Impact of teachers training on HIV/AIDS education program among secondary school students in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional survey

Background In 2007, the Government of Bangladesh incorporated a chapter on HIV/AIDS into the national curriculum for an HIV-prevention program for school students. For the efficient dissemination of knowledge, an intervention was designed to train the teachers and equip them to educate on the topic of HIV/AIDS. The present study intended to understand the impact of this intervention by assessing the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to HIV/AIDS, among the targeted students. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with the students at randomly selected schools from two adjacent districts. Considering exposure to intervention, one district was assigned for intervention and the other as a control. In total, 1,381 students, aged 13–18 years (or above) were interviewed, 675 from the control areas and 706 from the intervention areas. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed on the collected data. Results A significantly higher proportion (p<0.001) of students in the intervention areas attended HIV/AIDS classes, demonstrated better knowledge and fewer misconceptions regarding the transmission and prevention of HIV. The same was derived regarding their attitude towards people living with HIV, as a higher proportion (p<0.001) responded positively, compared to the control groups of the study. Additionally, multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that students in intervention area were more likely to have good knowledge on HIV transmission (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.74–4.22) and prevention (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.41–3.26) compared to the students in the control areas. Conclusions The training programme needs to be scaled up, since it is likely to have an impact among students; we have witnessed that the interventions particularly helped increase HIV/AIDS knowledge among students and positively change the students’ attitudes towards HIV/AIDS.The study was funded by Save the Children-USA (grant no. BAN-202-G01-H00)

Evaluation of graft uptake in underlay myringoplasty using dry and wet temporalis fascia graft

Chronic otitis media (COM) is a vital cause of deafness worldwide. Myringoplasty is one of the best treatment options for COM (inactive mucosal variety). Temporalis Fascia is the most favored grafting material among various autografts, which can be used as dry or wet depending upon the Surgeon's choice. The main focus of this study is to compare the graft uptake rate by using dry and wet temporalis fascia by underlay technique. This cross-sectional comparative study was directed from January 2018 to June 2019 at the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery of BSMMU, Dhaka. All consecutive cases of COM (inactive mucosal) who underwent surgery were randomly assigned either into the dry (Group-A) or wet temporalis fascia group (Group-B). At 12 weeks follow-up, the density of graft failure (4.4% vs. 8.8%) and retraction pocket (0% vs. 2.2%) were higher in the wet procedure. However anterior blunting (2.2% vs. 2.2%) were the same in both procedures, and medialization (2.2% vs. 0%) were more in the dry procedure. Air Bone Gap (ABG) improved significantly in both groups following operation but reduced in Group-A more significantly than Group-B. On the other hand, there was no remarkable difference in successful graft uptake between the groups (Dry group-91.12% vs. wet group-84.44%, p>0.05). No graft material is superior to others in terms of graft uptake. BSMMU J 2022; 15(2): 84-8

Machine Learning and Meta-Analysis Approach to Identify Patient Comorbidities and Symptoms that Increased Risk of Mortality in COVID-19

Background: Providing appropriate care for people suffering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus is a significant global challenge. Many individuals who become infected have pre-existing conditions that may interact with COVID-19 to increase symptom severity and mortality risk. COVID-19 patient comorbidities are likely to be informative about individual risk of severe illness and mortality. Accurately determining how comorbidities are associated with severe symptoms and mortality would thus greatly assist in COVID-19 care planning and provision. Methods: To assess the interaction of patient comorbidities with COVID-19 severity and mortality we performed a meta-analysis of the published global literature, and machine learning predictive analysis using an aggregated COVID-19 global dataset. Results: Our meta-analysis identified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cerebrovascular disease (CEVD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes, malignancy, and hypertension as most significantly associated with COVID-19 severity in the current published literature. Machine learning classification using novel aggregated cohort data similarly found COPD, CVD, CKD, type 2 diabetes, malignancy and hypertension, as well as asthma, as the most significant features for classifying those deceased versus those who survived COVID-19. While age and gender were the most significant predictor of mortality, in terms of symptom-comorbidity combinations, it was observed that Pneumonia-Hypertension, Pneumonia-Diabetes and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)-Hypertension showed the most significant effects on COVID-19 mortality. Conclusions: These results highlight patient cohorts most at risk of COVID-19 related severe morbidity and mortality which have implications for prioritization of hospital resources

Regional disparities in maternal and child health indicators:Cluster analysis of districts in Bangladesh

<div><p>Efforts to mitigate public health concerns are showing encouraging results over the time but disparities across the geographic regions still exist within countries. Inadequate researches on the regional disparities of health indicators based on representative and comparable data create challenges to develop evidence-based health policies, planning and future studies in developing countries like Bangladesh. This study examined the disparities among districts on various maternal and child health indicators in Bangladesh. Cluster analysis–an unsupervised learning technique was used based on nationally representative dataset originated from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 2012–13. According to our results, Bangladesh is classified into two clusters based on different health indicators with substantial variations in districts per clusters for different sets of indicators suggesting regional variation across the indicators. There is a need to differentially focus on community-level interventions aimed at increasing maternal and child health care utilization and improving the socioeconomic position of mothers, especially in disadvantaged regions. The cluster analysis approach is unique in terms of the use of health care metrics in a multivariate setup to study regional similarity and dissimilarity in the context of Bangladesh.</p></div

Factors Influencing the Prevalence of Stunting Among Children Aged Below Five Years in Bangladesh

Background: Poor nutrition during childhood impedes physical and mental development of children, which propagate the vicious cycle of intergenerational under nutrition. This paper is aimed at understanding the determinants of stunting among children aged 0 to 59 months in Bangladesh. Methods: The study used Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011 data and a multistage stratified cluster-sampling design. Anthropometric data (for height and weight) were collected and analysis was limited to 7647 children. Multiple binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of stunting with potential socioeconomic and demographic factors. Results: The prevalence of stunting has been found to be about 41% among children aged less than 60 months and higher in rural setting than in urban areas (43% vs 36%). Adjusted model revealed that several factors were influencing stunting. The children living in moderately food-insecure households had higher odds of becoming stunted (odds ratio [OR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.54, P = .01) compared to the children living in food-secure households. The derived ORs of stunting for children delivered at institutions facilitated particularly by public (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.67-0.96; P = .02) or private (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.97; P = .02) sectors were less than for children delivered at home. Similarly, wealth index, exposure of mother to the mass media, age of child, size of child at birth, and parents' education were significantly associated with stunting. Conclusions: Moreover, the demographic characteristics and other indicators appeared to have significant influence in the prevalence of stunting. Public health programs are needed to avert the risk factors of stunting among children in Bangladesh.The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation-UK (CIFF) was the funder for operating research work of this unit

Research design.

<p>Research design.</p

Background characteristics of study participants, %.

<p>Background characteristics of study participants, %.</p