Exploring the decision-making power of Bangladeshi women of reproductive age: Results from a national survey

Empowerment is personal, multi-dimensional and latent phenomenon that is difficult to measure directly. Bangladesh is a developing country in South Asia and women population  of the country is almost equal to the male with the male dominant norms. It was aimed to look into the decision making authority and gender role of Bangladeshi women of reproductive age group. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2014 data was used for the study. A total of 17,863 women of reproductive age were included in this study. The mean age of the respondents was 31 years. About 23.5% respondents had no education and only 11.6% completed primary education. It was found that 68.5% respondents were working and about 73.6% respondents had no NGO (non-governmental organization) membership. Respondents from richest background were more likely to take their own decisions. Urban residence and with higher educational attainment were more likely to take their own decisions. Working status and membership to NGO are significantly associated with decision making power of women. The study revealed that women from urban area, with NGO membership and employed were more empowered. Poor attainment of primary education, low employment, and few NGO memberships are seemed to be the hindrance in women empowerment in Bangladesh. Keywords: Women empowerment, Decision-making, Health seeking behavior, BDHS, Bangladesh

Health Problems and Health Care Seeking Behaviour of Rohingya Refugees

Background: Rohingya refugees are one of the most vulnerable group due to lack of health care system, personal hygiene, shelter, sanitation and violence. Aim: The present study aims to find out the health problems and health care seeking behavior of rohingya refugees, to identify the socio-demographic information for such exposure group in relation to age, sex, occupation, living areas, to explore the patient’s physical, emotional, perceptions, attitudes and environmental health problems and to bring out health care seeking behavior of refugees. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 149 samples were selected conveniently for this study from the refugee camps. Data was collected by using mixed type of questionnaire. Descriptive statistic was used for data analysis which has depicted through tables, pie chart and bar chart. Results: The finding of the study showed that 45.6% participants had multiple problems, followed by 16.8% participants who had other specific problems like musculoskeletal pain, visual problems and peptic ulcer. Urinary tract infection was the leading individual health problem with 11.4% of the sample group having it. 10.7% participants had hypertension, 6% had respiratory tract infection, 3.4% had nutrition deficiency, 4.75% had diabetes mellitus and 1.3% had sanitation & hygiene problems. Among the participants, 68.4% age ranged between 15-59 years. The study showed that, only 16.1% participants were satisfied with the quality of service they received while 37.6% participants said that they needed better services such as more laboratory test, radiological imaging, more medicine and more doctors. Conclusion: It is clear that refugees suffered from a variety of health problems, because their living condition and environmental situation were not similar like an independent nation. Further, basic amenities like medicines and other services were not available

THE RISING SCOURGE OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND INFODEMIC: AN OUTCOME OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND COVID-19

COVID-19 was accompanied with the increasing broadcast of fake news, misinformation and excessive information via social media platforms. This phenomenon has been termed “infodemic”, to describe an overwhelming amount of mostly fake, false or inaccurate information which spreads rapidly and impacts negatively on achieving a solution. It would therefore be desirable to use a cautious approach which utilizes culturally sensitive and country specific measures to deal with this occurrence. We aim to raise awareness, likewise draw the attention of global scientific community on this topic of public and mental health concern and it calls for further comments on this issue

Patient Satisfaction in Chamber Setting in Bangladesh measured by Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9 Bangla)

Background: Assessment of patient satisfaction is crucial but there is significant lagging in this sector. Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of health care quality as well as a predictor of treatment adherence. The Good patient-doctor relationship is considered as an integral part of the patient satisfaction. In Bangladesh, this domain is yet to be explored in a large scale. Aim: It was aimed to look into the patient satisfaction level in chamber setting in Bangladesh measured using the patient-doctor relationship questionnaire (PDRQ-9 Bangla). Methods: PDRQ-9 is a short yet excellent tool for assessing the patient-doctor relationship. The data collection was done in private chamber setting by the PDRQ-9 and analyzed. Results: Though the result was not completely in line with the existing literature, the PDRQ-9 was found to be a useful and brief measurement tool in the context of the patient-doctor relationship. Conclusion: Large-scale research in this particular aspect of patient satisfaction in future may provide a more succinct resul

Medical Representative in Bangladesh: a Job with Different Pattern

Pharmaceutical industry is one of the progressive sectors in Bangladesh economy and medical representatives play important role in achieving the company sales target. There is paucity of literatures in this field. Therefore, it was aimed to describe the daily job life of a medical representative based on close observations. Authors gained insights from unstructured interview of medical representatives, marketing personnel, training department personnel of the representative and top executives of pharmaceutical companies. Medical representatives are working with intense sales pressure, very little holiday, huge job insecurity and very little time to be with family in a biphasic job schedule. This article will provide a glimpse to the job seekers to compare their options and hope to draw attention of the policy makers to make the job more attractive.Keywords:Pharma marketing, Medical Representatives, Reps, Banglades

An adolescent girl with giant fibroadenoma – A case report

Though fibroadenoma is the most common benign tumor of the breast and is more common under the age of 30, giant fibroadenoma is rare representing less than 4% of all fibroadenomas. A 12 years old girl presented with rapidly enlarging well-circumscribed firm, non-tender mass in right breast for 2 months which was painless and with no history of trauma, nipple discharge, fever, anorexia, weight loss or axillary lymphadenopathy. There was no family history of neoplasms. Clinically, the lump was about 12 x 12 cm and not fixed to skin or underlying structures with the absence of nipple retraction or discharge. There was no axillary lymphadenopathy. Fine needle aspiration cytology showed a benign proliferative breast disease. Total excision of mass was done preserving nipple and areola having weight of 535 gm with histopathological features suggestive of giant fibroadenoma. Giant fibroadenoma is a benign breast disease that may mimic rare malignant lesion. So, breast and nipple conserving surgery should always be performed irrespective of size of tumor as in this case

Nastoletnia pacjentka z gruczolakowłókniakiem olbrzymim – opis przypadku

Gruczolakowłókniak jest najczęściej występującym łagodnym guzem piersi i częściej dotyczy pacjentek poniżej 30. roku życia, natomiast gruczolakowłókniak olbrzymi jest rzadko spotykanym guzem, stanowiącym mniej niż 4% wszystkich gruczolakowłókniaków. Do szpitala zgłoszona została 12-letnia dziewczynka z szybko powiększającą się, dobrze odgraniczoną, twardą, nietkliwą masą utrzymującą się od dwóch miesięcy w piersi prawej. Zmiana była niebolesna, w wywiadzie brak urazu, wydzieliny z brodawki sutkowej, gorączki, zaburzeń łaknienia, utraty masy ciała lub powiększenia węzłów chłonnych pachowych. Wywiad rodzinny w kierunku chorób nowotworowych ujemny. W badaniu klinicznym guz wielkości 12 x12 cm, nie przytwierdzony do skóry lub struktur podskórnych, bez wciągnięcia brodawki sutkowej lub wydzieliny z brodawki sutkowej. Powiększenia węzłów chłonnych pachowych nie stwierdzono. Badanie cytologiczne biopsji aspiracyjnej cienkoigłowej wykazało łagodną chorobę proliferacyjną piersi. Przy zachowaniu brodawki sutkowej i otoczki, wykonano całkowite wycięcie masy (535 g) o cechach histopatologicznych wskazujących na gruczolakowłókniaka olbrzymiego. Gruczolakowłókniak olbrzymi jest łagodnym guzem piersi, który może naśladować rzadkie nowotwory złośliwe. W związku z tym, należy zawsze stosować leczenie chirurgiczne oszczędzające pierś i brodawkę sutkową, niezależnie od wielkości guza, jak w tym przypadku