Assistive technology use is associated with reduced capability poverty: a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh.

Purpose: About half of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in extreme poverty. Focusing on the ends rather than the economic means of human development, the capability approach offers an alternative view of poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between assistive technology use and capability poverty in a low-income country. Method: Self-reported data on food intake, health care, education, politics, self-determination, self-respect, family relationships and friendships were collected in Bangladesh through interviews of people with hearing impairments using and not using hearings aids, and people with ambulatory impairments using and not using manual wheelchairs (N = 583). Differences in outcomes between users and non-users of assistive technology were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Assistive technology users were more likely than non-users to report enhanced capabilities, hearing aid users to a larger extent than wheelchair users. Synergistic effects between assistive technology use and education were found. Conclusion: The use of assistive technology is predictive of reduced capability poverty in Bangladesh. Lack of wheelchair accessibility and the nature of selected outcomes may explain the limited association in the ambulatory group. Enhancing the effects of the other, there is support for providing education in combination with hearing aids

Prevalence of Surgical Affections of Cattle in Aarong Dairy Area of Pabna

AARONG dairy area of Pabna comprises a major part to meet the demand of milk and meat production in Bangladesh. Various diseases including surgical affections reduce the fitness, efficiency and productivity of cattle in this area. There is a need to investigate the occurrence of surgical diseases to take proper preventive measures. Therefore, the prevalence of surgical affections of cattle was studied in four Upazilas of Pabna from December 2012 to May 2013. A total of 2390 cattle from different households were included and surgical affections were recorded. The overall prevalence was 44.3% in stall feeding system, among which surgical affections were more prevalent in Sujanagar Upazilas (13.3%), and the highest prevalent surgical affection was foot diseases (8.2%) followed by navel ill (6.3%), myiasis (4.6%), arthritis, hernia and wounds (3.6%). Overall prevalence of surgical affections was slightly higher in female cattle in comparison to males The prevalence of navel ill (11.3%), foot disease (11.1%), hernia (6.1%) and horn affections (4.9%) were found to be higher in male. Whereas, myiasis (5.9%), upward patellar fixation (2.8%) were found to be higher in females. There is significant (P&lt;0.01) difference in the prevalence of hernia, upward patellar fixation, horn affection, foot diseases and myiasis between male and female. It was also observed that cattle of 0-1 year was affected more frequently with surgical affections (18.7%) among which prevalence of navel ill (15.5%), hernia (8.3%), myiasis (5.4%) and foot diseases (5.3%) were higher. In addition, foot disease was more prevalent surgical affection in cattle of more than one year. Moreover, significant variation (P&lt;0.01) was existed in the prevalence of upward patellar fixation, foot diseases, arthritis and wounds among three age groups. However, results of the present study indicate that there is a strong relation among the prevalence of surgical affections, sex and age of animals. Moreover, foot disease is a common occurrence in stall feeding cattle in Pabna.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v24i1-2.19104 Progress. Agric. 24(1&amp;2): 85 - 92, 2013</jats:p

An Exploratory Study on the Adequacy of Internship Program Duration in Medical Colleges of Bangladesh

The internship period provides the first level of postgraduate medical training and serves as one of the fundamental strides in every doctor’s career. An inadequate internship program in terms of duration, skills and quality may pose serious concerns on the overall healthcare sector. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the adequacy of the duration of internship program in medical colleges of Bangladesh. Till date, any significant study has not been reported to address the issue. A cross-sectional descriptive study with pre-tested self-administered questionnaires was performed. The study was carried out in 8 medical colleges (4 public and 4 non-government; 4 inside Dhaka and 4 outside). 300 completed questionnaires (250 interns, 50 supervisors) were statistically analyzed with SPSSv20 software. Majority of the interns and teachers voiced that the current duration of One-year Internship Program was inadequate and they further suggested that the duration can be revised to at least a year and half. Further opinions were put forward to modify the community placement duration period from two weeks to at least three weeks as the current duration was also deficient. These findings thus can help the policy makers, medical practitioners and academicians to review the current structure and duration of the internship program in medical colleges of Bangladesh for the betterment of the undergraduate medical education as well as the overall healthcare system.&#x0D; Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.12(1) 2021: 32-39</jats:p

Epidemiology and contact tracing assessment of COVID-19 and potential risk of transmission at different exposure settings: A prospective cohort study

Abstract Background: Transmission risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to close contacts and at different exposure settings are yet to be fully understood for the evaluation of effective control measures. Methods: We traced 1171 close contact cases who were linked to 291 index cases between July 3, 2020 and September 3, 2020. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of all index cases, close contacts, and secondary contact cases were collected and analyzed the secondary attack rate and risk of transmission at different exposure settings. Results: Median age of 291 index cases were 43.0 years (range 18.5-82.3) including 213 male and 78 females. Among all 1171 close contact cases, 39(3.3%) cases were identified as secondary infected cases. Among 39 secondary cases, 33(84.62%) cases were symptomatic and 3 (7.69%) cases were asymptomatic. Of the 33 symptomatic cases, 31(86.1%) male and 5(13.9%) female. Of these 36 symptomatic cases, 24(66.7%) cases between age 20-59 and remaining 12(33.3%) cases were age 60 and over. Of the 36 symptomatic cases, 11(30.6%) cases were identified as severe, 19(52.8%) as moderate and 6(16.7%) as mild. The overall secondary clinical attack rate was 3.07% (95% CI 2.49-3.64). The attack rate was higher among those aged between 50 to 69 years and shows higher risk of transmission than age below 50 years. The attack rate was higher among household contact (6.17%(95%CI 4.7-7.6; risk ratio 2.44[95%CI1.5-3.4]), and lower in hospital facility (2.29%,95%CI0.58-3.40; [risk ratio 0.91,95%CI 0.17-1.9]), funeral ceremony (2.53%,95%CI 0.32-4.73), work places (3.95%,95% CI2.5-5.42 [risk ratio 1.56,95%CI 0.63-2.5]), family contacts (3.87%,95%CI 2.4-5.3; risk ratio 1.53,95%CI 0.61-2.45]). Conclusions: Among all exposure settings analyzed, household contact exposure setting remained the highest transmission probability and risk of transmission of COVID-19 with the increase of age and disease severity.</jats:p

Assistive technology use is associated with reduced capability poverty: a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh. [Elektronisk resurs]

Purpose: About half of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in extreme poverty. Focusing on the ends rather than the economic means of human development, the capability approach offers an alternative view of poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between assistive technology use and capability poverty in a low-income country. Method: Self-reported data on food intake, health care, education, politics, self-determination, self-respect, family relationships and friendships were collected in Bangladesh through interviews of people with hearing impairments using and not using hearings aids, and people with ambulatory impairments using and not using manual wheelchairs (N = 583). Differences in outcomes between users and non-users of assistive technology were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Assistive technology users were more likely than non-users to report enhanced capabilities, hearing aid users to a larger extent than wheelchair users. Synergistic effects between assistive technology use and education were found. Conclusion: The use of assistive technology is predictive of reduced capability poverty in Bangladesh. Lack of wheelchair accessibility and the nature of selected outcomes may explain the limited association in the ambulatory group. Enhancing the effects of the other, there is support for providing education in combination with hearing aids

SARS-CoV-2 viral load predicts the severity and mortality in patients with cancer

Abstract Emerging evidence suggests that patients with cancer are at increased risk of detrimental Covid-19 outcome. The relationship between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and risk factors and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 positive cancer patients remains largely unexplored. We assessed the outcomes of Covid-19 infection in 64 cancer patients and 120 non-cancer and measured SARS-CoV-2 viral load from nasopharyngeal swab samples using cycle threshold (Ct) values who were admitted to two geographically distinct hospitals. We also assessed the incubation period and serial interval time differences between the non-cancer and cancer groups. Our results indicated that the overall mortality rate was higher among cancer patients with a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load. Covid-19 positive cancer patients with higher viral load are more prone to severe outcomes compared to non-cancer and low viral load patients. In addition, patients with lung and hematologic cancer have higher tendencies of severe events in proportion to high viral load. Higher attributable mortality and severity were directly proportional to high viral load particularly patients who are receiving anticancer treatment. Importantly, we found that the incubation period and serial interval time is fairly shorter in cancer patients compared with non-cancer cases. Our report suggests that high SARS-CoV-2 viral loads may play significant role in the overall mortality and severity of Covid-19 positive cancer patients and warranted further study to explore the disease pathogenesis and their use as prognostic tools.</jats:p

User involvement in service delivery predicts outcomes of assistive technology use: A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Knowledge about the relation between user involvement in the provision of assistive technology and outcomes of assistive technology use is a prerequisite for the development of efficient service delivery strategies. However, current knowledge is limited, particularly from low-income countries where affordability is an issue. The objective was therefore to explore the relation between outcomes of assistive technology use and user involvement in the service delivery process in Bangladesh.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using structured interviews, data from 136 users of hearing aids and 149 users of manual wheelchairs were collected. Outcomes were measured using the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA), which was adapted for wheelchair users. Predictors of user involvement included preference, measurement and training.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Users reported outcomes comparable to those found in other high- and low-income countries. User involvement increased the likelihood for reporting better outcomes except for measurement among hearing aid users.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings support the provision of assistive technology as a strategy to improve the participation of people with disabilities in society. They also support current policies and guidelines for user-involvement in the service delivery process. Simplified strategies for provision of hearing aids may be explored.</p