Exploring healthcare-seeking behavior of most vulnerable groups amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the humanitarian context in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: Findings from an exploratory qualitative study

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised new concerns about healthcare service availability, accessibility, and affordability in complex humanitarian settings where heterogeneous populations reside, such as Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. This study was conducted in ten Rohingya camps and four wards of the adjacent host communities in Cox’s Bazar to understand the factors influencing healthcare-seeking behavior of the most vulnerable groups (MVGs) during COVID-19 pandemic. Data were extracted from 48 in-depth interviews (24 in each community) conducted from November 2020 to March 2021 with pregnant and lactating mothers, adolescent boys and girls, persons with disabilities, elderly people, and single female-household heads. This study adopted Andersen’s behavioral model of healthcare-seeking for data analysis. Findings suggest that the healthcare-seeking behavior of the participants amid COVID-19 pandemic in the humanitarian context of Cox’s Bazar was influenced by several factors ranging from socioeconomic and demographic, existing gender, cultural and social norms, health beliefs, and various institutional factors. Lack of household-level support, reduced number of healthcare providers at health facilities, and movement restrictions at community level hampered the ability of many participants to seek healthcare services in both Rohingya and host communities. Most of the female participants from both communities required permission and money from their male family members to visit healthcare facilities resulting in less access to healthcare. In both communities, the fear of contracting COVID-19 from healthcare facilities disproportionately affected pregnant mothers, elderly people, and persons with disabilities accessing health services. Additionally, the economic uncertainty had a significant impact on the host communities’ ability to pay for healthcare costs. These findings have the potential to influence policies and programs that can improve pandemic preparedness and health system resilience in humanitarian contexts

Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment Review Macroinvertebrates (oligochaetes) as indicators of pollution: A review

Macroinvertebrates formed an important constituent of an aquatic ecosystem and had functional importance in assessing the trophic status as the abundance of benthic fauna mainly depends on physical and chemical properties of the substratum and thus the benthic communities respond to changes in the quality of water and available habitat. This review discussed the occurrence, composition and distribution of macroinvertebrates of lakes and wetlands, and some environmental factors which regulated their occurrence and distribution. Also, analysis of the benthic community helped in the determination of trophic status of lakes because of their sensitivity to pollution and is, therefore, an important criterion in the ecological classification of lakes

Nationalism in India During the Early Twentieth Century: A Study of Muslim Scholars’ Response

N ationalism is relatively a modern political doctrine. Its early propounder was Rosseau, an European thinker who held that good community was because of homogenous population. The doctrine, however, flourished not in France but in Germany. Its writers like Hereder and Fichte advocated nationalism as a legitimate basis of statehood. To them, it was the language that became the repository of their national character and heritage and their expansion as a specific nationality took place on this account. Hans Kohn, too, associates nationalism with the masses and popular forms of politics. The phenomenon of nationalism is found also in the eastern countries although it is sometimes termed as ‘alien’, ‘ethnic’ and ‘undemocratic’ by the Western scholars. On the contrary their own nationalism is described as ‘authentic’, ‘liberal’ and ‘democratic’. The various types of nationalism have got gradually manifested in history like Turkish nationalism, Arab nationalism and Indian nationalism. Nationalism in India assumed a complex form in the twentieth century. It was partly due to the infiltration of the Western ideas and partly due to the co-existence of diverse cultural and ideological groups existing in India. In the early twentieth century the Indian freedom movement was in its full swing and various socio-religious movements and organizations were involved in it. Indian National Congress was the biggest of all these movements. It stood for the cause of Indian nationalism that the freedom should be for the geographical and the cultural integration of Indian people. The movement also discerned the two trends of nationalism – one represented by Hindu orthodoxy and the other by moderates and liberals (consisting of both Hindu and Muslim elites). So one layer of it was secular nationalism or united nationalism. The other was extremist one that took place among the staunch Hindu religious groups like Arya Samaj and Shudi Sangatan and Mahasabai. The Muslims who had been rulers of India before the British dominated it and whose role in the first war of independence against the British in 1857 was pioneering one and they were not outrightly ignorant about these trends of Indian nationalism. The Muslim elites were conscious about the nature and implications of the various types of nationalism and its movements during the twentieth century India. That is why the Muslim scholars, not withstanding their strong advocacy for the freedom of India, responded to the growing trends of nationalism in India. Their response was, however, varied and multidimensional. Politically, too, the phase of early twentieth century was very crucial as it was this very nationalism and its trends and responses that shaped the future course of Indian history

Ecological Study of Periphytic Algal Community of Doodh Ganga and Khansha-Mansha Streams of Yusmarg Forests: A Health Resort of Kashmir Valley, India.

Abstract. The present study on Doodh Ganga and Khansha-Mansha streams of Yusmarg forests deals with the general ecological studies on periphytic algal community in terms of species composition and density. During the present investigation the periphytic algal community of Doodh Ganga and Khansha-Mansha streams were represented by 30 taxa which belonged to 4 major classes namely Bacillariophyceae (14), Chlorophyceae (11), Cyanophyceae (4) and Euglenophyceae (1). The most common periphytic species encountered across all the sites include

Idiopathic scrotal calcinosis – a case report

Idiopathic scrotal calcinosis is formation of calcium deposits in the dermal layers of the scrotum. It results in the formation of single or multiple nodular calcifications that vary in size and number. First reported in 1883, this condition is common in the third decade of life. The presenting complaints range from disfigurement to itching, leading to decreased quality of life. The diagnosis is usually made on a clinical basis and can be confirmed by the histopathology of the excised nodules.  Surgical removal of the nodules is the generally recommended treatment. The surgery aims to eradicate the nodules leaving the scrotal skin enough for scrotoplasty. We present a case of idiopathic scrotal calcinosis in a 37 years old male who came for radiological examination. Keywords: Calcinosis, scrotum, calcium, pruritus

ADA Levels in Body Fluids as the Preferred Test to Rule Out Tuberculosis in Limited-resource Settings: Data from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Northern India

In clinical practice, the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a challenge. The goal of this study was to evaluate the reliability and impact of adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzyme testing as a biochemical marker in the continued management of suspected tuberculosis in a limited resource setting hospital. The retrospective data were collected from 2018 to 2021 and comprised the results of all ADA test assays done in the laboratory. All types of body fluids received for ADA testing were analyzed. Over the course of two years, 1461 samples for ADA assay testing were received. The average age of the study population was 56.69±11.7 years, with males accounting for the majority of the subjects (55.72%). Pleural fluid (N=817, 55.92%) was the most common type of sample received for the ADA assay. 114 (13.95%) of the 817 pleural fluid samples were found to be positive. A survey was conducted to obtain physician’s response regarding reliability on ADA testing. 100% of them reported the supportive role of ADA levels in the workup of patients with suspected tuberculosis. In a limited resource setting, the ADA test, in conjunction with clinical and other laboratory findings, can help physicians to initiate early treatment in hospitals for the benefit of patients

Exploring healthcare-seeking behavior of most vulnerable groups amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the humanitarian context in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh: Findings from an exploratory qualitative study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised new concerns about healthcare service availability, accessibility, and affordability in complex humanitarian settings where heterogeneous populations reside, such as Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. This study was conducted in ten Rohingya camps and four wards of the adjacent host communities in Cox's Bazar to understand the factors influencing healthcare-seeking behavior of the most vulnerable groups (MVGs) during COVID-19 pandemic. Data were extracted from 48 in-depth interviews (24 in each community) conducted from November 2020 to March 2021 with pregnant and lactating mothers, adolescent boys and girls, persons with disabilities, elderly people, and single female-household heads. This study adopted Andersen's behavioral model of healthcare-seeking for data analysis. Findings suggest that the healthcare-seeking behavior of the participants amid COVID-19 pandemic in the humanitarian context of Cox's Bazar was influenced by several factors ranging from socioeconomic and demographic, existing gender, cultural and social norms, health beliefs, and various institutional factors. Lack of household-level support, reduced number of healthcare providers at health facilities, and movement restrictions at community level hampered the ability of many participants to seek healthcare services in both Rohingya and host communities. Most of the female participants from both communities required permission and money from their male family members to visit healthcare facilities resulting in less access to healthcare. In both communities, the fear of contracting COVID-19 from healthcare facilities disproportionately affected pregnant mothers, elderly people, and persons with disabilities accessing health services. Additionally, the economic uncertainty had a significant impact on the host communities' ability to pay for healthcare costs. These findings have the potential to influence policies and programs that can improve pandemic preparedness and health system resilience in humanitarian contexts