Academic Journal
Προβολή σε EDS

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) literacy among traffic police in Kathmandu, Nepal: A cross-sectional study.

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) literacy among traffic police in Kathmandu, Nepal: A cross-sectional study.
Συγγραφείς: Niroula S; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal., Paudel K; Nepal Health Frontiers, Kathmandu, Nepal., Bhattarai G; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal., Wagle S; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal., Shah S; Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, Nepal., Rana A; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal., Parajuli D; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal., Dangol R; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal., Bhatta N; Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, Nepal., Dhakal R; College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal., Adhikari A; Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, Nepal., Bhurtyal A; Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Πηγή: Medicine [Medicine (Baltimore)] 2026 Jul 31; Vol. 105 (31), pp. e49972.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 2985248R Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1536-5964 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00257974 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Medicine (Baltimore) Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Hagerstown, Md : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*/epidemiology , Police*/statistics & numerical data , Health Literacy*/statistics & numerical data , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*, Nepal/epidemiology ; Air Pollution/adverse effects ; Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Male ; Female ; Adult
Περίληψη: In Nepal, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a growing concern, particularly among traffic police who are exposed to high levels of air pollution. Traffic police in Kathmandu are continuously exposed to air pollution and are at increased health risk. Therefore, we aimed to study COPD literacy among traffic police of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 traffic police officers working at 11 sites in the Kathmandu Valley from July to August 2023. A 20- to 25-minute interview was conducted with randomly selected participants at the respective study location. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with COPD literacy. The mean age of the participants was 30.5 (±6.6) years, and more than 3-quarters of the respondents had more than 5 years of experience. The study revealed that nearly half of the participants (48.8%) had limited knowledge of COPD. Traffic police who studied COPD in school (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5-4.7), who heard about chronic respiratory diseases (AOR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.7-6.6), and who never smoked (AOR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.0-3.5) had higher odds of having a good level of knowledge of COPD. Unmarried participants had lower odds of having a good level of knowledge of COPD than the married participants (AOR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.7). This study highlights inadequate COPD literacy among Kathmandu's traffic police and emphasizes the need for targeted educational interventions. Integrating COPD education into school curricula, traffic police training programs, and public health initiatives is crucial, particularly for high-risk occupational groups such as traffic police. These findings underscore the role of health literacy in promoting preventive behaviors and reducing the burden of COPD among at-risk populations.
(Copyright © 2026 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, LLC.)
Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
References: Postma DS, Reddel HK, ten Hacken NHT, van den Berge M. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: similarities and differences. Clin Chest Med. 2014;35:143–56.
World Health Organization. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Geneva: WHO; 2023. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-(copd). Accessed June 27, 2026.
Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 country profile: Nepal. Available from: https://publichealthupdate.com/global-burden-of-disease-gbd-2023-country-profile-nepal/. Accessed June 27, 2026.
Dhimal M, Karki KB, Sharma SK, et al. Prevalence of selected chronic non-communicable diseases in Nepal. J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2019;17:394–401.
Decramer M, Janssens W, Miravitles M. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Lancet. 2012;379:1341–51.
Aryal Bhandari A, Gautam R, Bhandari S. Knowledge and practice on prevention of respiratory health problems among traffic police in Kathmandu, Nepal. Int Sch Res Notices. 2015;2015:716257.
IQAir. Kathmandu air quality index (AQI) and Nepal air pollution. 2023. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/nepal/central-region/kathmandu. Accessed November 1, 2023.
Katuwal S, Pandey A, Acharya DK. Awareness and practices of traffic police on prevention of respiratory problems in Kathmandu. Act Sci Med. 2022;6:168–76.
Adhikari TB, Paudel K, Paudel R, et al. Burden and risk factors of chronic respiratory diseases in Nepal, 1990–2019: an analysis of the global burden of diseases study. Health Sci Rep. 2023;6:e1091.
Adhikari TB, Neupane D, Kallestrup P. Burden of COPD in Nepal. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2018;13:583–9.
Bajaj N, Sharma T, Suneja D, Jain S, Kumar P. Determinants of respiratory and cardiovascular health effects in traffic policemen: a perception-based comparative analysis. J Transport Health. 2017;4:30–9.
Shrestha A, Singh SB, Khanal VK, Bhattarai S, Maskey R, Pokharel PK. Health literacy and knowledge of chronic diseases in Nepal. Health Lit Res Pract. 2018;2:e221–30.
Naing L, Nordin RB, Abdul Rahman H, Naing YT. Sample size calculation for prevalence studies using Scalex and ScalaR calculators. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2022;22:209.
Ekezie W, Jenkins AR, Hall IP, et al. The burden of chronic respiratory diseases in adults in Nepal: a systematic review. Chron Respir Dis. 2021;18:1479973121994572.
ResearchGate. Figure 1b: Map of Kathmandu valley; within the valley Kathmandu. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/b-Map-of-Kathmandu-valley-within-the-valley-Kathmandu-Bhaktapur-and-Lalitpur-districts_fig2_307532682. Accessed April 15 2024.
Wu Y, Wang L, Cai Z, Bao L, Ai P, Ai Z. Prevalence and risk factors of low health literacy: a community-based study in Shanghai, China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14:628.
Zhang D, Wu S, Zhang Y, et al. Health literacy in Beijing: an assessment of adults’ knowledge and skills regarding communicable diseases. BMC Public Health. 2015;15:799.
Yadav UN, Lloyd J, Hosseinzadeh H, Baral KP, Bhatta N, Harris MF. Levels and determinants of health literacy and patient activation among multi-morbid COPD people in rural Nepal: findings from a cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0233488.
Bhusal S, Paudel R, Gaihre M, Paudel K, Adhikari TB, Pradhan PMS. Health literacy and associated factors among undergraduates: a university-based cross-sectional study in Nepal. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2021;1:e0000016.
Budhathoki SS, Pokharel PK, Good S, Limbu S, Bhattachan M, Osborne RH. The potential of health literacy to address the health related UN sustainable development goal 3 (SDG3) in Nepal: a rapid review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017;17:237.
Rajah R, Hassali MAA, Murugiah MK. A systematic review of the prevalence of limited health literacy in Southeast Asian countries. Public Health. 2019;167:8–15.
Poureslami I, Nimmon L, Rootman I, Fitzgerald MJ. Health literacy and chronic disease management: drawing from expert knowledge to set an agenda. Health Promot Int. 2017;32:743–54.
Kickbusch IS. Health literacy: addressing the health and education divide. Health Promot Int. 2001;16:289–97.
Zhang Y, Zhang F, Hu P, et al. Exploring health literacy in Medical University students of Chongqing, China: a cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0152547.
Wawrzyniak AJ, Ownby RL, McCoy K, Waldrop-Valverde D. Health literacy: impact on the health of HIV-infected individuals. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2013;10:295–304.
Baker DW. The meaning and the measure of health literacy. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21:878–83.
Paasche-Orlow MK, Wolf MS. The causal pathways linking health literacy to health outcomes. Am J Health Behav. 2007;31:S19–26.
von Wagner C, Steptoe A, Wolf MS, Wardle J. Health literacy and health actions: a review and a framework from health psychology. Health Educ Behav. 2009;36:860–77.
Berkman ND, Davis TC, McCormack L. Health literacy: what is it? J Health Commun. 2010;15:9–19.
Lee SYD, Arozullah AM, Cho YI. Health literacy, social support, and health: a research agenda. Soc Sci Med. 2004;58:1309–21.
Rawbone RG, Keeling CA, Jenkins A, Guz A. Cigarette smoking among secondary schoolchildren in 1975. Prevalence of respiratory symptoms, knowledge of health hazards, and attitudes to smoking and health. J Epidemiol Community Health (1978). 1978;32:53–8.
Mun SY, Hwang YI, Kim JH, et al. Awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in current smokers: a nationwide survey. Korean J Intern Med. 2015;30:191–7.
Panahi R, Ramezankhani A, Tavousi M, Niknami S. Health literacy and smoking. J Res Health. 2018;8:1–2.
Panahi R, Niknami S, Ramezankhani A, Tavousi M, Osmani F. Is there a relationship between low health literacy and smoking? Health Educ Health Promot. 2015;3:43–52.
Paasche-Orlow MK, Parker RM, Gazmararian JA, Nielsen-Bohlman LT, Rudd RR. The prevalence of limited health literacy. J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20:175–84.
Lewis MA, McBride CM, Pollak KI, Puleo E, Butterfield RM, Emmons KM. Understanding health behavior change among couples: an interdependence and communal coping approach. Soc Sci Med. 2006;62:1369–80.
Zajacova A, Lawrence EM. The relationship between education and health: reducing disparities through a contextual approach. Annu Rev Public Health. 2018;39:273–89.
van der Heide I, Wang J, Droomers M, Spreeuwenberg P, Rademakers J, Uiters E. The relationship between health, education, and health literacy: results from the Dutch Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. J Health Commun. 2013;18:172–84.
Coleman CA, Hudson S, Maine LL. Health literacy practices and educational competencies for health professionals: a consensus study. J Health Commun. 2013;18:82–102.
Belcastro PA, Ramsaroop‐Hansen H. Addressing the antinomy between health education and health literacy in advancing personal health and public health outcomes. J Sch Health. 2017;87:968–74.
Grant Information: Nepal Health Research Council
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Kathmandu; Nepal; air pollution; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); health literacy; traffic police
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260731 Date Completed: 20260731 Latest Revision: 20260731
Update Code: 20260801
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000049972
PMID: 42536539
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
Περιγραφή
ISSN:1536-5964
DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000049972