Hearing loss is a global health problem. It is not only an impairment of hearing but also has debilitating effects on the social, emotional and cognitive domains. It also imposes costs on a country’s healthcare sector, which must first be identified to prevent the prevalence of the impairment. In a low- and middle-income country like Nepal, there is no published systematic review on the prevalence of hearing loss. We aim to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the national prevalence of hearing loss in Nepal across all age groups.

We will report our findings in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines. We will search the MEDLINE (PubMed) and Nepal Journals Online databases for publications in Nepali and English. Google Scholar will also be used to broaden the search scope. We will also search grey literature, like government reports. Studies that report the prevalence of hearing loss in Nepal will be included. Titles and abstracts of the studies will be independently screened by both reviewers (PB and SA) using Rayyan software. Full-text articles that pass the initial screening will also be independently reviewed by both reviewers. Disagreements will be resolved through discussion at all stages. If necessary, a third reviewer will be invited, and the original author will be contacted where appropriate (e.g., when data are missing in the original study). We will perform a narrative synthesis of the study results. Cochran’s Q test and the I² statistic will be calculated to assess heterogeneity. I² values of 25%, 50% and 75% will be interpreted as indicating low, moderate and high heterogeneity, respectively. We will conduct a meta-analysis using a random-effects model, which accounts for both within-study and between-study variability. We will perform a sensitivity analysis to examine whether a single study disproportionately contributes to heterogeneity. Potential publication bias will be evaluated using both visual and statistical approaches (Funnel plot and Egger’s test). In addition, if funnel plot asymmetry is observed, trim-and-fill analysis will be conducted. Statistical tests will be performed in R (V.4.3.1) using RStudio (V.2023.06.1+524) with the metafor package for meta-analysis.

Ethics approval is not required for this protocol. This review and meta-analysis are based entirely on secondary data; no primary data will be collected. Our findings will be useful to quantify the national prevalence of hearing impairment in Nepal. They may be useful for developing intervention policies and furthering research agendas for government agencies and hearing-health researchers alike. The results will be presented at conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals and shared with relevant policy-making bodies.

CRD420251120903.

Medical oxygen supplementation is essential for treating severe illnesses and plays a critical role in managing life-threatening conditions, especially during the period of increased demand, such as the delta wave of COVID-19. The study aims to evaluate oxygen requirements and production to support effective capacity planning for future health crises.

Cross-sectional quantitative study. Data collection was carried out between 15 March and 19 December 2021.

The study used secondary data from Nepal’s Health Emergency Operation Centre. Regarding medical oxygen production, calculations included oxygen generated from both hospital-based oxygen plants and private companies, using their highest capacities for comparison. These production capacities were then assessed using three levels of efficiency (100%, 80% and 50%), revealing significant gaps when compared against the oxygen requirements of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, as guided by WHO recommendations. The results were communicated in terms of J-size cylinders, alongside average daily COVID-19 hospitalizations. Data was inputted and analysed using Microsoft Excel and presented in numbers and percentage.

The country’s oxygen demand relies largely on the production from private enterprises, with meeting approximately 85.2% of the total requirement. Optimal production ensures that national oxygen needs will be met. The analysis highlighted that at 80% operational efficiency, 90.8% of the hospital’s requirements could be fulfilled. However, if operational efficiency drops to 50%, the fulfilment rate diminishes to 56.7%. The differences in requirement and production of oxygen are consistent across the provinces; however, a huge disparity was notable in Karnali and Sudurpaschim.

Continuous assessment of production capacities in both hospital and private enterprises producing oxygen is necessary to plan and address the gaps.