Health problems and challenges for optimal health-care delivery in Humla District, Nepal

Background: Humla is one of the remote districts located in the north-west of Nepal and located at an altitude between 1500 and 7300 meters. Poor health-care services, less health-care professional, seasonal outbreak of diseases, food deficit in winter, and traditional beliefs in the curative service have caused health-care problems, hindrance, and challenges in the proper health-care delivery in Humla. Objectives: This study aims to provide information on the health problems and describes the difficulties and challenges to the health-care system in Humla district. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted at the District Hospital Humla regarding medical treatment and disease prevalent from June 2017 to April 2018. Microsoft and SPSS version 18 were used to analyze the data. Results: It showed that the majority of the patients visiting at hospital show gastritis (30%), followed by pelvic inflammatory disease (20%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (12%), trauma (from landslide injury and fall injury) (8%), and alcoholic liver disease (10%). In addition, 35% of Humli people follow the traditional belief of witch doctor, 15% do home remedy, and 50% of people go to see a medical doctor and do modern treatment. Conclusions: Humli people face several difficulties in the health care, such as less number of hospitals, less number of doctors and health-care personals, few specialists, and less medical equipment. Among medical problems, gastritis and pelvic inflammatory disease were the most common medical problems in Humla.