ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5806-060X
Current Organisations
BRAC University
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University of Dhaka
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Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 07-2021
DOI: 10.1177/14649934211023003
Abstract: This study explores factors that shape parents’ decisions as to whether or not to arrange an early marriage of a girl child in the context of urban informal settlements in Bangladesh. The article draws on data from a larger mixed methods study conducted in two informal urban settlements of Bangladesh, and the analysis was guided by the theory of social exchange. The study found the following factors leading to early marriage: endemic poverty, high dowry costs for older girls, parents’ lack of wider social networks, adolescents dropping out of school, crime and insecurity, love affairs between adolescents and community pressure. Collaboration between government and non-government programmes to improve education, implementation of supportive laws, and greater formal economic opportunities for residents, including adolescents, in urban informal settlements, are critical to prevent early marriage in these environments.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-06-2023
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0286055
Abstract: Association between poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and malnutrition in infants and young children (IYC) is well established. Furthermore, appropriate IYCF practices are important during the first 1,000 days of life to ensure optimal health and development. Understanding IYCF practices and associated socioeconomic and demographic factors will inform interventions to achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to end malnutrition in all forms. This study estimates the prevalence of Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD), Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF), and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD), and examines their association with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics among children aged 6–23 months in Ghana. We used data from the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 6 (GMICS6) conducted in 2017–18. Participants were recruited through multi-stage stratified cluster s ling. Information on caregiver’s self-reported breastfeeding status and 24-hour dietary recall of foods IYC were fed with were collected through face-to-face interviews. We estimated the prevalence of MDD, MMF and MAD with a 95% confidence interval (CI). We investigated the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of MDD, MMF and MAD using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Among 2,585 IYC aged 6–23 months, MDD, MMF and MAD were estimated as 25.46%, 32.82% and 11.72% respectively. Age of the IYC, educational status of the mothers rimary caregivers, and resident regions were found to have positive associations with MDD, MMF and MAD. In addition, the richest household wealth index and urban area of residence were found to have significant positive associations with MDD. We report a low prevalence of MDD, MMF and MAD. Efforts to improve IYCF practices among children aged 6–23 months in Ghana should focus on multi-sectorial approaches including increasing access to formal education, income-generating activities and addressing regional and rural-urban inequity.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-08-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12913-022-08413-4
Abstract: Responsiveness of Physicians (ROP) is defined as the social actions by physicians aimed at meeting the legitimate expectations of healthcare users. Even though patients’ expectations regarding ROP have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the psychometrically-validated ROP-Scale is difficult to apply in hospital settings. The goal of this study is to validate the existing ROP-Scale to measure the responsiveness of hospital physicians during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. We conducted a cross-sectional phone survey involving 213 COVID-19 hospital patients, randomly selected from the government database. We applied the Delphi method for content validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for construct validity, Cronbach’s alpha and corrected item-total correlation for internal consistency reliability, and Pearson’s correlation between the scale and overall patient satisfaction for concurrent validity. After removing survey items based on data sufficiency, collinearity, factor loading derived through exploratory factor analysis, and internal consistency, the final version of the COVID-19 ROP-Scale consisted of 7 items, grouped under Informativeness, Trustworthiness and Courteousness domains. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the three domains with acceptable model fit [Root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.028, Comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.997, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.994)]. The corrected item-total correlation ranged between 0.45 and 0.71. Concurrent validity was ascertained by the high correlation (0.84) between patient satisfaction and the COVID-19 ROP-Scale. Based on the mean domain score, the highest- and the lowest-scoring responsiveness domains were ‘Trustworthiness’ (7.85) and ‘Informativeness’ (7.28), respectively, whereas the highest- and the lowest-scoring items were ‘Not being involved in illegal activities’ (7.97), and ‘Service-oriented, not business-like attitude’ (6.63), respectively. The 7-item COVID-19 ROP-Scale was demonstrated to be feasible, valid, and internally consistent. Therefore, its application can help amend past mistakes in health service provision and improve care for the hospitalised COVID-19 patients or other patients suffering from similar conditions. This study can contribute to the national decision-making regarding hospital care, open up further avenues in the health policy and system research, and eventually improve the quality of care provided to Bangladeshi patients seeking hospital services. Moreover, findings yielded by this study can be incorporated into doctors’ medical education and in-service training.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-02-2023
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 29-07-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0255273
Abstract: Adolescence is the last opportunity to reverse any growth faltering accumulated from fetal life through childhood and it is considered a crucial period to optimize human development. In Bangladesh, a growing double burden of underweight and obesity in adolescents is recognized, yet limited data exists on how, when, and where to intervene. This study assesses the dynamics of growth among adolescent girls in Bangladesh, providing insight about critical junctures where faltering occurs and where immediate interventions are warranted. We pooled data from Bangladesh’s Food Security and Nutrition Surveillance Project collected between 2011 and 2014 to document the age dynamics of weight and linear growth. 20,572 adolescent girls were measured for height and 19,345 for weight. We constructed growth curves for height, weight, stunting, and underweight. We also stratified growth dynamics by wealth quintile to assess socioeconomic inequities in adolescent trajectories. Height-for-age z-score (HAZ) in Bangladeshi girls deteriorates throughout adolescence and especially during the early years. Mean HAZ decreases by 0.20 standard deviations (sd) per year in early adolescence (10–14 years) vs 0.06 sd/year during late adolescence (15–19 years), while stunting increases by 16 percentage points (pp) vs 6.7 pp, respectively. Conversely, BMI-for-age z-score (BAZ) increases by 0.13 sd/year in early adolescence vs 0.02 sd/year in late adolescence, and underweight decreases by 12.8 pp vs 3.2 pp. Adolescent girls in all socioeconomic groups show a similar pattern of HAZ and BAZ dynamics, but the curve for the richest quintile stays above that of the poorest across all ages. Trends and levels of stunting and underweight among adolescent girls in Bangladesh are worrisome, suggesting substantial linear growth faltering in early adolescence, with improving weight-for-age occurring only as linear growth slows and stops. Given the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Bangladesh and emerging evidence of the link between stunting and later chronic diseases, greater attention to adolescent growth and development is needed. Our findings suggest that, to address stunting, interventions in early adolescence would have the greatest benefits. School-based interventions could be a way to target this population.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-07-2012
Publisher: The Ohio State University Libraries
Date: 13-09-2021
Abstract: Background: According to World Health Organization (WHO), vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities are facing severe impacts of the pandemic. There has always been significant challenges and hurdles in terms of achieving adequate and equitable inclusivity of persons with disabilities in all sections of social life. Education and employment of persons with disabilities were least focused which created more marginalization for the community. The long term impact of these marginalization has also led to the lack of jobs and social security of persons with disabilities, which is very clear now given the crisis in place. In low and middle income countries like Bangladesh the situation is even worse. To better understand the conditions of persons with disabilities in this crisis situation, the present study was initiated to explore the dimensions of livelihood with respect to income and wellbeing of persons with disabilities and to generate evidence for developing policies around these issues.Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken among 30 persons with disabilities from 8 different geographical isions of Bangladesh. The interviews were conducted through telephone calls due to the existing COVID-19 crisis and mobility restrictions. The respondents were purposively selected based on gender, type of disability, area of resident (urban, rural) and their ability to communicate, therefore most (25/30) respondents were persons with physical disability. Thematic analysis was conducted to generate the findings of the study.Findings: Study findings revealed that majority of the respondents were involved in informal jobs. Predominantly males were daily wage-earners and often the sole breadwinner of the families, very few females were involved in economic activities. Since they had no stable income, the economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic had affected them badly even leading to household level famine. The study identifies low level of education and informal job security as the primary causes of socio-economic insecurity among persons with disabilities, resulting in challenges in ensuring a stable livelihood during crisis situations, such as COVID-19.Conclusion: Constant alienation of persons of disabilities from the formal sector results in the deterioration of their livelihood standards which even worsen during any emergency crisis such as COVID-19. The study pinpoints that only aided services are not adequate to ensure persons with disabilities' rights rather there is an urgent need of disability inclusion in formal job sector and livelihood training for persons with disabilities. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and to irradiate the inequality towards persons with disabilities in the society it is important for the Government and concern bodies to focus on the inclusiveness with better implementation and monitoring strategies.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Abstract: Nutritional transition (from under- to overnutrition) among women of reproductive age (15-49 y) is becoming increasingly common in many developing countries, including Bangladesh. However, the influence of this transition on the nutritional status of children <5 y of age (U5s) is unknown. The aim was to determine whether a nutritional transition has taken place in the past 15 y (1996-2011) among U5s and their mothers in Bangladesh and to examine how the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and malnutrition in U5s has changed over time. We analyzed data assembled from 5 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1996 and 2011 in Bangladesh to describe the nutritional status of 28,941 U5s and their mothers. A Poisson regression model was used to examine the associations between maternal BMI and stunting, underweight, and wasting in U5s over time. A nutritional transition among mothers of U5s was observed between 1996 and 2011. The height- or length-for-age and weight-for-age z score distributions of U5s showed consistent improvement however, there was no indication of a nutritional transition. An interaction was found between maternal BMI categorized as underweight [BMI (kg/m A nutritional transition among U5s has yet to occur in Bangladesh. However, our results indicate that improvement in maternal BMI in the past 15 y was accompanied by a reduction in malnutrition in U5s.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-05-2015
DOI: 10.1038/EJCN.2015.75
Abstract: This study aimed to determine the effect of the presence of under-5 siblings (⩾ 1) in a household on childhood malnutrition in urban Bangladesh. During 2000 and 2013, a total of 16,948 under-5 children were enrolled in the Diarrhoeal Disease Surveillance of icddr,b. Under-5 siblings were categorised as ⩾ 1 and none except the child himself. In univariate analysis, the presence of siblings was associated with 1.13 (risk ratios=1.13 95% CI:1.06-1.20) times higher risk of being stunted, 1.17 (1.09-1.25) times for wasted and 1.19 (1.13-1.26) times underweight compared with their peers who did not have siblings. In multivariate analysis, such associations remained significant for stunting (1.08 1.01-1.15), wasting (1.12 1.04-1.21) and underweight (1.13, 1.06-1.19) after controlling for possible confounders such as age of child, sex, parental education, maternal employment, family size, wealth quintile and time (year). The presence of under-5 siblings increases the risk of malnutrition in children in urban Bangladesh.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2021
Abstract: This study aimed at examining health sufferings of readymade garments (RMG) workers, the factors that affect their health sufferings, their healthcare seeking pattern, knowledge about health insurance and health related rights in Bangladesh. A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 486 RMG workers recruited randomly from eight garments factories located on the periphery of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, headache, fever and abdominal pain was estimated and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine association between these illnesses of workers and their socio‐demographic characteristics and other work related information. We also explored their healthcare seeking patterns, knowledge about health insurance and health related rights. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, headache, fever and abdominal pain was found to be 78.1%, 57.9%, 52.2% and 24.6%, respectively, among the RMG workers. Factors that increased the odds of: musculoskeletal pain were working for more than 10 h per day (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1–4.7) and being female [AOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 2.0–10.6] fever was living in slums [AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1–3.5] and abdominal pain was being female [AOR: 3.6, 95% CI: 1.4–9.3]. The workers commonly reported visiting drug sellers in local pharmacies for reported illnesses. They also had better knowledge of health related rights but poor knowledge of health insurance. In order to address the overall health and well‐being of the RMG workers, it is imperative to lay out a blueprint for a safe and healthy workplace.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 23-08-2022
Abstract: COVID-19 significantly affected people with disabilities, with many facing additional barriers in access to services and increased risks of poor health and social outcomes. Focusing on the impact of COVID-19 in the Global South, this study took place in Bangladesh and Liberia, where 14% and 16% of the population are thought to live with disabilities. However, there is minimal research on the needs and experiences of this population group and how these are shaped by intersecting axes of inequity. Furthermore, disabled people are often excluded from being actively involved in research. To address these evidence gaps, we used the creative participatory method of photovoice remotely to document experiences of COVID-19 through the lens of people with physical and psychosocial disabilities and their caregivers as co-researchers. The findings present themes relating to inaccessibility, social connection, hopes and fears. The nexus between disability and poverty was exacerbated for many in both settings, while psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 included increased stigmatisation and isolation. However, themes of faith, support and adaptability were also highlighted in stories of community care, nature and healing. Photovoice, through imagery and storytelling, was a powerful tool in prioritising the voices of disabled people, adding to an evidence base to inform inclusive pandemic responses.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-04-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S10661-023-11106-Y
Abstract: Water logging is one of the most detrimental phenomena continuing to burden Dhaka dwellers. This study aims to spatio-temporarily identify the water logging hazard zones within Dhaka Metropolitan area and assess the extent of their water logging susceptibility based on informal settlements, built-up areas, and demographical characteristics. The study utilizes integrated geographic information system (GIS)-remote sensing (RS) methods, using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Water and Moisture Index, distance buffer zone from drainage streams, and built-up distributions to identify waterlogged zones with a temporal extent, incorporating social and infrastructural attributes to evaluate water logging effects. These indicators were integrated into an overlay GIS method to measure the vulnerability level across Dhaka city areas. The findings reveal that south and south-western parts of Dhaka were more susceptible to water logging hazards. Almost 35% of Dhaka belongs to the high/very highly vulnerable zone. Greater number of slum households were found within high to very high water logging vulnerable zones and approximately 70% of them are poorly structured. The built-up areas were observed to be increased toward the northern part of Dhaka and were exposed to severe water logging issues. The overall findings reveal the spatio-temporal distribution of the water logging vulnerabilities across the city as well as its impact on the social indicators. An integrated approach is necessary for future development plans to mitigate the risk of water logging.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-02-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12978-022-01352-7
Abstract: Persons with disabilities comprise more than one billion people in the world, yet they are one of the most discriminated groups and face significant health disparities. Particularly in developing countries, which contain 80% of the entire population with disabilities, these in iduals experience major barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Education is an important factor that greatly affects in iduals’ SRH service utilization. Hence, we sought to investigate the relationship between education and SRH service utilization for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, a total of 5000 persons with disabilities were surveyed for the quantitative component and 15 mini-ethnographic case studies were conducted with persons with disabilities for the qualitative component. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses were performed on the survey data, while the qualitative interviews were coded and their SRH themes synthesized accordingly. Our quantitative findings show that education statistically significantly increases persons with disabilities’ SRH service utilization of antenatal care, delivery care, postnatal care, and family planning ( P 0.05). Interestingly, for persons with disabilities, primary education shows increased adjusted odds of family planning use but is likely not enough to increase antenatal care, delivery care, or postnatal care use secondary or post-secondary education may be required to improve utilization of these latter services. Qualitative findings support the association between higher education levels and greater SRH service use. Persons with disabilities of lower educational attainment held misinformation and distrust in SRH services and experienced mistreatment by SRH healthcare providers, discouraging them from seeking future SRH services. We report that higher formal education level is associated with greater SRH service use for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. Formally educating persons with disabilities expands their SRH knowledge and familiarity with SRH services, as well as leads to more economic opportunities so they can afford SRH services. Increasing formal education levels for persons with disabilities, paired with integrating comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in their schools, will likely help close the gap in SRH health disparities for this vulnerable population.
Publisher: Inishmore Laser Scientific Publishing Ltd
Date: 25-04-2022
DOI: 10.29392/001C.33818
Abstract: Contact tracing can play an important role in controlling infectious disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Containing the spread of COVID-19 is crucial in humanitarian settings such as in the Rohingya c s in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This manuscript describes the COVID-19 contact tracing activities undertaken by a group of researchers and implementers in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The paper details the design and development of the Commcare ‘Contact tracing and case monitoring app’, subsequent implementation of the contact tracing activity, challenges faced during the implementation process, and the strategies adopted by the research team to overcome these challenges. The research team leveraged the suite of template applications for COVID-19 response developed by Dimagi in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research partners organized a series of brainstorming meetings and workshops with relevant stakeholders to finalize the ‘COVID- 19 contact tracing and case monitoring app’ for final implementation. This app was implemented in 10 Rohingya c s from Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar for 4.5 months from 1st January 2021 to 15th May 2021. Due to a restriction on internet availability in the Rohingya c s by the government of the host country, the research team had to adopt a manual approach to implement the contact tracing activity. During these 4.5 months, 249,452 in iduals from 10 Rohingya c s were screened for COVID-19 case registration. Of all the screened in iduals, 431 were identified as COVID suspected cases, and 77 were identified as confirmed cases. The research team experienced several implementation challenges such as inexperience of contact tracers with the nature of the work, convincing the community to register in a digital system, obtaining information around COVID-19 symptoms, and many cultural, linguistic, gender, and other social barriers. The team adopted challenge-specific mitigation strategies for the effective implementation of the activity. The modalities of operation adopted by the team engaged with this present intervention to overcome the difficulties experienced in its conduction can hopefully provide some guidance to future parties attempting to conduct similar activities in complex humanitarian settings.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S13031-020-00329-2
Abstract: Rohingya diaspora or Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs), took shelter in the refugee c s of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh due to armed conflict in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. In such humanitarian crises, delivering sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is critical for better health outcomes of this most-at-risk population where more than half are adolescent girls and women. This is a reflective paper on challenges and related mitigation strategies to conduct SRH research among FDMNs. The research on which this paper is based employed a concurrent mixed-method design combining a cross-sectional survey and qualitative interviews and group discussions with FDMNs to understand their SRH needs and demand-side barriers. Assessment of health facilities and qualitative interviews with healthcare providers and key stakeholders were carried out to assess facility readiness and supply-side barriers. The researchers faced different challenges while conducting this study due to the unique characteristics of the FDMN population and the location of the refugee c s. The three key challenges researchers encountered include: sensitivity regarding SRH in the FDMNs, identifying appropriate s ling strategies, and community trust issues. The key approaches to overcome these challenges involved: actively engaging community members and gatekeepers in the data collection process to access respondents, identifying sensitive SRH issues through survey and exploring in-depth during qualitative interviews and contextually modifying the s ling strategy. Contextual adaptation of research methods and involving community and local key stakeholders in data collection are the key lessons learnt from this study. Another important lesson was researchers’ identity and positionality as a member of the host country may create distrust and suspicion among the refugees. The multi-level complexities of humanitarian settings may introduce unforeseen challenges and interrupt research plans at different stages of research which require timely and contextual adaptations.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 30-01-2018
DOI: 10.1017/S136898001700341X
Abstract: To examine changes in the spatial clustering of malnutrition in children under 5 years of age (under-5s) for the period 1999 to 2011 in Bangladesh. We used data from four nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 1999–2000, 2004, 2007 and 2011 in Bangladesh involving a total of 24 211 under-5s located in 1661 primary s ling units (PSU geographical unit of analysis) throughout Bangladesh. The prevalence of stunting (height/length-for-age Z -score −2), underweight (weight-for-age Z -score −2) and wasting (weight-for-height/length Z -score −2) at each PSU site and for each survey year were estimated based on the WHO child growth standard. The extent of spatial clustering was quantified using semivariograms. Whole of Bangladesh. Children under 5 years of age. Our results demonstrate that in 1999–2000 most PSU throughout Bangladesh experienced stunting, underweight and wasting prevalence which exceeded the WHO thresholds. By 2011, this situation improved, although in two of the six isions (Barisal and Sylhet) PSU still exhibited higher levels of malnutrition compared with other isions of the country. The pattern of spatial clustering for stunting, underweight and wasting also changed between 1999 and 2011 both at national and sub-national ( ision) levels. We identified isions where malnutrition indicators (stunting, underweight and wasting) remain highly clustered and other isions where they are more widely spread in Bangladesh. This has important implications on how interventions for malnutrition need to be delivered (geographically targeted interventions v . random interventions) within each ision of the country.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2018-028340
Abstract: Rohingya diaspora are one of the most vulnerable groups seeking refuge in c s of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, arising an acute humanitarian crisis. More than half of the Rohingya refugees are women and adolescent girls requiring quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Minimum initial service package of SRH are being rendered in the refugee c s however, WHO is aiming to provide integrated comprehensive SRH services to meet the unmet needs of this most vulnerable group. For sustainable and successful implementation of such comprehensive SRH service packages, a critical first step is to undertake a situation analysis and understand the current dimensions and capture the lessons learnt on their SRH-specific needs and implementation challenges. This situation analysis is pertinent in current humanitarian condition and will provide an overview of the needs, availability and delivery of SRH services for adolescent girls and women, barriers in accessing and providing those services in Rohingya refugee c s in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and similar humanitarian contexts. A concurrent mixed-methods design will be used in this study. A community-based household survey coupled with facility assessments as well as qualitative in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions will be conducted with community people of Rohingya refugee c s and relevant stakeholders providing SRH services to Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Survey data will be analysed using univariate, bivariate and multivariable regression statistics. Descriptive analysis will be done for facility assessment and thematic analysis will be conducted with qualitative data. Ethical approval from Institutional Review Board of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (2018-017-IR) has been obtained. Findings from this research will be disseminated through presentations in local, national and international conferences, workshops, peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs and interactive project report.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 23-05-2014
Abstract: This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a s le of 226 women with disabilities living in four different districts of Bangladesh. It also explored the physical and psychological suffering of women experiencing violence and their various coping strategies. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 226 women with disabilities to measure the prevalence of IPV, and 16 in-depth interviews were conducted to document in detail the experiences of violence encountered by the abused women. Among the 226 women interviewed in the survey, about 84% reported ever having experienced at least one act of emotional abuse, physical, or sexual violence from their partner during their lifetime. Women who were older (aged above 32 years), separated, and members of economic/savings group were more likely to report ever having experienced any IPV than women with disabilities who were younger (aged 32 years and less), married, and not members of economic/savings group. Most of the women experiencing violence reported sufferings from physical and psychological problems. Of all the women who experienced violence, less than half (45%) reported seeking support to minimize or avoid violence experiences. However, seeking support from informal network such as family and relatives was commonly reported by many (81.4%) of them. Study findings suggest that women with disabilities who possess poor socio-economic status coupled with economic dependency on husbands’ income and wide-spread social stigma against disability make them vulnerable to IPV. Future interventions to address IPV against women with disabilities should include building community knowledge of disability and IPV, countering the pervasive social stigma against disabilities, and improving the socio-economic conditions of women with disabilities through education and employment.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 04-02-2015
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980014003279
Abstract: To estimate the average annual rates of reduction of stunting, underweight and wasting for the period 1996 to 2011, and to evaluate whether Bangladesh will be expected to achieve the target of Millennium Development Goal 1C of reducing the prevalence of underweight by half by 2015. We used five nationwide, cross-sectional, Demographic and Health Survey data sets to estimate prevalence of undernutrition defined by stunting, underweight and wasting among children under 5 years of age using the WHO child growth standards. We then computed the average annual rates of reduction of prevalence of undernutrition using the formula derived by UNICEF. Finally, we projected the prevalence of undernutrition for the year 2015 using the estimated average annual rates of reduction. Nationwide covering Bangladesh. Children under 5 years of age ( n 28 941). The prevalence of stunting decreased by 18·8 % (from 60·0 % to 41·2 %), underweight by 16·0 % (from 52·2 % to 36·2 %) and wasting by 5·1 % (from 20·6 % to 15·5 %) during 1996 to 2011. The overall average annual rates of reduction were 2·84 %, 2·69 % and 2·47 %, respectively, for stunting, underweight and wasting. We forecast that in 2015, the prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting will be 36·7 %, 32·5 % and 14·0 %, respectively, at the national level. The prevalence of undernutrition is likely to remain high in rural areas, in the Sylhet ision and in the poorest wealth quintile. Bangladesh is likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 1C target of reducing the prevalence of underweight by half by 2015. However, it is falling behind in reducing stunting and further investment is needed to reduce in idual, household and environmental determinants of stunting in Bangladesh.
Publisher: Ubiquity Press, Ltd.
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.5334/BC.108
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 11-10-2021
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-957538/V1
Abstract: Background: Persons with disabilities comprise more than one billion people in the world, yet they are one of the most discriminated groups and face significant health disparities. Particularly in developing countries, which contain 80% of the entire population with disabilities, these in iduals experience major barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.Education is an important factor that greatly affects in iduals’ SRH service utilization. Hence, we sought to investigate the relationship between education and SRH service utilization for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. Methods: Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, a total of 5,000 persons with disabilities were surveyed for the quantitative component and 15 mini-ethnographic case studies were conducted with persons with disabilities for the qualitative component. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses were performed on the survey data, while the qualitative interviews were coded and their SRH themes synthesized accordingly. Results: Our quantitative findings show that education statistically significantly increases persons with disabilities’ SRH service utilization of antenatal care, delivery care, postnatal care, and family planning ( P 0.05). Interestingly, for persons with disabilities, primary education shows increased adjusted odds of family planning use but is likely not enough to increase antenatal care, delivery care, or postnatal care use secondary or post-secondary education may be required to improve utilization of these latter services.Qualitative findings support the association between higher education levels and greater SRH service use. Persons with disabilities of lower educational attainment held misinformation and distrust in SRH services and experienced mistreatment by SRH healthcare providers, discouraging them from seeking future SRH services. Conclusions: We report that higher formal education level is associated with greater SRH service use for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. Formally educating persons with disabilities expands their SRH knowledge and familiarity with SRH services, as well as leads to more economic opportunities so they can afford SRH services. Increasing formal education levels for persons with disabilities, paired with integrating comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in their schools, will likely help close the gap in SRH health disparities for this vulnerable population.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-02-2015
DOI: 10.1111/MCN.12178
Publisher: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
Date: 21-12-2013
DOI: 10.5588/PHA.13.0067
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-05-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12978-022-01424-8
Abstract: Reliable and rigorously collected sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (SRMNCAH) data in humanitarian settings is often sparse and varies in quality across different humanitarian settings. To address this gap in quality data, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a core set of indicators for monitoring and evaluating SRMNCAH services and outcomes, and assessed their feasibility in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Jordan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The feasibility assessments aggregated information from global consultations and field-level assessments to reach a consensus on a set of core SRMNCAH indicators among WHO partners. The feasibility assessment in Bangladesh focused on the following constructs: relevance/usefulness of the core set of indicators, the feasibility of measurement, availability of systems and resources, and ethical issues during data collection and management. The field-level multi-methods assessment included five components a desk review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and facility assessments including observations of facility-level data management. The findings suggest that there is widespread support among stakeholders for developing a standardized core set of SRMNCAH indicators to be collected among all humanitarian actors in Bangladesh. There are numerous resources and data collection systems that could be leveraged, built upon, and improved to ensure the feasibility of collecting this proposed set of indicators. However, the data collection load requested from donors, the national government, international and UN agencies, coordination/cluster systems must be better harmonized, standardized, and less burdensome. This core set of indicators would only be useful if it has the buy-in from the international community that results in harmonizing and coordinating data collection efforts and relevant indicators’ reporting requirements.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 31-05-2021
Start Date: 2021
End Date: 2022
Funder: Open Society Foundations
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