Effect of Technological Evolution on Usage Pattern: A Study on Mobile Internet Subscribers in Bangladesh

As in most countries of the world, mobile internet has been playing a key role in the growth of internet subscriber-base in Bangladesh. While the country is at the verge of introducing advanced wireless internet connectivity via 4G technologies, this longitudinal study attempts to explore the effect (if any) of such technological evolution on subscribers’ internet usage pattern. Data has been collected in two phases- first, just before the onset of 3G services (when 2G was fully dominant) and second, at the period when 4G launching was imminent (i.e., 3G is fully dominant), from the secondary sources of a leading internet service provider (as well as the top mobile operator) of the country and using a consumer survey of that mobile operator in both phases. A comparative analysis of the collected data shows that evolution of technology (2G to 3G) has impact on certain consumption criteria while few of the patterns remain same even after the advancement. We identified few key issues (e.g., preference of devices, activities and website inclination, internet usage time, preferred area of service improvement etc.) that the mobile operators in Bangladesh should consider and show how those have practical and managerial implications for the maximum utilization of the future technological evolution (i.e., 4G deployment). Keywords: mobile internet, usage pattern, subscribers, Banglades

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy: Assessing postnatal quality of care and outcomes for women and their infants in Bangladesh

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are the second leading cause of maternal mortality in Bangladesh, responsible for 24 percent of maternal deaths. Various factors, such as lack of health-care provider capacities for detecting, preventing, and managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (PE/E), late referrals, late (or lack of) antenatal care (ANC), and poor awareness of PE/E, are factors in most of these deaths. While some information was available on the prenatal and postnatal periods, an evidence gap existed in information after delivery through the first year postnatal, and beyond. In this prospective cohort study, the Ending Eclampsia project recruited married women ages 15 to 49 years with HDP, along with their infants, around the time of delivery and prospectively followed them for up to one year to evaluate their care, assess their health statuses, and identify any pattern of morbidities. Numerous conclusions and recommendations emerged from this report to help health-care providers, public health experts, policy decision-makers, health administrators, and developmental partners in Bangladesh provide better services to women with HDPs

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare professionals toward the novel coronavirus during the early stage of COVID-19 in a lower-and-middle income country, Bangladesh

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection because of their direct exposure to suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients in healthcare facilities. This condition is even more acute in low-and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Given the poor healthcare settings of Bangladesh, it is challenging to halt the spread of infection without proper knowledge, attitudes, and good behavioral practices (KAPs). Therefore, this study conducted a cross-sectional study from May 5 to 31, 2020, with 203 healthcare professionals to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19. Participants were doctors, nurses, dentists, and allied health professionals. A self-administered questionnaire including several KAP-related items aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines was distributed over various online platforms to collect data. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the factors influencing KAP levels. The majority of participants were male (52.22%). The prevalence of high knowledge levels, positive attitudes, and good practices were 51.23, 45.81, and 49.75%, respectively. Social media was the most common source for seeking coronavirus information. Workers at private institutions were less likely (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.30–0.95, p < 0.05) to be knowledgeable than workers at public institutions. Doctors had more positive attitudes than other healthcare professionals. Older participants showed high rates of good behavioral practices (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.06–1.32, p < 0.05) than younger ones. Workers at private institutions had a better practice level toward COVID-19 (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.17–3.83) than those at public institutions. These results point to the necessity for proper training programs for medical professionals that help them gain confidence to deliver the correct treatment to their patients and the need to implement preventative steps during pandemics

Cost of traffic congestion in Dhaka Metropolitan City

This study attempts to estimate the cost of traffic congestion in Dhaka Metropolitan City of Bangladesh through collecting field level primary data. Traffic congestion is an important issue in the city. The study findings indicate that most of the commuters in the city travel more than 2 h/day. The calculated travel-related indices indicate that the commuters in the city have to spend more time on the road compared to an uncongested situation. They lose about one working hour per day on an average due to traffic congestion. Combining the elements of traffic congestion, this study finds that the calculated cost of traffic congestion crosses the benchmark of US$ 4 per day per commuter in the city. According to the perception of the commuters, pick up/drop off of passengers at any place is the most important cause, while ambulance stacking is the most severe impact of traffic congestion in the city. The commuters perceive more use of public transport as the prime solution to tackle the traffic congestion problem in the city

Astaxanthin ameliorates prenatal LPS-exposed behavioral deficits and oxidative stress in adult offspring

Background: Prenatal maternal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure leads to behavioral deficits such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia in the adult lives. LPS-exposure resulted in the production of cytokines and oxidative damage. On the contrary, astaxanthin is a carotenoid compound, showed neuroprotective properties via its antioxidant capacity. This study examines the effect of astaxanthin on the prenatal maternal LPS-induced postnatal behavioral deficit in mice. Results: We found that prenatal LPS-exposed mice showed extensive immobile phase in the tail suspension test, higher frequent head dipping in the hole-board test and greater hypolocomotion in the open field test. All these values were statistically significant (p < 0.05). In addition, a marked elevation of the level of lipid peroxidation, advanced protein oxidation product, nitric oxide, while a pronounced depletion of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione) were observed in the adult offspring mice that were prenatally exposed to LPS. To the contrary, 6-weeks long treatment with astaxanthin significantly improved all behavioral deficits (p < 0.05) and diminished prenatal LPS-induced oxidative stress markers in the brain and liver. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that prenatal maternal LPS-exposure leads to behavioral deficits in the adults, while astaxanthin ameliorates the behavioral deficits presumably via its antioxidant property

Physicians’ Antibiotics Prescribing Patterns for Common Diseases and Knowledge on Antimicrobial Resistance: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) of patients or their caregivers, and prescribers of antibiotics toward antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh. Method: This was a mixed-method research study. Data were collected from pre-determined study areas using a sample survey of 583 respondents, 11 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 11 Key-Informant Interviews (KIIs), and 11 In-depth Interviews (IDIs). A scale of 11 points was used to measure attitudes. Results: About 59% of the respondents (patients or carers) were between 1 to 20 years old. The difference of age of patients by sex was found statistically significant at .001 level. About 25.7% of the respondents visited an MBBS doctor and 8.1% visited a BDS dentist, and 66.2% went to traditional healers and the pharmacy. Men take more antibiotics for treatment purposes compared to their female counterparts. The difference between men and women, with regard to the treatment of common diseases, was found to be statistically significant.  Usually, new graduate doctors and traditional healers prescribe antibiotics of longer duration. The duration of prescriptions for antibiotics and type of the physician was found statistically significant. Physicians prescribed common antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (26%), cold and fever (21%), diarrhea (12%), STDs (9%), HTN (8%), UTIs (7.5%), diabetes (5%), and lower respiratory infections (4%). Cephalosporin (31.4%), macrolides (27.6%), quinolones (17.8%), metronidazole (13%), and penicillin (10.10%) were used. About 65.8% of the caregivers did not have any knowledge about antimicrobial resistance and the negative effects of the overuse of antibiotics. Conclusion: The majority of the respondents had poor knowledge of antimicrobial resistance and the negative effects of the overuse of antibiotics. A community-based awareness program was found important to create awareness of antimicrobial resistance and the negative effects of the overuse of antibiotics

Utilization of maternal health services and post-partum contraception among Bangladeshi women attending a district level hospital

Utilization of maternal health services and postpartum contraception help to decrease rates of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality by preventing unintended, high risk pregnancies and also by delaying subsequent pregnancies. A cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the utilization of maternal health services and its association with post-partum contraception among Bangladeshi women in a hospital in Gazipur district. A total of 344 women were randomly selected who had delivered at least one child within last one year and completed 12 months post-partum period. Uni-variate and bi-variate analyses were used as statistical methods. Mean age of the respondent was 21.5 years (Mean ± SD, 21.5 ± 6.634). Nuclear families (61.30%) were predominant in number. Most of them were illiterate (44.8%). Antenatal care was significantly associated with socio-demographic factors like respondents’ and their husbands’ education, husbands’ income and types of family. Only 17% illiterate respondents received antenatal care for four or more times whereas 52.38% who graduated or above received the same. Most of the deliveries occurred at home (54.4%). These deliveries were performed by non-skilled personnel (54.6%) while the rest were performed by skilled personnel. This study also found that postnatal care was significantly associated with respondents’ and their husbands’ education, and husbands’ income. This study is expected to help program planners, policy makers to design interventions for their programs to enhance the use of maternal health services as well as postpartum contraception among Bangladeshi women.Keywords: Maternal health services; contraception; antenatal care; postnatal care; Banglades