Status of continuation of spectacle use among school children in selected districts of eastern Nepal: A retrospective study.

Purpose: Many school-going children experience physical, social, and academic challenges due to uncorrected refractive errors. This study aims to uncover the prevalence of spectacle compliance, identify factors that encourage regular use, and explore the barriers that lead to non-compliance.

Methods: A retrospective exploratory study assessed compliance with free spectacles provided through the REACH project after three months of spectacles being dispensed.

Barriers to cataract surgeries as perceived by visually impaired 50 years and older cataract blind participants of Nepal survey for rapid assessment of avoidable blindness.

Purpose: 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.

Methods: 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.

Prevalence of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy among adults aged 50 years and above in Nepal: a population-based cross-sectional survey.

Background: Diabetic 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.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional RAAB survey was conducted using multistage cluster random sampling.

A GAP analysis of the current state of Pain Management Services in the UK, 2024.

Background: In the UK, multidisciplinary services for patients experiencing chronic pain are currently commissioned by the NHS as specialised services. Pain services across the UK were placed under significant strain during the COVID pandemic. The 'GAP Analysis working group' (GAP group) was commissioned by the Board of the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) in November 2021 to evaluate the post-COVID state of pain services across the country.

Trachoma.

Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, is one of several neglected tropical diseases targeted by WHO for elimination by 2030. The disease starts in childhood with repeated episodes of conjunctival Chlamydia trachomatis infection. This infection is associated with recurrent conjunctivitis (active trachoma), which, if left untreated, leads to cicatricial trachoma characterised by scarring of the conjunctiva, and potentially in-turned eyelashes (trachomatous trichiasis) in later life.

Bridging the GAP: a critical analysis of pain management services in the United Kingdom.

Chronic pain is one of the most common causes of disability, profoundly impacting quality of life and mental health, and associated with detrimental economic sequelae. The provision of pain services within the UK National Health Service was noted to be inadequate before the COVID-19 pandemic, and services have been further challenged because of its impact. The Faculty of Pain Medicine commissioned a survey to evaluate the state of pain services throughout the UK, and to compare the current service against 'gold standards' of care defined by the FPM in its Core Standards for Pain Management Services.

Prevalence and causes of hearing impairment: a cross-sectional study in Karnali Province, Nepal.

Objective: This research aims to assess the prevalence, severity and underlying causes of hearing impairments.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used multistage stratified sampling to select 2148 individuals from Salyan and Surkhet, following the World Health Organization's Ear and Hearing Survey Handbook.

Results: Among 1946 participants, 38.

Protocol for an adaptive platform trial of intended service user-derived interventions to equitably reduce non-attendance in eye screening programmes in Botswana, India, Kenya and Nepal.

Introduction: Only 30%-50% of people referred to clinics during community-based eye screening are able to access care in Botswana, India, Kenya and Nepal. The access rate is even lower for certain population groups. This platform trial aims to test multiple, iterative, low-risk public health interventions and simple service modifications with a series of individual randomised controlled trials (RCT) conducted in each country, with the aim of increasing the proportion of people attending.

Identifying barriers and potential solutions to improve equitable access to community eye services: an exploratory sequential mixed methods study protocol.

Introduction: Access to care varies by sociodemographic group, with some groups facing higher barriers to care than others. This study will use novel methods to explore barriers and potential solutions as perceived by members of the population groups who are least able to access care. We aim to use rapid yet robust mixed methods that allow us to identify generalisable findings within each programme and testable service modifications to improve equitable access to care; delivering non-tokenistic findings within a matter of weeks.

District-Level Forecast of Achieving Trachoma Elimination as a Public Health Problem By 2030: An Ensemble Modelling Approach.

Assessing the feasibility of 2030 as a target date for global elimination of trachoma, and identification of districts that may require enhanced treatment to meet World Health Organization (WHO) elimination criteria by this date are key challenges in operational planning for trachoma programmes. Here we address these challenges by prospectively evaluating forecasting models of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) prevalence, leveraging ensemble-based approaches. Seven candidate probabilistic models were developed to forecast district-wise TF prevalence in 11 760 districts, trained using district-level data on the population prevalence of TF in children aged 1-9 years from 2004 to 2022.

Tropical Data: Approach and Methodology as Applied to Trachoma Prevalence Surveys.

Purpose: Population-based prevalence surveys are essential for decision-making on interventions to achieve trachoma elimination as a public health problem. This paper outlines the methodologies of Tropical Data, which supports work to undertake those surveys.

Methods: Tropical Data is a consortium of partners that supports health ministries worldwide to conduct globally standardised prevalence surveys that conform to World Health Organization recommendations.

Delay in accessing definitive care for patients with microbial keratitis in Nepal.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the health-seeking journey for patients with microbial keratitis (MK) in Nepal and identify factors associated with delay.

Methods: Prospective cohort study where MK patients attending a large, tertiary-referral eye hospital in south-eastern Nepal between June 2019 and November 2020 were recruited. We collected demographic details, clinical history, and examination findings.

Topical Chlorhexidine 0.2% versus Topical Natamycin 5% for the Treatment of Fungal Keratitis in Nepal: A Randomized Controlled Noninferiority Trial.

Purpose: To investigate if topical chlorhexidine 0.2%, which is low cost and easy to formulate, is noninferior to topical natamycin 5% for the treatment of filamentous fungal keratitis.

Design: Randomized controlled, single-masked, noninferiority clinical trial.

Best practice in radiofrequency denervation of the lumbar facet joints: a consensus technique.

Background: Radiofrequency denervation is used to treat selected people with low back pain. Recent trials have been criticised for using a sub-optimal intervention technique.

Objectives: To achieve consensus on a best practice technique for administering radiofrequency denervation of the lumbar facet joints to selected people with low back pain.

Completing Baseline Mapping of Trachoma in Nepal: Results of 27 Population-Based Prevalence Surveys Conducted in 2013 and 2014.

Purpose: Trachoma is endemic in parts of Nepal; implementation of the surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, environmental improvement (SAFE) strategy started in 2002. Some suspected-endemic districts had not previously been mapped. We aimed to estimate the prevalences of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) and trichiasis in those districts.

Surveillance Surveys for Reemergent Trachoma in Formerly Endemic Districts in Nepal From 2 to 10 Years After Mass Drug Administration Cessation.

Importance: To verify districts for elimination of blinding trachoma, the World Health Organization requires a population-based surveillance survey for follicular trachoma (TF) and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) 2 years after mass drug administration (MDA) activities have ceased. However, it is unknown if 2 years provides enough time to discover reemergence.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of trachoma from surveys among 4 districts in Nepal (Dailekh, Dang, Surkhet, and Kanchanpur) that had surveillance intervals of 2, 4, 8, and 10 years, respectively, after cessation of MDA.

Evaluation of a field test for antibodies against Chlamydia trachomatis during trachoma surveillance in Nepal.

Purpose: Testing for antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis has potential as a surveillance tool. Our evaluation compares lateral flow assays (LFAs) during surveillance surveys in Nepal with Multiplex bead array (MBA). Fifty children were randomly sampled from each of 15 random clusters in two districts of Nepal.