobacter species. Second most common bacteria were Streptococcus pneumoniae. Enterobacter species was more sensitive to Chloramphenicol, Amikacin and Gentamycin. While Streptococcus pneumoniae was sensitive to most of the antibiotics, we also found that 65.3% bacterial isolates were resistant to Cephalosporin. Conclusion: Contaminated blood samples were found higher therefore, emphasis should be given in reducing the contamination. Proper cleaning of skin with antiseptic and guidelines to draw blood for culture should be familiarized and strictly followed while drawing the blood and others from Emergency Department of Patan Hospital.