Abstract
ObjectivesA population survey was conducted in an urban shantytown in Bangladesh, as a baseline study of future epidemiological studies. This paper aims to describe the findings of the study, including the population profile and residential environment of the urban poor.MethodsWe conducted a complete count household survey in an urban poor community in Dhaka. Using a brief structured questionnaire in Bengali language, trained interviewers visited each household and asked questions such as: duration of residence; ownership of house, toilet and kitchen; water supply; number of family members; age, sex, education, occupation, tobacco use, and history of diseases of each family member.ResultsWe found that there were 8604 households and 34,170 people in the community. Average number of household members was 4.0. Most people had access to safe water, but only 16% lived in the house with a toilet. Based on the proxy indicators of household wealth levels, we identified that about 39% were relatively well-off, while the rest were very poor. Tobacco use was prevalent in men regardless of age and in women aged over 35 years. Prevalence of self-reported hypertension and diabetes was slightly higher in women than in men, although over 70% of the respondents didn’t know if they had such diseases. Incidences of diarrhea in the last one month were relatively low.ConclusionsThe study showed population profile and sanitation environment in an urban poor community by a complete count survey. We expect the study to serve as a baseline for future epidemiological studies.
Highlights
Bangladesh is a lower-middle income country in South Asia, with over 160 million population in 2015 [1]
Previous surveys on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors in Bangladesh showed that the prevalence was higher in urban areas than in rural areas [3,4,5,6,7], and NCDs were prevalent even among the poor in a rural area [8]
This paper aims to describe the findings of the baseline study, including population profile, residential sanitation environment, and prevalence of self-reported NCD risk factors among the urban poor
Summary
Bangladesh is a lower-middle income country in South Asia, with over 160 million population in 2015 [1]. Urban population in Bangladesh is rapidly increasing, as indicated by 3.4% annual urban population growth in comparison with 1.2% population growth in the whole nation in 2015. Infectious diseases are still prevalent in Bangladesh, mostly due to poor sanitation environment. The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing: age-standardized mortality rates of all NCDs, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes were 548.9, 166.2, and 29.8 per 100,000 population in 2012, respectively [2]. Previous surveys on NCD risk factors in Bangladesh showed that the prevalence was higher in urban areas than in rural areas [3,4,5,6,7], and NCDs were prevalent even among the poor in a rural area [8]
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