Profile of stroke patients treated at a rehabilitation centre in Bangladesh

Abstract Objective Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in Bangladesh. Rehabilitation services have not yet been integrated into the Bangladesh health system. Only a few non-governmental organisations provide rehabilitation for stroke patients. The demographic profile of these patients has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the socio-demographic data, risk factors, place of primary management and cost of stroke for those who attended rehabilitation at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 103 conveniently selected stroke patients who attended CRP between December 2015 and May 2016. Results The mean age of the participants was 49 years. The majority (68%) originated from urban areas. About 85% of the patients had a history of hypertension prior to their stroke. Following the stroke, most patients received their initial treatment in a general clinic or hospital by registered physicians. Only 22% of the patients were advised to pursue follow-up rehabilitation services by their physicians. All patients interviewed in the survey received unpaid full-time care from their family members. The reported cost of rehabilitation was approximately US $328 per month per patient

Pediatric Hypertension: Parental Perception and Knowledge

The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) among youngsters has increased recently. Often, it is underrecognized owing to a lack of routine blood pressure measurement in many health centers, partly due to the unavailability of instruments and possibly because of this perception that it is not the foremost problem in children. There is less information about the parental perception of childhood HTN from Bangladesh. We aimed to conduct this survey among parents to see the perception and knowledge about this childhood HTN, which can be served as a baseline for future reference. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Dr. MR Khan Shishu Hospital and ICH from April 2021 to September 2021 over 6 months. Parents who visited our hospital, both in outpatient and inpatient, for their children aged (3 years–17 years) were included in this study. Parents who did not give permission were excluded. Purposive sampling was done during the study period. Parents were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Parents' educational status and the idea about HTN in children were recorded. The data were analyzed and expressed as frequency and percentage. A total of 352 respondents were interviewed with a mean age of 28 ± 11 years. Among these respondents, 187 (53.2%) were male, and 165 (46.8%) were female. In this study, most of the participant parents are literate; only a negligible proportion, 5.6%, are illiterate. Eighty-nine percent of participants know high blood pressure is HTN and 83.5% know HTN can be detected by measuring BP. Among the participants, 83% think children do not develop HTN, and only 17% responded that children could develop HTN. This study offers insight into parents' lack of awareness of childhood HTN. Hence, proper knowledge and understanding of pediatric HTN play a crucial role in early detection and management

Knowledge and Practice About Blood Pressure Measurement in Children: Healthcare Provider’s Perspective: Knowledge About Blood Pressure Measurement

Background and Aim: Hypertension (HTN) has become more prevalent among youngsters.It is frequently under-recognized due to a lack of routine blood pressure measurement in manyhealth centers, partly owing to a shortage of devices and possibly because of the notion that itis not the foremost disease in children. In Bangladesh, there is a scarcity of data on how doctorsview childhood HTN and their practice of measuring blood pressure in children. Methods: This cross-sectional mailed-based survey was done on pediatricians and approved bythe institutional review board of Dr. Khan Shishu Hospital & the Institute of Child Health fromJune to December 2021. We obtained the email addresses of all pediatricians from the BangladeshPediatric Association. Results: Of the 536 pediatricians in the mailing sample, 257 cases responded and the responserate was 47.9%. The majority of respondents (62.4%) were general pediatricians and only 12.2%were pediatric nephrologists. This survey revealed that 77.2% of pediatricians did not measureblood pressure routinely among children 3-18 years of age, whereas 66% reported measuringblood pressure if children had risk factors. Conclusion: The findings of our study point to a knowledge and practice gap among pediatricians,who are primary health care providers, when diagnosing hypertension in children. For childrenaged 3 to 18 years, most pediatricians reported no regular assessment of blood pressure. Mostpediatricians did not repeat blood pressure measurements for diagnosis, nor did they often useblood pressure cuffs or charts for children. These issues need to be addressed for better diagnosisand treatment of childhood HTN

Health-related quality of life and coping strategies adopted by COVID-19 survivors:A nationwide cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to investigate the health-related quality of life and coping strategies among COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 2198 adult, COVID-19 survivors living in Bangladesh. Data were collected from previously diagnosed COVID-19 participants (confirmed by an RT-PCR test) via door-to-door interviews in the eight different divisions in Bangladesh. For data collection, Bengali-translated Brief COPE inventory and WHO Brief Quality of Life (WHO-QoLBREF) questionnaires were used. The data collection period was from October 2020 to March 2021. RESULTS: Males 72.38% (1591) were more affected by COVID-19 than females 27.62% (607). Age showed significant correlations (p<0.005) with physical, psychological and social relationships, whereas gender showed only a significant correlation with physical health (p<0.001). Marital status, occupation, living area, and co-morbidities showed significant co-relation with all four domains of QoL (p<0.001). Education and affected family members showed significant correlation with physical and social relationship (p<0.001). However, smoking habit showed a significant correlation with both social relationship and environment (p<0.001). Age and marital status showed a significant correlation with avoidant coping strategies (p<0.001); whereas gender and co-morbidities showed a significant correlation with problem-focused coping strategies (p<0.001). Educational qualification, occupation and living area showed significant correlation with all three coping strategies(p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Survivors of COVID-19 showed mixed types of coping strategies; however, the predominant coping strategy was avoidant coping, followed by problem-focused coping, with emotion-focused coping reported as the least prevalent. Marital status, occupation, living area and co-morbidities showed a greater effect on QoL in all participants. This study represents the real scenario of nationwide health-associated quality of life and coping strategies during and beyond the Delta pandemic

Demographic, health situation and comorbidities characteristics of the analytic sample.

Demographic, health situation and comorbidities characteristics of the analytic sample.</p

Relationship in between demographic variables with WHO quality of life.

Relationship in between demographic variables with WHO quality of life.</p

Correlation between COPING and QoL by Pearson correlation test.

Correlation between COPING and QoL by Pearson correlation test.</p

Box plot of COPING and QoL.

Box plot of COPING and QoL.</p

Relationship in between demographic variables with COPING strategies.

Relationship in between demographic variables with COPING strategies.</p

STROBE flow diagram of the study.

STROBE flow diagram of the study.</p