Burden of Misconception in Sexual Health Care Setting: A Cross-Sectional Investigation among the Patients Attending a Psychiatric Sex Clinic of Bangladesh

Background. Bangladesh is a country in South Asia with about 160 million people and achieved health related Millennium Development Goals (MDG) significantly. But sexual health is still an untapped issue with predominant myths and misconception. Objective. We aimed to look into the proportions of patients attending sexual health care services due to misconceptions. Methods. The descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 110 patients attending Psychiatric Sex Clinic (PSC) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. Respondents were included in the study with convenient sampling from November 2016 to March 2017. Data were collected through face-to-face interview with semistructured preformed, pretested questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software 16.0 version. Results. Most of the patients (93%) were male, 60% were married, 62% were urban habitant, 42% were under grade 10, and 33% were service holder. Total 55% of the patients had misconceptions and 29% visited only for misconception; 14% had Premature Ejaculation; and 12% had desire disorder. 32% of the patients had psychiatric disorders and among them depression was most common, 13%. Conclusion. Positive openness in sexual health and appropriate strategy should be taken to improve the quality of sexual life as well as reduce the misconception in the people of Bangladesh

Demography and Risk Factors of Suicide in Bangladesh: A Six-Month Paper Content Analysis

Background. Suicide is a global public health problem too often neglected by researchers and Bangladesh is not an exception. There is no suicide surveillance and nationwide study is yet to be conducted in the country. Objectives. This paper aimed to look into suicide based on newspaper reporting in Bangladesh focusing on the demographic variables and risk factors. Methods. 6 national newspapers were scrutinized from November 2016 to April 2017. Data were checked, cross-checked, and then analyzed with SPSS software. Results. In a duration of six months, a total of 271 cases were reported; age was found to be in the range of 11–70 years (26.67±13.47). 61% of the reported cases were below 30 years of age, 58% were female, 24% were students, 17% were house makers, 61% were from rural background, and 45% were married. Hanging was found to be the commonest method (82.29%); marital and familial discord remained a noticeable risk factor (34.32%). Family members and neighbors noticed 103 cases, and only 3 cases were found to have suicide notes. Conclusion. Suicide is an underattended public health problem in Bangladesh with few researches and paucity of literature. Establishment of national suicide surveillance is now a time demanded step

Level and Associated Factors of Literacy and Stigma of Suicide among Bangladeshi Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Assessment

Objectives. Literacy and stigma of suicide among doctors affect health-service delivery for persons with suicidal behavior. However, no attempt has been identified to assess those among physicians in Bangladesh. We aimed to determine the level and associated factors of suicide literacy and stigma toward suicide among physicians in Bangladesh. Methods. We collected data from 203 physicians in February 2022 by Google Forms. We used the Bangla literacy of suicide scale (LOSS-B) and the Bangla stigma of suicide scale (SOSS-B) to assess the literacy and stigma of suicide. The instrument also included questions for collecting sociodemographic variables and assessing suicidal behavior. Results. The mean age of the physicians was 34.17±7.86 (range 23–66) years, 109 (53.7%) were females, 150 (73.9%) were married, and 181 (89.2%) were Muslim. The mean LOSS-B score was 5.9±1.96 (range 1-10). Suicide literacy was higher in singles (p=0.013), doctors with a family history of suicide (p=0.018), a history of suicidal thought in lifetime (p≤0.001), and in the last year (p=0.03). Muslims (p=0.017) and city dwellers (p=0.021) had higher scores in the stigma subscale of SOSS-B whilst respondents with history of mental illness had a significantly lower level of stigma (p≤0.006). The stigma and isolation subscales were positively correlated indicating a higher value stigma creates higher isolation (p≤0.001). No relationship between suicide literacy and suicide stigma was identified among the physicians. Conclusions. Suicide literacy among the physicians of Bangladesh is low albeit higher than the level among the students. Appropriate programs should be designed to improve the status quo because physicians play fundamental roles as health-service providers as well as gatekeepers in suicide prevention