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Background: Parental knowledge about sexual and reproductive health issues and adequate communication with their adolescent on these issues are crucial in promoting adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Although there are evidence on adolescent perceptions of their sexual health issues, research on parental perspectives of adolescent sexual health and parent-adolescent communication about sexual health issues in Nepal remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to assess parental knowledge and communication practice about sexual and reproductive health with their adolescent children in Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2019 among randomly selected 308 parents of adolescents (aged 10–19 years) residing in Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. Face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires were conducted to collect the data. The collected data were entered into EpiData software v3.1, and data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 21.0 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA). The statistical significance was considered at a p-value <0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Of 308 parents, one-third of parents were found to have correct knowledge about safe abortion, menstrual hygiene and management, modern contraceptives, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, wet dreams among male adolescents, abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile period, and the possibility of a male adolescent to impregnate a girl. In addition, only 40.9% of parents were found to have communicated with their adolescent children about sexual and reproductive health issues. Parents who have knowledge about puberty (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2–3.9), belong to Bharamin/Chhetri ethnic group (aOR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.1–2.2), self-employed (aOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3–4.0), having two or more adolescent children (aOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1–3.6), and whose adolescent children were staying in school hostel (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI:1.0–3.0) were more likely to have parental communication about sexual and reproductive health with their adolescent children. Conclusions: Most parents do not communicate with their adolescent children on sexual health topics, although they feel sexual health education is essential to adolescents. The majority of parents were found inadequately aware of adolescent sexual health issues. It is crucial to have contextual interventions that would encourage parent-adolescent communication on sexual health matters in an integrated way to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically comments on the state of affairs in the UK relating to the pandemic and explores how a focus on inequities experienced by marginalized and vulnerable groups is necessary for exposing the material realties of everyday life, but also how such a focus has been hijacked by center right politics to distract us from collective responsibilities and building alliances for systemic change. The paper critically reviews the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the most marginalized and vulnerable in UK society and highlights the interconnected risk factors of COVID‐19 and its secondary impacts to demonstrate how these are linked to political ideology, policy, and practice. We conclude with recommendations informed through a looking back at the key tenants and purposes of universal healthcare to apprise what is needed in this moment of crisis and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health of migrant communities is an important public health concern. A growing body of literature suggests that social and cultural determinants of health significantly contribute to the mental health and wellbeing of older migrants in their host countries. Despite the increasing population of older Nepalese migrants in the UK, there is little research exploring the mental health needs of this community. This article explores older Nepalese women’s experiences of drivers of mental distress in London. Data was collected using in-depth interviews with 20 older Nepalese women living in the London Borough of Greenwich. Grounded thematic analysis of women’s narratives identified six overarching factors contributing to their emotional distress that pose potential risks to their mental health: absence of family, language barriers, housing problems, physical illness, lack of appropriate support, fears of death, and inadequate financial resources. In many cases, the impact of these factors was experienced in combination rather than isolation, often influenced by cultural dynamics. Findings highlight that re-settlement in the absence of family is at the heart of emotional challenges for older Nepalese women. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for supporting processes of settlement to mitigate this risk among older Nepalese women in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the health and wellbeing of the global citizens which has led to a significant change in attitude, lifestyle, and behavior of people from diverse professions, including academics and researchers. Doctoral students and funded researchers with the time limit to their research project have experienced stress and anxiety due to the struggle of negotiating and managing the timeline to complete the fieldwork for their research. In the current circumstances, an increasing number of researchers are looking for alternative methods to conduct the fieldwork and complete the data collection. In this context, the aim of this viewpoint is to provide reflections on the challenges and opportunities experienced by the authors while conducting qualitative research fieldwork during the COVID-19 pandemic.