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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, incoming travelers were quarantined at specific centers in Nepal and major checkpoints in Nepal-India border. Nepal adopted a generic public health approaches to control and quarantine returnee migrants, with little attention towards the quality of quarantine facilities and its aftermath, such as the poor mental health of the returnee migrants. The main objective of this study was to explore the status of anxiety and depression, and factors affecting them among returnee migrants living in institutional quarantine centers of western Nepal. A mixed method approach in this study included a quantitative survey and in-depth interviews (IDIs) among respondents in quarantine centers of Karnali province between 21.sup.st April and 15.sup.th May 2020. Survey questionnaire utilized Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) tools, which were administered among 441 quarantined returnee migrants. IDIs were conducted among 12 participants which included a mix of six quarantined migrants and healthcare workers each from the quarantine centres. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted on quantitative data; and thematic analysis was utilized for qualitative data. Mild depression (9.1%; 40/441) and anxiety (16.1%; 71/441) was common among respondents followed by moderate depression and anxiety depression (3.4%; 15/441), anxiety (4.1%; 18/441) and severe depression and anxiety depression (1.1%; 5/441), anxiety (0.7%; 3/441). Anxiety and depression were independent of their socio-demographic characteristics. Perceived fear of contracting COVID-19, severity and death were prominent among the respondents. Respondents experienced stigma and discrimination in addition to being at the risk of disease and possible loss of employment and financial responsibilities. In addition, poor (quality and access to) health services, and poor living condition at the quarantine centres adversely affected respondents' mental health. Depression and anxiety were high among quarantined population and warrants more research. Institutional quarantine centers of Karnali province of Nepal were in poor conditions which adversely impacted mental health of the respondents. Poor resource allocation for health, hygiene and living conditions can be counterproductive to the population quarantined.

To identify the main barriers and determinants to cataract surgery as perceived by 50 years and older Nepali people with severe visual impairment & blind due to cataracts. This was part of the Rapid Assessment for Avoidable Blindness (RAAB), held in all provinces of Nepal from 2018 to 2021. Cataract blindness was defined as a person having the best-corrected vision, < 6/60 in the better eye, and an unoperated cataract, which was the principal cause of visual disability. The participants were interviewed using a pretested questionnaire with seven known barriers. The demographic information was correlated with the barrier score. We surveyed 718 cataract blind. Two-thirds of the participants were females. Four in ten were aged 50-59 years. The main barriers perceived were 'need is not felt' (237; 33%), cost associated with surgery (218; 30%), lack of access (93; 13%), fear of surgery (88; 12%), nobody to accompany (40; 6%), unaware of surgery (18; 3%), and treatment denied (24; 3%). The barriers were not significantly different in females than in males. (P = 0.85). The provincial variations of barriers were significant. (P < 0.001). High cost was a perceived barrier in all provinces except Gandaki. Access to treatment was a barrier in the Gandaki province (38%). One in four participants in the Madhesh and Bagmati provinces feared surgery. Nearly half of the cataract blind in the Madhesh and Lumbini province did not feel 'need for restoring vision'. To improve cataract surgery uptake, identified barriers, like lack of awareness, low visual need, and high cost must be addressed. The strategies could be devised according to provincial barriers but similar to both genders and all 50 years and older cataract blind. Offering low-cost cataract surgery, financial assistance and health promotion to improve awareness and remove fear were recommended.

To determine the prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment among people 50 years and older in Nepal. We conducted seven provincial-level Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) cross-sectional, population-based surveys between 2018-2021. Provincial prevalence estimates were weighted to give nationally representative estimates. Sampling, enumeration, and examination of the population 50 years and older were done at the province level following standard RAAB protocol. Across seven surveys, we enrolled 33,228 individuals, of whom 32,565 were examined (response rate 98%). Females (n = 17,935) made up 55% of the sample. The age-sex-province weighted national prevalence of blindness (better eye presenting visual acuity <3/60) was 1.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-1.2%), and any vision impairment <6/12 was 20.7% (95% CI 19.9-21.5%). The prevalence of blindness was higher in women than men (1.3% [95% CI 1.1-1.5%] vs 0.9% [95% CI 0.7-1.0%]). Age-sex weighted blindness prevalence was highest in Lumbini Province (1.8% [95% CI 1.3-2.2%]) and lowest in Bagmati Province (0.7% [95% CI 0.4-0.9%]) and Sudurpaschim Province (0.7% [95% CI 0.4-0.9%]). Cataract (65.2%) was the leading cause of blindness in our sample, followed by corneal opacity (6.4%), glaucoma (5.8%) and age-related macular degeneration (5.3%). Other posterior segment diseases accounted for 8.4% of cases. Cataract was also the leading cause of severe vision impairment (83.9%) and moderate vision impairment (66.8%), while refractive error was the leading cause of mild vision impairment (66.5%). The prevalence of blindness was higher among women than men and varied by province. The Lumbini and Madesh Provinces in the Terai (plains) region had higher prevalence of blindness than elsewhere. Cataract was the leading cause of blindness, severe vision impairment and moderate vision impairment while refractive error was the leading cause of mild vision impairment.

BackgroundDiabetic retinopathy (DR), a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is a leading cause of vision loss worldwide. There is limited national data to inform about the prevalence of DM and DR and its associated factors, which led to the basis of conducting this survey, which would guide us for the same as part of the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey conducted across Nepal.MethodsA population-based cross-sectional RAAB survey was conducted using multistage cluster random sampling. RAAB+DR methodology was conducted between June 2019 and February 2021 among individuals aged≥50 years across selected provinces. Diabetes was diagnosed based on treatment history and random blood glucose test with level>200 mg/dL, while DR was graded by trained ophthalmologists. All relevant data were imported into the RAAB software to determine the prevalence of DM, DR and associated factors.ResultsAmong the 13 510 participants examined, the prevalence of DM was found to be 6.1% which was higher in Bagmati province at 9.4% (95% CI: 8.2% to 10.7%). Prevalence of DM was higher among females, but DR was more common in males in rural areas and females in urban areas. Untreated diabetes was most common in Madhesh (35.1%). DR prevalence was highest in Bagmati (15.9%; 95% CI: 12.7% to 19.1%), and 2.5% (95% CI: 1.2% to 3.8%) of those patients had sight-threatening DR. In Bagmati, 24.1% of diabetics had never undergone an eye examination.ConclusionThe limited coverage of DR screening underscores the need for enhanced community-based DR screening and referral programmes. Our study lacked the use of plasma blood glucose level measurement to diagnose DM, proper slit lamp examination for diabetic retinopathy grading and diagnosis, and inclusion of a younger population providing a better representation. Strengthening these initiatives can prevent vision-threatening complications in underserved populations.