Empowerment Among Adolescent Girls in Nepal: A Concept Mapping Exploratory Study.

Background: The concept of empowerment is challenging to operationalize and measure; it is multidimensional, the outcomes are not always directly observable, and meanings of empowerment are highly contextual and socially and culturally situated. This study aimed to explore perspectives of empowerment among adolescent girls in Nepal to identify statements for inclusion in a context-specific empowerment measure.

Methods: We used a participatory and mixed method research method called concept mapping in 3 districts in Nepal.

Introducing the Power In Nepali Girls (PING) empowerment scale.

The multi-dimensional concept of empowerment is context specific, uniquely defined in various cultures, and challenging to measure. The aim of this study was to develop a scale for measuring empowerment among adolescent girls in Nepal. Twenty-nine items related to empowerment were drawn from formative, participatory research conducted in southern Nepal to comprise a draft empowerment scale.

Is criminalization the answer? Perspectives of community members and police on menstrual seclusion policy in Far-West Nepal.

Chhaupadi is a form of menstrual seclusion practiced in Nepal in which women and girls are isolated during their menstrual cycles and follow numerous restrictions. The tradition dates back centuries and can have serious physical and mental health consequences. While the practice was criminalized in 2017 with fines and jail time, this legislative action comes after more than a decade of legal history, from an initial ban in 2006, to declaring it a form of violence against women in 2009, and finally, its criminalization in 2017.

Human Papillomavirus, Related Diseases, and Vaccination: Knowledge and Awareness Among Health Care Students and Professionals in Nepal.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted disease worldwide. While burden of HPV-associated cancers and mortality is higher in low-income countries, there is limited data about knowledge of it among health care students and professionals. We assessed awareness and knowledge of HPV, its related diseases, and HPV vaccine among 333 participants, composed of 146 medical students (MSs) and professionals (MPs) and 187 nursing students (NSs) and professionals (NPs) using a 40-question survey between July 2018 and February 2019.