WOMEN’S HEALTH PROGRAM – Dhulikhel Hospital

Women’s Health Program of the Department of Community Programs is a community-based comprehensive health care program. This program complements existing health services provided to the women by developing initiatives for specific populations of under-serviced women to meet their identified health needs. The program aims to increase women’s access to health information that focuses on early detection and illness prevention, as well as providing health screening and referral to appropriate services. The program aimed to develop, implement and evaluate community-based health promotion programs to knowledge on sexual and reproductive health and other health issues of women and their families. The nurses of DCP provide health education ensuring targeted groups of women gets appropriate and adequate information about reproductive health and other health issues. DCP has also been coordinating with different departments of the central hospital for screening of women’s health. Currently, nurses have been implementing and evaluating their health programs regularly at 14 health centres.

The major objective of the program is:
(i) to provide adequate health education on different health issues with a special focus on women’s reproductive health;
(ii) early screening and treatment of cancer of the reproductive organs;
(iii) to build a network within women and between health centres.

The major activities conducted within a program is:
(i) to educate women on frequent health issues related to their reproductive system;
(ii) provide information on family planning, safe motherhood, HIV/AIDS, and STIs for sexually active women;
(iii) training women on making and using sanitary pads;
(iv) creation of awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition and physical exercise and different health issues including communicable and non-communicable diseases;
(v) regular screening and monitoring of women’s health especially for urinary incontinence, uterovaginal prolapse, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and other health issues;
(vi) prompt prevention, early screening and treatment of breast and cervical cancer;
(vii) regular screening of oral health of women and so on.