Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40.0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39.4-40.7) to 50.3% (50.0-50.5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46.3% (95% UI 46.1-46.5) in 2017, compared with 28.7% (28.5-29.0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88.6% (95% UI 87.2-89.7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664-711) of the 1830 (1797-1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76.1% (95% UI 71.6-80.7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53.9% (50.6-59.6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the Federation University Australia affiliate is provided in this record**Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CGIA

Measuring universal health coverage based on an index of effective coverage of health services in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019 : A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Measuring effective coverage at the health-system level is important for understanding whether health services are aligned with countries' health profiles and are of sufficient quality to produce health gains for populations of all ages. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we assessed UHC effective coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Drawing from a measurement framework developed through WHO's GPW13 consultation, we mapped 23 effective coverage indicators to a matrix representing health service types (eg, promotion, prevention, and treatment) and five population-age groups spanning from reproductive and newborn to older adults (>= 65 years). Effective coverage indicators were based on intervention coverage or outcome-based measures such as mortality-to-incidence ratios to approximate access to quality care; outcome-based measures were transformed to values on a scale of 0-100 based on the 2.5th and 97.5th percentile of location-year values. We constructed the UHC effective coverage index by weighting each effective coverage indicator relative to its associated potential health gains, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years for each location-year and population-age group. For three tests of validity (content, known-groups, and convergent), UHC effective coverage index performance was generally better than that of other UHC service coverage indices from WHO (ie, the current metric for SDG indicator 3.8.1 on UHC service coverage), the World Bank, and GBD 2017. We quantified frontiers of UHC effective coverage performance on the basis of pooled health spending per capita, representing UHC effective coverage index levels achieved in 2019 relative to country-level government health spending, prepaid private expenditures, and development assistance for health. To assess current trajectories towards the GPW13 UHC billion target-1 billion more people benefiting from UHC by 2023-we estimated additional population equivalents with UHC effective coverage from 2018 to 2023. Findings Globally, performance on the UHC effective coverage index improved from 45.8 (95% uncertainty interval 44.2-47.5) in 1990 to 60.3 (58.7-61.9) in 2019, yet country-level UHC effective coverage in 2019 still spanned from 95 or higher in Japan and Iceland to lower than 25 in Somalia and the Central African Republic. Since 2010, sub-Saharan Africa showed accelerated gains on the UHC effective coverage index (at an average increase of 2.6% [1.9-3.3] per year up to 2019); by contrast, most other GBD super-regions had slowed rates of progress in 2010-2019 relative to 1990-2010. Many countries showed lagging performance on effective coverage indicators for non-communicable diseases relative to those for communicable diseases and maternal and child health, despite non-communicable diseases accounting for a greater proportion of potential health gains in 2019, suggesting that many health systems are not keeping pace with the rising non-communicable disease burden and associated population health needs. In 2019, the UHC effective coverage index was associated with pooled health spending per capita (r=0.79), although countries across the development spectrum had much lower UHC effective coverage than is potentially achievable relative to their health spending. Under maximum efficiency of translating health spending into UHC effective coverage performance, countries would need to reach $1398 pooled health spending per capita (US$ adjusted for purchasing power parity) in order to achieve 80 on the UHC effective coverage index. From 2018 to 2023, an estimated 388.9 million (358.6-421.3) more population equivalents would have UHC effective coverage, falling well short of the GPW13 target of 1 billion more people benefiting from UHC during this time. Current projections point to an estimated 3.1 billion (3.0-3.2) population equivalents still lacking UHC effective coverage in 2023, with nearly a third (968.1 million [903.5-1040.3]) residing in south Asia. Interpretation The present study demonstrates the utility of measuring effective coverage and its role in supporting improved health outcomes for all people-the ultimate goal of UHC and its achievement. Global ambitions to accelerate progress on UHC service coverage are increasingly unlikely unless concerted action on non-communicable diseases occurs and countries can better translate health spending into improved performance. Focusing on effective coverage and accounting for the world's evolving health needs lays the groundwork for better understanding how close-or how far-all populations are in benefiting from UHC. Copyright (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the Federation University Australia affiliate is provided in this record**Lucas Guimaraes Abreu acknowledges support from Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior -Brasil (Capes) -Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) and Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). Olatunji O Adetokunboh acknowledges South African Department of Science & Innovation, and National Research Foundation. Anurag Agrawal acknowledges support from the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship IA/CPHS/14/1/501489. Rufus Olusola Akinyemi acknowledges Grant U01HG010273 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the H3Africa Consortium. Rufus Olusola Akinyemi is further supported by the FLAIR fellowship funded by the UK Royal Society and the African Academy of Sciences. Syed Mohamed Aljunid acknowledges the Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Public Health, Kuwait University and International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia for the approval and support to participate in this research project. Marcel Ausloos, Claudiu Herteliu, and Adrian Pana acknowledge partial support by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNDSUEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0084. Till Winfried Barnighausen acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through the Alexander von Humboldt Professor award, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Juan J Carrero was supported by the Swedish Research Council (2019-01059). Felix Carvalho acknowledges UID/MULTI/04378/2019 and UID/QUI/50006/2019 support with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. Vera Marisa Costa acknowledges support from grant (SFRH/BHD/110001/2015), received by Portuguese national funds through Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma TransitA3ria DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006. Jan-Walter De Neve acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Kebede Deribe acknowledges support by Wellcome Trust grant number 201900/Z/16/Z as part of his International Intermediate Fellowship. Claudiu Herteliu acknowledges partial support by a grant co-funded by European Fund for Regional Development through Operational Program for Competitiveness, Project ID P_40_382. Praveen Hoogar acknowledges the Centre for Bio Cultural Studies (CBiCS), Manipal Academy of Higher Education(MAHE), Manipal and Centre for Holistic Development and Research (CHDR), Kalghatgi. Bing-Fang Hwang acknowledges support from China Medical University (CMU108-MF-95), Taichung, Taiwan. Mihajlo Jakovljevic acknowledges the Serbian part of this GBD contribution was co-funded through the Grant OI175014 of the Ministry of Education Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Aruna M Kamath acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health T32 grant (T32GM086270). Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi acknowledges funding from the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12017/13 & MC_UU_12017/15), Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU13 & SPHSU15) and an NRS Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02). Yun Jin Kim acknowledges support from the Research Management Centre, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUMRF/2018-C2/ITCM/0001). Kewal Krishan acknowledges support from the DST PURSE grant and UGC Center of Advanced Study (CAS II) awarded to the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. Manasi Kumar acknowledges support from K43 TW010716 Fogarty International Center/NIMH. Ben Lacey acknowledges support from the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the BHF Centre of Research Excellence, Oxford. Ivan Landires is a member of the Sistema Nacional de InvestigaciA3n (SNI), which is supported by the Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia Tecnologia e Innovacion (SENACYT), Panama. Jeffrey V Lazarus acknowledges support by a Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Miguel Servet grant (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ESF, European Union [CP18/00074]). Peter T N Memiah acknowledges CODESRIA; HISTP. Subas Neupane acknowledges partial support from the Competitive State Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility area of Tampere University Hospital. Shuhei Nomura acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (18K10082). Alberto Ortiz acknowledges support by ISCIII PI19/00815, DTS18/00032, ISCIII-RETIC REDinREN RD016/0009 Fondos FEDER, FRIAT, Comunidad de Madrid B2017/BMD-3686 CIFRA2-CM. These funding sources had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit it for publication. George C Patton acknowledges support from a National Health & Medical Research Council Fellowship. Marina Pinheiro acknowledges support from FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016 -Norma transitA3ria. Alberto Raggi, David Sattin, and Silvia Schiavolin acknowledge support by a grant from the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico C Besta, Linea 4 -Outcome Research: dagli Indicatori alle Raccomandazioni Cliniche). Daniel Cury Ribeiro acknowledges support from the Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship -Health Research Council of New Zealand (18/111). Perminder S Sachdev acknowledges funding from the NHMRC Australia. Abdallah M Samy acknowledges support from a fellowship from the Egyptian Fulbright Mission Program. Milena M Santric-Milicevic acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Contract No. 175087). Rodrigo Sarmiento-Suarez acknowledges institutional support from University of Applied and Environmental Sciences in Bogota, Colombia, and Carlos III Institute of Health in Madrid, Spain. Maria Ines Schmidt acknowledges grants from the Foundation for the Support of Research of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (IATS and PrInt) and the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Sheikh Mohammed Shariful Islam acknowledges a fellowship from the National Heart Foundation of Australia and Deakin University. Aziz Sheikh acknowledges support from Health Data Research UK. Kenji Shibuya acknowledges Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Joan B Soriano acknowledges support by Centro de Investigacion en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain. Rafael Tabares-Seisdedos acknowledges partial support from grant PI17/00719 from ISCIII-FEDER. Santosh Kumar Tadakamadla acknowledges support from the National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship, Australia. Marcello Tonelli acknowledges the David Freeze Chair in Health Services Research at the University of Calgary, AB, Canada

A comparative genomic and evolutionary analysis of circulating strains of Avian avulavirus 1 in Pakistan

Newcastle disease, caused by Avian avulavirus 1 (AAvV 1), is endemic to many developing countries around the globe including Pakistan. Frequent epidemics are not uncommon even in vaccinated populations and are largely attributed to the genetic divergence of prevailing isolates and their transmission in the environment. With the strengthening of laboratory capabilities in Pakistan, a number of genetically diverse AAvV 1 strains have recently been isolated and individually characterized in comparison with isolates reported elsewhere in the world. However, there lacks sufficient comparative genomic and phylogenomic analyses of field circulating strains that can elucidate the evolutionary dynamics over a period of time. Herein, we enriched the whole genome sequences of AAvV reported so far (n = 35) from Pakistan and performed comparative genomic, phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses. Based on these analyses, we found only isolates belonging to genotypes VI, VII and XIII of AAvV 1 in a wide range of avian and human hosts. Comparative phylogeny revealed the concurrent circulation of avulaviruses representing different sub-genotypes such as VIg, VIm, VIIa, VIIb, VIIe, VIIf, VIIi, XIIIb and XIIId. We found that the isolates of genotype VII were more closely associated with viruses of genotype XIII than genotype VI. An inter-genotype comparative residue analysis revealed a few substitutions in structurally and functionally important motifs. Putative recombination events were reported for only one of the captive-wild bird (pheasant)-origin isolates. The viruses of genotype VII had a high genetic diversity as compared to isolates from genotypes VI and XIII and, therefore, have more potential to evolve over a period of time. Taken together, the current study provides an insight into the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of AAvV 1 strains circulating in Pakistan. Such findings are expected to facilitate better intervention strategies for the prevention and control of ND in disease-endemic countries across the globe particularly Pakistan

Suru Maca: Tradisi Menyambut Bulan Ramadan Masyarakat Desa Pakkabba Kabupaten Takalar Sulawesi Selatan

The suru maca ritual is a tradition of the Islamic community of Pakkabba Village in Takalar Regency, South Sulawesi province, to welcome Ramadan's arrival. At present, the implementation of this tradition is enjoyed by local communities and enjoyed by immigrant communities of different ethnicities and religions. This tradition is alive and well in society because it is functional and has a significant symbolic meaning for this culture's owner. This study aims to determine the purpose and function of the suru maca ritual for Pakkabba Village people. This research is a qualitative study that uses an ethnographic approach. Data was collected through literature review, participatory observation, and in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using a functional, structural approach. The results showed that the existence of Islam had been accepted and became part of the Pakkabba village community's social system so that the month of Ramadan, which is the holy month of Muslims, is expressed through the local tradition of suru maca. The suru maca ritual means a communicative act and is an arena of women's power. At the same time, its functions include expressing feelings, strengthening solidarity, strengthening kinship relationships, moral renewing, and maintaining identit

Electronic cigarettes or vaping : are there any differences in the profiles, use and perceptions between a developed and a developing country?

The use of electronic cigarettes or vaping is currently increasing in popularity globally. Debate continues regarding their potential role for smoking cessation. We aimed to compare the profiles, use and perceptions of using e-cigarettes amongst online forum users in a developed and a developing country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among members of different popular online forums in Australia and Bangladesh who were current or ex-users of e-cigarettes. There were 422 study participants, 261 (62%) from Australia and 161 (38%) from Bangladesh. The mean age was 36.3 (±12) years and 83% were men. Australians were more likely to be exclusive users of e-cigarettes (70% vs. 30%, AOR 3.05 [95% CI 1.63–5.71]), but less likely to be dual users of smoking and e-cigarettes (43% vs. 57%, 0.36 [0.19–0.69]); they were also more likely to mention that the perceived reasons for using were their low cost, good taste/flavour, safety and assistance in reducing or quitting smoking (66% vs. 34%, 5.10 [2.04–12.8]), but less likely to mention a social/cool image as a reason for use (23% vs. 77%, 0.11 [0.01–0.87]) compared with Bangladeshi participants. About two-thirds of the participants in both countries perceived the use of e-cigarettes as less addictive than cigarettes and more than three-quarters perceived them as less harmful. E-cigarette users in Australia were more likely to use them to reduce or quit cigarettes compared with those in Bangladesh, and dual use was common in Bangladesh. These findings warrant the consideration of precautions for promoting e-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy for smoking cessation in developing countries, such as Bangladesh. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

COVID-19 related psychological distress, fear and coping : identification of high-risk groups in Bangladesh

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed psychological distress and fear across the globe; however, factors associated with those issues or the ways people cope may vary by country or context. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with psychological distress, fear, and coping strategies for people living in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in August-September 2020 using online platforms in Bangladesh. People residing in Bangladesh, aged ≥18 years, who were proficient in English and able to respond to online questionnaire. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was used to assess the psychological stress. Level of fear was assessed using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and strategies to cope were assessed using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Results: Of the 962 participants, half of them were aged between 30 and 59 years. Being born in Bangladesh, having graduate education, perceived distress due to employment change, effect of COVID-19 on financial situation, having multiple comorbidities, and visiting a healthcare provider in the last 4 weeks were associated with higher levels of both psychological distress and fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, higher psychological distress was associated with being a female (AOR 1.81, 95% CI 1.33–2.47, p < 0.001), being a frontline worker (AOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.04–2.15, p < 0.05), having pre-existing psychiatric problems (AOR 4.03, 95% CI 1.19–13.7, p < 0.05), being a smoker (AOR 2.02, 95% CI 1.32–3.09, p < 0.01), providing care to a known/suspected COVID-19 patient (AOR 1.96, 95% CI 1.40–2.72, p < 0.001), having a recent overseas travel history and being in self-quarantine (AOR 4.59, 95% CI 1.23–17.2, p < 0.05), self-isolation without COVID-19 (AOR 2.63, 95% CI 1.68–4.13, p < 0.001) or being COVID-19 positive (AOR 2.53, 95% CI 1.19–5.34, p < 0.05), and having high levels of fear of COVID-19 (AOR 3.27, 95% CI 2.29–4.66, p < 0.001). A higher level of fear was associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress (AOR 3.29, 95% CI 2.31–4.69, p < 0.001). People with pre-existing mental health problems were less likely to be resilient (AOR 0.25, 95% CI 0.11–0.54, p < 0.01), whereas those with having an income were more likely to be resilient (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.02–2.11, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Effective interventions to support the vulnerable groups including improved access to mental health services are of utmost importance during the pandemic. © Copyright © 2021 Rahman, Rahman, Wazib, Arafat, Chowdhury, Uddin, Rahman, Bahar Moni, Alif, Sultana, Salehin, Islam, Cross and Bahar. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman, Masudus Salehin, Wendy Cross" is provided in this record*

Wearable activity trackers and health awareness : nursing implications

Purpose: Wearable devices are commonly used to measure physical activity. However, it remains unclear the effect of wearing these devices on health awareness. Our aim was to provide evidence related to wearing physical activity trackers and health awareness. Methods: A quantitative comparison study design was used comparing participants who wore physical activity tracking devices (n = 108) and those who did not (n = 112). A paper-based Physical Health Knowledge survey designed for the purpose of this research was used for data collection in 2018. Results: A difference between participants who wore physical activity tracking devices and those that did not was identified in relation to activity levels and physical health awareness. Wearable devices are suggested as an opportunity for nurses to engage people in physical activity with the potential to improve their health awareness. Conclusions: Nurses are well placed in the healthcare landscape to work with patients who own an activity tracker device concerning increasing activity self-monitoring. This information the patient has from the device can also form the basis of health discussions between nurses and the people in their care. © 2020 Chinese Nursing Associatio

Penerapan Keadilan Restoratif Dalam Penyelesaian Perkara Kecelakaan Lalu Lintas Berat Di Kepolisian Resort Metro Jakarta Pusat

Penyelesaian perkara pidana melalui keadilan restoratif pada tahap penyidikan diatur dalam Surat Edaran Kapolri Nomor 8 Tahun 2018 tentang Penerapan Keadilan Restoratif (Restorative Justice) Dalam Penyelesaian Perkara Pidana, yang mengatur bahwa penyelesaian perkara melalui keadilan restoratif sebelum Surat Pemberitahuan Dimulainya Penyidikan dikirimkan ke Jaksa Penuntut Umum dan penerapannya terhadap semua tindak pidana yang tidak menimbulkan korban manusia sehingga menimbulkan masalah dalam penerapannya. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian yuridis normatif-empiris dengan menggunakan pendekatan perundang-undangan dan pendekatan kasus. Teknik pengumpulan data primer melalui penelitian lapangan dengan dan penelitian kepustakaan untuk mendapatkan data sekunder. Hasil penelitian bahwa penerapan keadilan restoratif dalam penyelesaian perkara kecelakaan lalu lintas berat di Polres Metro Jakarta Pusat dilakukan oleh Penyidik setelah adanya perdamaian antara pelaku dan keluarga korban yang dilakukan setelah Penyidik mengirim Surat Pemberitahuan Dimulainya Penyidikan ke Jaksa Penuntut Umum Kejari Jakarta Pusat sehingga penanganan perkara tidak dilanjutkan. Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi penerapan keadilan restoratif dalam penyelesaian perkara kecelakaan lalu lintas berat terdiri dari faktor penegak hukum yaitu pengetahuan dan pemahaman Penyidik terhadap peraturan perundang-undangan yang berlaku, faktor substansi hukum yakni substansi Surat Edaran Kapolri yang mengatur tentang syarat materiil yang tidak mengakomodir penyelesaian perkara dengan korban manusia dan syarat formiil tentang jangka waktu dalam penerapan keadilan restoratif hanya terhadap tindak pidana pada tahap penyidikan sebelum dikirimkan Surat Pemberitahuan Dimulainya Penyidikan, dan faktor budaya hukum masyarakat berkaitan dengan nilai-nilai, sikap dan perilaku dalam kehidupan masyarakat sehingga mempengaruhi pengambilan keputusan untuk menyelesaiakan perkara kecelakaan lalu lintas yang dialaminya melalui keadilan restoratif

Changes in tobacco use patterns during COVID-19 and their correlates among older adults in Bangladesh

The present study explored the changes in tobacco use patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic and their correlates among older adults in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1032 older adults aged ≥60 years in Bangladesh through telephone interviews in October 2020. Participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information were gathered using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Participants were asked if they noted any change in their tobacco use patterns (smoking or smokeless tobacco) during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic (6 months prior to the survey). Nearly half of the participants (45.6%) were current tobacco users, of whom 15.9% reported increased tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and all others had no change in their tobacco use patterns. Tobacco use was significantly increased among the participants from rural areas, who had reduced communications during COVID-19 compared to pre-pandemic (OR = 2.76, 95%CI:1.51–5.03). Participants who were aged ≥70 years (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.14–0.77), widowed (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.13–1.00), had pre-existing, non-communi-cable, and/or chronic conditions (OR = 0.44, 95% CI:0.25–0.78), and felt themselves at the highest risk of COVID-19 (OR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.15–0.62), had significantly lower odds of increased tobacco use. Policy makers and practitioners need to focus on strengthening awareness and raising initia-tives to avoid tobacco use during such a crisis period. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman” is provided in this record*

Was there any change in tobacco smoking among adults in Bangladesh during 2009-2017? Insights from two nationally representative cross-sectional surveys

Objective This study assessed the changes in prevalence and associated factors of tobacco smoking among Bangladeshi adults over time. Design Nationally representative cross-sectional surveys. Setting Two most recent Global Adults Tobacco Survey (GATS) data from Bangladesh, carried out in 2009 and 2017. Participants Adult population aged 15 and above (n=9629 in 2009; n=12 783 in 2017). Outcome measures Current use of tobacco smoke, including cigarettes, bidi, hukkah, cigars or pipes, which was dichotomised ( yes'/ no'). Methods We analysed data from two recent rounds of GATS (2009 and 2017). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. Results The overall prevalence of tobacco smoking among Bangladeshi adults was noted (23.00%, 95% CI 22.98 to 23.00 in 2009; 16.44%, 95% CI 16.43 to 16.45 in 2017). Being male (adjusted OR (AOR)=59.72, CI 40.56 to 87.93 for 2009; AOR=71.17, CI 41.08 to 123.32 for 2017), age between 25 and 64 years (all AORs >2 and p<0.05), smoking permissible at home (AOR=7.08, CI 5.88 to 8.52 for 2009; AOR=5.90, CI 5.34 to 6.95 for 2017), and watching tobacco smoking product use in movie/drama scenes (AOR=1.26, CI 1.11 to 1.44 for 2009; AOR=1.34, CI 1.17 to 1.54 for 2017) were found to be significantly associated with increased tobacco smoking among adults both in 2009 and in 2017. However, being offered free tobacco sample products (AOR=0.66, CI 0.57 to 0.77 for 2009; AOR=0.87, CI 0.76 to 0.99 for 2017) and having primary, secondary or higher education (all AORs <1 and p<0.05) as well as being a student (AOR=0.16, CI 0.09 to 0.29 for 2009; AOR=0.32, CI 0.19 to 0.53) were associated with lower odds of tobacco smoking in both surveys. Conclusions Although the prevalence of tobacco smoking has declined over the period, it is still high among those who were relatively older, men, less educated and exposed to a movie/drama where tobacco smoking is promoted. Therefore, appropriate interventions are required to stop tobacco smoking among the Bangladeshi population. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman” is provided in this record**