Ruqyah, an Islamic alternative healing practice, involves treating illnesses using Quranic verses... more Ruqyah, an Islamic alternative healing practice, involves treating illnesses using Quranic verses and invocations, focusing on the names and attributes of Allah. The literature on the academic performance of Muslim children in Nepal and the use of Ruqyah is limited and requires further exploration. This study aimed to identify the use and practice of Ruqyah in healing children within the Muslim community and assess their academic achievement. This study explored the issue among the seven participants of four families from Muslim community who undergo Ruqyah often via a descriptive phenomenological method that included in-depth interviews. Three themes emerged from the interview data which offered insight into the Muslim community. Parents found the use of Ruqyah and children's academic achievements reasonable. Muslims respect the Holy Quran as the word of God, using it as guidance for Ruqyah and their children, as they believed it was the right choice. The study found that the family preferences dictated whether to take it immediately or only when needed. Children who followed Ruqyah success. Children who undergo Ruqyah are influenced by their parents' religious knowledge, educational level, and socioeconomic background, and are academically prepared. Medications are used, with parents believing that aligning with Ruqyah improves their children's academic performance. The study could lead to new therapeutic research directions for the Muslim communities in Nepal, assisting children in coping with illnesses and improving their academic outcomes.
This study aims to chart Nepal's evolution of health research ethics over time and the role of th... more This study aims to chart Nepal's evolution of health research ethics over time and the role of the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) in its regulation. This narrative review article mentions the pervasiveness of contract research and the contribution of universities and international organizations in producing data and supporting pilot projects. It further highlights the structural inequalities and limitations of health research in Nepal, including lack of technology, infrastructure, funding, limited access to resources and global scientific networks. It discusses Nepal's emerging regulatory and ethical field, establishing the NHRC and developing ethical guidelines and review committees. The challenges faced by NHRC in terms of capacity and resources and the need to strengthen research ethics monitoring and compliance are also marked. This article also discusses several key challenges and areas of concern regarding research ethics and capacity building in Nepal's health research context. The conflicts arising from defining health research and determining which activities require ethical review are highlighted, especially about programmatic interventions and monitoring and evaluation exercises. The need for comprehensive mapping of health research activities is emphasized as an initial step toward understanding the research landscape. Additionally, issues related to timely ethical reviews, the co-investigator's role, institutional research capacity, data ownership, publication practices, and the ethical considerations of health and development interventions are discussed. It emphasizes redressing these challenges and promoting responsible research practices in Nepal.
Uterine Prolapse (UP) is one of the hidden morbidities that do not lead to death, but women suffe... more Uterine Prolapse (UP) is one of the hidden morbidities that do not lead to death, but women suffer from severe lifelong disabilities. In Nepal, the prevalence of UP in women varies from 10 to 40% due to several underlying causes. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to identify the prevalence and associated risk factors of UP. This community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 married women aged 18 and over in four villages of Kamal Bazar Municipality, Achham, who suffered from UP. The random sampling technique was used to collect the data. The samples were selected using multistage sampling technique. The structured interview questionnaire was used and the face-to-face interview was conducted. The data were analyzed using MS-Excel and SPSS version 23. The statistical tests used were binary logistic regression, univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence of UP was 33.7%. In the multivariate analysis, participants aged 20-30 were forty one times more likely to suffer from UP than older participants of 50-60 {aOR 41.86 (95% CI; 14.31-122.45)}, were seven times more likely to have not attended health facilities for Antenatal Checkup/Postnatal Checkup (ANC/PNC) {aOR 7.10 (95% CI; 3.53-14.26)}, were less likely to have institutional delivery {aOR 0.13 (95% CI; 0.05-0.31)} and were three times more likely to have high Body Mass Index (BMI) {aOR 3.97 (95% CI; 1.81-8.71)}. Thus, the participants who hadn't attended ANC/PNC checkups, had given birth at home, or had a high BMI, were more likely to have suffered from UP. Education is necessary to make people aware of UP at an early age and its impact is seen among people of a lower age in the area.
Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 2023
Background: Higher education establishments in Nepal also disclose information on sexual harassme... more Background: Higher education establishments in Nepal also disclose information on sexual harassment incidents. Sexual harassment is a detrimental encroachment onto the educational domain that extends beyond scholarly discussions. It is an undesirable, offensive, and frequently menacing behaviour that jeopardises a student's well-being. Objectives: This study examines the experiences of female students at Tribhuvan University regarding sexual harassment in the classroom. It aims to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment and identify its various forms among female students. Methods: Adopting a qualitative narrative inquiry research design, we included teachers and students from the Central Department of Education, with information collected from selected female students until data saturation was reached. In-depth interviews were used as the primary data collection method, and both primary and secondary sources were qualitatively and descriptively analysed. Results: The findings reveal a disturbing reality where female students at Tribhuvan University faced sexual harassment from their classmates, teachers, and university staff. The study identifies three primary forms of sexual harassment: verbal, physical, and cyber sexual harassment. Cybersexual harassment emerges as the most prevalent form, significantly impacting the physical and mental well-being of the affected students. Conclusion: Sexual harassment occurs in Nepalese higher education institutions, although it is less common among female students who are able to voice their concerns in an articulate and natural way. Those who feel intimidated struggle to voice their opinions or live in fear of facing a higher risk. The detrimental effect of this type of sexual harassment on the personality development of female students is emphasised.
Integrating values in curricular and pedagogical activities has become a pressing need to produce... more Integrating values in curricular and pedagogical activities has become a pressing need to produce responsible social citizens with good hearts and great minds. To cultivate these traits, values need to be reflected in and be the part of school curriculum and pedagogy. In this context, school practices play a pivotal role to make values a part of everyday activity. This study attempts to examine such practices in public, private, and traditional/religious schools in Nepal. Schools were selected purposively by visiting their online profiles. Information was collected from twenty school heads via a semi-structured interview, school visits, and classroom observations. The study found that private and public schools have initiated teaching/integrating values through a range of curricular structures and pedagogical practices like happiness curriculum, IB curriculum, education in human values curriculum, living school curriculum, culture-based [sanskar] curriculum, progressive learning app...
Physical activity is any form of involvement in exercise or movement of the body that uses energy... more Physical activity is any form of involvement in exercise or movement of the body that uses energy. Teachers also need an appropriate amount of physical activity because they are observed by their students in many ways, including their exercise behavior and fitness. Although an adult requires a minimum of 150 minutes (or at least 3 days) of additional physical activity in a week, this study shows that the sampled teachers were not in this mark. This cross-sectional survey of 344 teachers in 46 secondary schools in Bagmati Province of Nepal found the physical activity behavior among Nepalese teachers with the perspective of role modeling for health promotion. It has been argued that teachers who have average healthy behaviors and lifestyles with respect to physical activity neither make them healthier nor contribute to the creation of healthy role models in schools. The age and gender of the teacher were found to determine the degree of physical activity. More than two-thirds of her t...
A desk review was done to analyze the relevance of Vipassana with the overall dimensions of healt... more A desk review was done to analyze the relevance of Vipassana with the overall dimensions of health and to find out its interconnection with the school curriculum for enhancing the education sector and shifting the paradigm. Secondary data were collected via an internet online portal and analyzed by making a theme. Literature shows that Vipassana has a tremendous positive impact on human health dimensions like physical, mental, social, psychological, and spiritual health. Vipassana with its moral code and precepts is found to help in fostering peaceful feelings, equanimity, and compassion, thus assisting social integrity. Relying on this fact, there is a great possibility of interconnecting Vipassana with the school curriculum. No review has been found on social well-being and spiritual health in a collaborative form which could be a future recommendation.
Road accidents account for the eighth leading cause of death for all ages in the world. The roads... more Road accidents account for the eighth leading cause of death for all ages in the world. The roads in Nepal are one of the most dangerous in the world, putting road users at greater risk, due to geographical and human causes. Pedestrians, motorbikes, and cyclists are the most vulnerable road users in the Kathmandu Valley. This paper aims to describe the trend of road traffic deaths and injuries in Kathmandu from the perspective of a safer road user policy. A descriptive retrospective study was done based on the information provided by the Metropolitan Traffic Police on road traffic crashes. In the study, the data on road traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths from all types of vehicles over five successive years were obtained from Traffic Police Office, Kathmandu in March-November, 2020 whereas, all the existing national road safety policies and strategies were collected from secondary data. The collected data were analyzed through MS Excel and represented in tables, bar diagrams, and...
Teachers as role models teach and set an example through their actions. Students routinely observ... more Teachers as role models teach and set an example through their actions. Students routinely observe and are directly influenced by the teacher's health behavior. Unfortunately, school teachers are vulnerable to many health issues that affect student success. Teachers are often absent, showing examples of poor health. This study sought information on the impact of teachers' health behaviors on student health from a cross-sectional descriptive study of mixed methods in secondary schools of Bagmati Province, Nepal. The total sample size of the students in the quantitative interview was 412 from 46 randomly selected schools in the Rasuwa, Bhaktapur, and Chitwan districts. Another 30 students from different schools were selected for in-depth study. It focused on finding out how students identify teachers as role models. Since the concept of role models appears in Albert Bandura's social learning/cognitive theory, which focuses on cognitive concepts, this study examined student...
This article is based on a research work of 2017 conducted for Plan International Nepal. The rese... more This article is based on a research work of 2017 conducted for Plan International Nepal. The research was originally done to assess the reading comprehension of Nepali subject together with basic skills of Mathematics of early graders in grades Two and Three. It focused on assessing existing situation of the early grades’ learning status together with early learning environments in relation to early grade reading. It included field work in 17 schools of Four districts, namely, Morang, Makwanpur, Sindhuli and Banke. It aimed to assess the gender transformative practices in selected classrooms of early grades.
Ruqyah, an Islamic alternative healing practice, involves treating illnesses using Quranic verses... more Ruqyah, an Islamic alternative healing practice, involves treating illnesses using Quranic verses and invocations, focusing on the names and attributes of Allah. The literature on the academic performance of Muslim children in Nepal and the use of Ruqyah is limited and requires further exploration. This study aimed to identify the use and practice of Ruqyah in healing children within the Muslim community and assess their academic achievement. This study explored the issue among the seven participants of four families from Muslim community who undergo Ruqyah often via a descriptive phenomenological method that included in-depth interviews. Three themes emerged from the interview data which offered insight into the Muslim community. Parents found the use of Ruqyah and children's academic achievements reasonable. Muslims respect the Holy Quran as the word of God, using it as guidance for Ruqyah and their children, as they believed it was the right choice. The study found that the family preferences dictated whether to take it immediately or only when needed. Children who followed Ruqyah success. Children who undergo Ruqyah are influenced by their parents' religious knowledge, educational level, and socioeconomic background, and are academically prepared. Medications are used, with parents believing that aligning with Ruqyah improves their children's academic performance. The study could lead to new therapeutic research directions for the Muslim communities in Nepal, assisting children in coping with illnesses and improving their academic outcomes.
This study aims to chart Nepal's evolution of health research ethics over time and the role of th... more This study aims to chart Nepal's evolution of health research ethics over time and the role of the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) in its regulation. This narrative review article mentions the pervasiveness of contract research and the contribution of universities and international organizations in producing data and supporting pilot projects. It further highlights the structural inequalities and limitations of health research in Nepal, including lack of technology, infrastructure, funding, limited access to resources and global scientific networks. It discusses Nepal's emerging regulatory and ethical field, establishing the NHRC and developing ethical guidelines and review committees. The challenges faced by NHRC in terms of capacity and resources and the need to strengthen research ethics monitoring and compliance are also marked. This article also discusses several key challenges and areas of concern regarding research ethics and capacity building in Nepal's health research context. The conflicts arising from defining health research and determining which activities require ethical review are highlighted, especially about programmatic interventions and monitoring and evaluation exercises. The need for comprehensive mapping of health research activities is emphasized as an initial step toward understanding the research landscape. Additionally, issues related to timely ethical reviews, the co-investigator's role, institutional research capacity, data ownership, publication practices, and the ethical considerations of health and development interventions are discussed. It emphasizes redressing these challenges and promoting responsible research practices in Nepal.
Uterine Prolapse (UP) is one of the hidden morbidities that do not lead to death, but women suffe... more Uterine Prolapse (UP) is one of the hidden morbidities that do not lead to death, but women suffer from severe lifelong disabilities. In Nepal, the prevalence of UP in women varies from 10 to 40% due to several underlying causes. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to identify the prevalence and associated risk factors of UP. This community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 married women aged 18 and over in four villages of Kamal Bazar Municipality, Achham, who suffered from UP. The random sampling technique was used to collect the data. The samples were selected using multistage sampling technique. The structured interview questionnaire was used and the face-to-face interview was conducted. The data were analyzed using MS-Excel and SPSS version 23. The statistical tests used were binary logistic regression, univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence of UP was 33.7%. In the multivariate analysis, participants aged 20-30 were forty one times more likely to suffer from UP than older participants of 50-60 {aOR 41.86 (95% CI; 14.31-122.45)}, were seven times more likely to have not attended health facilities for Antenatal Checkup/Postnatal Checkup (ANC/PNC) {aOR 7.10 (95% CI; 3.53-14.26)}, were less likely to have institutional delivery {aOR 0.13 (95% CI; 0.05-0.31)} and were three times more likely to have high Body Mass Index (BMI) {aOR 3.97 (95% CI; 1.81-8.71)}. Thus, the participants who hadn't attended ANC/PNC checkups, had given birth at home, or had a high BMI, were more likely to have suffered from UP. Education is necessary to make people aware of UP at an early age and its impact is seen among people of a lower age in the area.
Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 2023
Background: Higher education establishments in Nepal also disclose information on sexual harassme... more Background: Higher education establishments in Nepal also disclose information on sexual harassment incidents. Sexual harassment is a detrimental encroachment onto the educational domain that extends beyond scholarly discussions. It is an undesirable, offensive, and frequently menacing behaviour that jeopardises a student's well-being. Objectives: This study examines the experiences of female students at Tribhuvan University regarding sexual harassment in the classroom. It aims to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment and identify its various forms among female students. Methods: Adopting a qualitative narrative inquiry research design, we included teachers and students from the Central Department of Education, with information collected from selected female students until data saturation was reached. In-depth interviews were used as the primary data collection method, and both primary and secondary sources were qualitatively and descriptively analysed. Results: The findings reveal a disturbing reality where female students at Tribhuvan University faced sexual harassment from their classmates, teachers, and university staff. The study identifies three primary forms of sexual harassment: verbal, physical, and cyber sexual harassment. Cybersexual harassment emerges as the most prevalent form, significantly impacting the physical and mental well-being of the affected students. Conclusion: Sexual harassment occurs in Nepalese higher education institutions, although it is less common among female students who are able to voice their concerns in an articulate and natural way. Those who feel intimidated struggle to voice their opinions or live in fear of facing a higher risk. The detrimental effect of this type of sexual harassment on the personality development of female students is emphasised.
Integrating values in curricular and pedagogical activities has become a pressing need to produce... more Integrating values in curricular and pedagogical activities has become a pressing need to produce responsible social citizens with good hearts and great minds. To cultivate these traits, values need to be reflected in and be the part of school curriculum and pedagogy. In this context, school practices play a pivotal role to make values a part of everyday activity. This study attempts to examine such practices in public, private, and traditional/religious schools in Nepal. Schools were selected purposively by visiting their online profiles. Information was collected from twenty school heads via a semi-structured interview, school visits, and classroom observations. The study found that private and public schools have initiated teaching/integrating values through a range of curricular structures and pedagogical practices like happiness curriculum, IB curriculum, education in human values curriculum, living school curriculum, culture-based [sanskar] curriculum, progressive learning app...
Physical activity is any form of involvement in exercise or movement of the body that uses energy... more Physical activity is any form of involvement in exercise or movement of the body that uses energy. Teachers also need an appropriate amount of physical activity because they are observed by their students in many ways, including their exercise behavior and fitness. Although an adult requires a minimum of 150 minutes (or at least 3 days) of additional physical activity in a week, this study shows that the sampled teachers were not in this mark. This cross-sectional survey of 344 teachers in 46 secondary schools in Bagmati Province of Nepal found the physical activity behavior among Nepalese teachers with the perspective of role modeling for health promotion. It has been argued that teachers who have average healthy behaviors and lifestyles with respect to physical activity neither make them healthier nor contribute to the creation of healthy role models in schools. The age and gender of the teacher were found to determine the degree of physical activity. More than two-thirds of her t...
A desk review was done to analyze the relevance of Vipassana with the overall dimensions of healt... more A desk review was done to analyze the relevance of Vipassana with the overall dimensions of health and to find out its interconnection with the school curriculum for enhancing the education sector and shifting the paradigm. Secondary data were collected via an internet online portal and analyzed by making a theme. Literature shows that Vipassana has a tremendous positive impact on human health dimensions like physical, mental, social, psychological, and spiritual health. Vipassana with its moral code and precepts is found to help in fostering peaceful feelings, equanimity, and compassion, thus assisting social integrity. Relying on this fact, there is a great possibility of interconnecting Vipassana with the school curriculum. No review has been found on social well-being and spiritual health in a collaborative form which could be a future recommendation.
Road accidents account for the eighth leading cause of death for all ages in the world. The roads... more Road accidents account for the eighth leading cause of death for all ages in the world. The roads in Nepal are one of the most dangerous in the world, putting road users at greater risk, due to geographical and human causes. Pedestrians, motorbikes, and cyclists are the most vulnerable road users in the Kathmandu Valley. This paper aims to describe the trend of road traffic deaths and injuries in Kathmandu from the perspective of a safer road user policy. A descriptive retrospective study was done based on the information provided by the Metropolitan Traffic Police on road traffic crashes. In the study, the data on road traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths from all types of vehicles over five successive years were obtained from Traffic Police Office, Kathmandu in March-November, 2020 whereas, all the existing national road safety policies and strategies were collected from secondary data. The collected data were analyzed through MS Excel and represented in tables, bar diagrams, and...
Teachers as role models teach and set an example through their actions. Students routinely observ... more Teachers as role models teach and set an example through their actions. Students routinely observe and are directly influenced by the teacher's health behavior. Unfortunately, school teachers are vulnerable to many health issues that affect student success. Teachers are often absent, showing examples of poor health. This study sought information on the impact of teachers' health behaviors on student health from a cross-sectional descriptive study of mixed methods in secondary schools of Bagmati Province, Nepal. The total sample size of the students in the quantitative interview was 412 from 46 randomly selected schools in the Rasuwa, Bhaktapur, and Chitwan districts. Another 30 students from different schools were selected for in-depth study. It focused on finding out how students identify teachers as role models. Since the concept of role models appears in Albert Bandura's social learning/cognitive theory, which focuses on cognitive concepts, this study examined student...
This article is based on a research work of 2017 conducted for Plan International Nepal. The rese... more This article is based on a research work of 2017 conducted for Plan International Nepal. The research was originally done to assess the reading comprehension of Nepali subject together with basic skills of Mathematics of early graders in grades Two and Three. It focused on assessing existing situation of the early grades’ learning status together with early learning environments in relation to early grade reading. It included field work in 17 schools of Four districts, namely, Morang, Makwanpur, Sindhuli and Banke. It aimed to assess the gender transformative practices in selected classrooms of early grades.
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