Changes and Compromises in Health Choices during COVID-19 Lockdown in Kathmandu Valley: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Nepal government enforced a lockdown as a social distancing measure to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown has led to compromises in day to day choices like food, exercise, sleep, self-care routines and utilization of healthcare facilities - directly and indirectly influencing aspects of health. Identification of compromised health choices can assist in better planning of inevitable future crises. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study based on an online self -administered questionnaire, done using CHERRIES criteria, conducted from March 30, 2020, to July 31, 2020. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of Nepal Health Research Council (Registration number: 2119; 300/2020 P). Descriptive statistics was used for analysis. Results: Our study had 51% (340) female and 48.7% (325) male participants. A total of 67.9% (112) reported decreased consumption of tobacco and 53.6% (178) reported decreased consumption of alcohol during the lockdown period. Participants who reported that they would have visited a hospital if they had a flu-like illness increased from 22.6% (151) pre-pandemic to 58.6% (391) post-pandemic. Increase in news consumption was reported by 79.2% (528). Out of 6.4% (43) participants with a chronic condition, 69.8% (30) reported having missed follow up due to the lockdown. Conclusions: The health of an individual is determined by various choices s/he makes on a day to day basis. Many of those choices are in turn influenced by the availability and accessibility of commodities. Lessons learned from the affected lives due to COVID-19 can be used in proper planning of inevitable future crises.

Keywords

• health choices; COVID-19; Nepal; pandemic.