COVID-19 Outbreak In Bangladesh Research Articles

Impact of alternative Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions strategies for controlling COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: A modeling study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major health concern in Bangladesh until very recently. Although the Bangladesh government has employed various infection control strategies, more targeted Non-Pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including school closure, mask-wearing, hand washing, and social distancing have gained special attention. Despite significant long-term adverse effects of school closures, authorities have opted to keep schools closed to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection. However, there is limited knowledge about the impact of reopening schools alongside other NPI measures on the course of the epidemic. In this study, we implemented a mathematical modeling framework developed by the CoMo Consortium to explore the impact of NPIs on the dynamics of the COVID-19 outbreak and deaths for Bangladesh. For robustness, the results of prediction models are then validated through model calibration with incidence and mortality data and using external sources. Hypothetical projections are made under alternative NPIs where we compare the impact of current NPIs with school closures versus enhanced NPIs with school openings. Results suggest that enhanced NPIs with schools opened may have lower COVID-19 related prevalence and deaths. This finding indicates that enhanced NPIs and school openings may mitigate the long-term negative impacts of COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. Potential shortcomings and ways to improve the research are also discussed.

Data Forecasting and Comparative Analysis Using SIR Model for COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh and India

The aim of this paper is to analyze data and forecasting of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) using the SIR model in Bangladesh and India. The recovery rate, growth rate, and percentage of daily increment for both countries have been computed. The basic reproduction rate was found to be larger than 1 in both countries. This present study analyzes actual data to predict future susceptibility, recovery, and death till the end of the year. The total deaths, daily deaths, total cases, and daily growth of the two countries for the first wave, and second wave of the Covid outbreak has been compared and shown graphically.

Sociocultural Costs of the Long-term COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh: A Systematic Review.

Beyond the physical transmission of COVID-19, the pandemic has had far-reaching consequences in Bangladesh, including social and cultural implications. This review paper aimed at identifying and synthesizing the costs of COVID-19 on sociocultural issues in Bangladesh. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar up to August 2021. Studies related to the costs of COVID-19 were identified, tabulated, analyzed, and synthesized by using a thematic approach. Our final synthesis of 19 studies resulted in five analytical themes: (i) disruption in education, (ii) loss of everyday social interaction, (iii) increase of "new poor" and suicide, (iv) rise of violence against women, and (v) worsening the life of refugees. Our findings showed that the costs of disruption in education, loss of everyday social interaction, and increase of "new poor" and suicide were more evident. Finally, we recommend the government and the community to adopt some integrated actions and policies to combat the problems in improving Bangladeshi sociocultural situations.

COVID-19 Awareness through Visual Communication: A Comparative Analysis on the Facebook Pages of NGOs and Media in Bangladesh

This study aims to present a comparative analysis on the nature and characteristics of visual awareness messages disseminated through Facebook pages of NGOs and media at the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. A total number of 242 video and 116 image contents have been collected from three media and three non-governmental organizations and examined through their total received views and reactions. The findings show that the contents of media received more views and reactions than the contents of non-governmental organizations (NGO), whereas the NGO’s contents were more diverse than media contents. Among the awareness-building contents explainer video, infographic video and image, and videos with the presence of celebrity received higher views and reactions than others.

The psychometric properties of the Bangla Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): preliminary reports from a large-scale validation study

BackgroundThe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) is the most widely used screening tool in assessing posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders (DSM-5) criteria. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly translated Bangla PCL-5.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out among 10,605 individuals (61.0% male; mean age: 23.6 ± 5.5 [13–71 years]) during May and June 2020, several months after the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. The survey included the Bangla PCL-5 and the PHQ-9 depression scale. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test the four-factor DSM-5 model, the six-factor Anhedonia model, and the seven-factor hybrid model.ResultsThe Bangla PCL-5 displayed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90). The Bangla PCL-5 score was significantly correlated with scores of the PHQ-9 depression scale, confirming strong convergent validity. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated the models had a good fit to the data, including the four-factor DSM-5 model, the six-factor Anhedonia model, and the seven-factor hybrid model. Overall, the seven-factor hybrid model exhibited the best fit to the data.ConclusionsThe Bangla PCL-5 appears to be a valid and reliable psychometric screening tool that may be employed in the prospective evaluation of posttraumatic stress disorder in Bangladesh.

Public Perception on Quarantine During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh: A Community Survey-Based Study

Backgrounds: The usage of quarantine emphasizes the complex interaction between the human rights of the citizen and the collective rights of the community. Therefore, the public’s views and expectations about quarantine to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 were explored in this report. Results: The findings of this study show widespread public support for the use of quarantine and legal sanctions for those who do not comply with the regulations. However, this assistance is conditional on applying regulatory provisions to prevent improper usage and the offering of psychosocial support to those impacted. Conclusions: When quarantine cannot be implemented, public health policymakers and government leaders can introduce a robust service scheme. They can implement a comprehensive infrastructure of psychosocial care to protect, instruct, and educate frontline public health staff. The public can also be invited to participate in an open discussion about the ethical efficacy of restrictive principles during this COVID-19 pandemic.

MFS usage intention during COVID-19 and beyond: an integration of health belief and expectation confirmation model

Purpose The usage rate of mobile financial services (MFS) has shown an uptick since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. This study aims to reveal the underpinning reasons for such MFS surge and its continuance by integrating health belief model (HBM) and expectation confirmation model (ECM).Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes 529 MFS users' responses during the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh using the partial least square method.Findings Satisfaction is more predictive than perceived usefulness in explaining continuance usage intention. Expectation confirmation also indirectly affects continuance intention. Among the HBM constructs, the indirect effect of perceived severity on continuance intention via perceived usefulness and satisfaction is significant. Besides, the impact of self-efficacy on continuance intention is also significant. Moreover, perceived credibility significantly affects satisfaction and indirectly affected continuance usage intention via satisfaction.Practical implications The study projects boosting customers' satisfaction is critical for the successful retention of existing MFS customers. MFS service providers should emphasize the factors that amplify satisfaction. They must evaluate preadoption factors so that customers can have positive confirmation. Especially, the service providers, the policymakers and the regulators should take an active role in improving the users' self-efficacy and the system's credibility. Undertaking the MFS literacy program, installing hotline service to provide emergency help will boost users' confidence in using the system.Originality/value The study is a unique contribution in the context of Bangladesh. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous MFS studies in Bangladesh explored MFS continuance usage intention during COVID-19 and beyond. Besides, the inclusion of “perceived credibility” in the framework will supplement the earlier studies conducted on this aspect.

Vulnerabilities of older adults and mitigation measures to address COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: A review.

The infection with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had an extremely negative influence on public health and the global economy. Covid-19 infection is more likely to affect the elderly than younger people, and pre-existing medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and respiratory diseases, might lead to death due to COVID-19 infection. In low-income, developing, and highly dense countries like Bangladesh, the aging population is particularly vulnerable to the pandemic due to inadequate health services, socio-economic circumstances, environmental settings, religious and cultural beliefs, personal cleanliness habits, and a contemplative approach to infectious disease. Besides, recent cyclones and floods have combined effects on older people's increasing vulnerabilities. In this study, we reviewed and examined the vulnerabilities of older adults to the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. Different mitigation measures are discussed to protect the elderly from the adverse effect of the pandemic. This study proposes several steps to reinforce the commitment to social care and health care services to guarantee well-being, encourage preventive measures, and increase access to older people's health services in Bangladesh. The core findings will provide a valuable guideline for older adults, scientists, and policymakers to take effective long-term measures to mitigate the pandemic's risk.

A fractional order model of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh.

In this study, we propose a Caputo-based fractional compartmental model for the dynamics of the novel COVID-19. The dynamical attitude and numerical simulations of the proposed fractional model are observed. We find the basic reproduction number using the next-generation matrix. The existence and uniqueness of the solutions of the model are investigated. Furthermore, we analyze the stability of the model in the context of Ulam-Hyers stability criteria. The effective numerical scheme called the fractional Euler method has been employed to analyze the approximate solution and dynamical behavior of the model under consideration. Finally, numerical simulations show that we obtain an effective combination of theoretical and numerical results. The numerical results indicate that the infected curve predicted by this model is in good agreement with the real data of COVID-19 cases.

Observing online news portals activities and responsibilities during Covid-19

This study observes the significant roles and responsibilities of online news portals during this Covid-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. The findings and result analysis of this study manifest the tasks along with the activities which online news portals pose specifically in a pandemic situation are on the satisfactory level. Through the use of two theories and a quantitative approach this study attempted to distinguish how people think of these portals as a potential media in creating awareness. People seem to prefer online news portals more than other media for getting covid-19 related news which lead them to believe and depend on what these portals offer actually. On the other hand, sometimes these online news portals also teem with some fear regarding moral panic, misinformation and rumors, even sometimes news with full of confusing, repetitive with inadequate reporting languages. Despite having all confusion, respondents of this study think online news portals have played a responsible role to keep the mass people updated during the Covid-19 situation especially in that situation where the whole world was facing an emergency lock down.

Observing online news portals activities and responsibilities during Covid-19

This study observes the significant roles and responsibilities of online news portals during this Covid-19 outbreakin Bangladesh. The findings and result analysis of this study manifestthe tasks along withthe activities which online news portals posespecifically in a pandemic situationare on the satisfactory level. Through the use of two theories and a quantitative approach thisstudy attempted todistinguishhow people think of these portals as a potential media in creating awareness. People seem to prefer online news portalsmore than other mediafor getting covid-19related newswhichlead them to believeand depend onwhat these portals offeractually. On the other hand, sometimestheseonline news portalsalso teemwithsome fear regarding moral panic, misinformation and rumors, even sometimes news withfull of confusing, repetitive withinadequate reporting languages. Despite having all confusion, respondents of this study think online news portals have played a responsible roleto keep the mass people updated during the Covid-19 situation especially in that situation where the whole worldwas facing an emergency lock down

COVID-19 Pandemic Social Media and Stress

Last few years, SARS-coronavirus 2 is sweeping the globe and millions of people are being infected and died. In this situation, citizens and health-care workers would be put in danger if there is a lack of consciousness, knowledge and preparation during this crisis. At the same time, a vast amount of potentially damaging misinformation is spreading at a faster rate than the virus itself. The most of these false rumours are spread via social media. This paper focuses on the COVID-19 linked huge rumour, stigma and conspiracy theories disseminating on the social media during pandemic in Bangladesh perspective. An internet-based interview and primary data was quantitatively analyzed for survey of this paper. The findings demonstrate that social media plays a crucial role in the diffusion of information about the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh, including bewilderment, anxiety and panic. This study also revealed that Bangladeshi youth society has the higher levels of stress especially among those who followed the news of pandemic in social networks compared to the rest of the population. Another noteworthy finding is that social media was particularly helpful in reducing anxiety and alienation by allowing the general people to stay in touch with friends, family and others via audio-visual group chat. Different aspects of social networking sites use are also described.

Reactions to the media coverage during the first wave of COVID-19 in Bangladesh

BackgroundThe news media play a critical role in disseminating accurate and reliable information during an outbreak like COVID-19, especially in LMICs. Studying how people react and reflect on the information provided and how it affects their trust in health systems is essential for effective risk communication. This study was undertaken to explore and analyse newspaper readers’ reactions to the unfolding news of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh and how this affected and shaped their compliance with the mitigation measures advised by the Government. MethodsWe collected readers’ comments on relevant news and features on the COVID-19 outbreak (n = 1,055) which were posted in the online versions of the four top circulating Bangla newspapers and one online news portal published during Jan.–Apr. 2020. A search protocol was developed and a team of three researchers searched and extracted data for content analysis according to some pre-determined study themes. ResultsData analysis revealed several characteristics with implications for risk-communication: a faith-based and fatalistic attitude to the unfolding pandemic, a “denial” syndrome in the initial stage, a returning expatriate-bashing for specific countries, and a concern about the safety of the frontline health workers. The readers were resentful of the all-pervasive corruption in the health sector even in times of a pandemic and the Government's poorly coordinated, fragmented, and delayed COVID-19 response. The pandemic severely shook their trust in the already weak health system and perceived it to be incompetent, corrupt, and non-responsive. They had deplorable personal and family experiences while seeking treatment for COVID-19 patients. Expert committees were formed to advise the Government, but few recommendations were implemented on the ground. This helpless scenario made people sharply critical of the political leadership, especially for the failure of providing stewardship at the moment of crisis. ConclusionsThe COVID-19 related information reaching the people, including misinformation, disinformation, and rumours was equivocal in the early months of the pandemic and failed to build the trust and transparency that is necessary for an inclusive response across constituencies. The Government should pay attention and weightage to people's perceptions about its COVID-19 response and take appropriate measures to re-build trust for implementing pandemic control measures.

Impact of lockdown on musculoskeletal health due to COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: A cross sectional survey study

BackgroundDuring the nationwide lockdown implemented by the government of Bangladesh due to the coronavirus, has led to the various changes in the overall activities and lifestyle. Most of the people began living a sedentary lifestyle, spending more time on their phone, watching television and excessive sleeping. Reduction of physical activity level had profoundly negative impact on musculoskeletal health. AimThis study aims to investigate the impact of lockdown on musculoskeletal health, association between leisure and musculoskeletal pain during this period. MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted among general populations living in a specific area of Bangladesh by simple random sampling methods. A total of 230 participants both male (182) and female (48) age group between 18-60 years have participated. The study was carried out by sending the Google Form link containing demographic questionnaire, numeric pain rating scale and Nordic musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Wilcoxon sign rank t and Chi squire test was used to analyze the data. ResultsThe mean height, weight and BMI of the participants were 164.17 ± 8.40 cm, 63.82 ± 10.70 kg and 23.74 ± 3.97 kg/m2 respectively. There was significant increase in time spent in watching television (p= < 0.0001), using smartphone (p= < 0.0001) and sleeping (p= < 0.0001) during the lockdown period. 33.9% participants had pain before the lockdown which increased by 57% during the lockdown periods. There was a significant association between pain intensity and sleeping time (X2 = 54.84; p= < 0.0001), time spent watching television (X2 = 83.70; <0.0001), time spent on smartphone (X2 = 58.39; <0.0001) during the lockdown period. ConclusionThe result of this study concluded that the lockdown has negatively impacted the musculoskeletal health of the participants. The musculoskeletal pain might be short term initially, but can develop to be a long-term problem and burden if proper measures are not taken.

Creative social media use for Covid-19 prevention in Bangladesh: a structural equation modeling approach.

In recent years, information dissemination has been quicker than earlier years with the sky-high development of diverse social media platforms, e.g., Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and so on, which are more used in creative production. This advancement of social media disclosures has numerous merits and demerits to prevent and control contagious diseases like the Covid-19 pandemic. In this respect, this research scrutinizes the role of creative social media use in preventing the Covid-19 outbreak in Bangladesh utilizing the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. To this end, this study uses an online survey from June to October 2020 engaging 265 (N = 265) Bangladeshi people as respondents at different ages. The study results establish that creative social media use helps enhance the knowledge of Covid-19 precautions online, and this pertinent knowledge contributes to preventing Covid-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. It implies that creative social media use has a significant indirect effect on Covid-19 prevention, whereas knowledge of Covid-19 precautions online mediates this relationship between creative social media use and Covid-19 prevention. The results also discover that the educational level of the people has a significant direct and positive impact on Covid-19 prevention. Therefore, the study suggests more creative use of social media in preventing the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in Bangladesh.

Mental Health of Physicians During COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

There have been numerous studies about the health implication of COVID-19 on patients, but little attention has been paid to the impacts of the pandemic on physicians. Our paper attends to this gap by exploring the mental health of physicians in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly important since the mental health of physicians impacts not only on themselves, but also their professional performance and hence the care of patients. This study examined physicians' mental health outcomes by evaluating the prevalence and associated potential risk factors of anxiety and depression. Using a web-based cross-sectional survey, we collected data from 114 physicians. Seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and Nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were used to measure the anxiety and depression, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore the potential risk factors related to anxiety and depression. The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 32.5 and 34.2%, respectively. Findings revealed that marital status, work per day and current job location were the main risk factors for anxiety while sex, age, and marital status were the main risk factors for depression. Our results highlight the need to implement policies and strategies for positively impacting the mental health of physicians during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A study to assess the level of anxiety and stress among health-care professionals during the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Background: The health-care professionals are at high risk of getting infection of COVID-19 due to the highly interactivity of the disease. The virulence of the disease causes huge stress among health-care professionals. Aim: Our study aimed to find out the level of stress and fear among health-care professionals due to COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a structured questionnaire containing demographic data, Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and factor causing stress. A total number of 146 participants, both male and female, were participated in this study. We utilized Google Platform to construct the questionnaire and virtual snowball sampling method to collect the data. Results: The mean age, height, and weight of the participants were 27.52 ± 6.10, 162.53 ± 10.67, and 64.75 ± 10.89, respectively. The mean score of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was 23.57 ± 5.38, ranging from 27 to 38 and the mean score of FCV-19S was 24.27 ± 6.27, ranging from 7 to 35. The participants those who are living with their family are at significant level of stress (P = 0.041) that they can affect their family members. Conclusion: The health-care professionals are in highly stressed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Stress management strategies should be taken as a preventive measure to overcome the further serious situation.

COVID-19 Breaking News in the Print Media in Bangladesh: People's Reactions to the Evolving Pandemic, and Perceptions Regarding Government's Response, in the First Four Months

Background: The news media play a critical role in disseminating accurate and reliable information during an outbreak like COVID-19, especially in LMICs. Studying how people react and reflect on the information provided and how it affects their trust in the health systems, are important for designing effective risk communication. This study was undertaken to explore and analyse newspaper readers’ reactions to the unfolding news of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh and how this affected and shaped their compliance with the mitigation measures advised by the government.Methods: We collected readers’ comments on relevant news and features on the COVID-19 outbreak (n=1,055) which were posted in the online versions of the four top circulating Bangla newspapers and one online news portal published during Jan.-Apr. 2020. A search protocol was developed and a team of three researchers searched and extracted data for content analysis according to some pre-determined study themes.Results: Analysis of data revealed several characteristics with implications for risk-communication: a faith-based and fatalistic attitude to the unfolding pandemic, a “denial” syndrome in the initial stage, a returning expatriate-bashing for specific countries, and a concern about the safety of the frontline health workers. The readers were resentful of the all-pervasive corruption in the health sector even in times of a pandemic and the Government’s poorly coordinated, fragmented, and delayed COVID-19 response. The pandemic severely shook their trust in the already weak health system and perceived it to be incompetent, corrupt, and non-responsive. They had deplorable personal and family experiences while seeking treatment for COVID-19 patients. Expert committees were formed to advise the government, but few recommendations were implemented on the ground. This helpless scenario made people sharply critical of the political leadership, especially for the failure of providing stewardship at the moment of crisis.Conclusions: The COVID-19 related information () reaching the people including misinformation, disinformation, and rumours was equivocal in the early months of the pandemic and failed to build the trust and transparency that is necessary for an inclusive response across constituencies. The government should pay attention and weightage to people’s perceptions about its COVID-19 response and take appropriate measures to re-build trust for implementing pandemic control measures.Funding Information: The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interest.Ethics Approval Statement: The very nature of the data (readers’ reactions and comments) did not allow us to get individual consent for participation. Also, the reactions/comments were posted by name only without an address, thus further follow-up being impossible. However, the study followed ethical principles in conducting the study and the confidentiality of the data was strictly maintained by the study team and the readers’ reactions /comments were used anonymously for research purposes only.

The durable socio-economic status in the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh

The durable socio-economic status in the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh

Mental Health Status of Pregnant Women and Breastfeeding Mothers During COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh

In March 2020, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a public health emergency of international concern. Studies have suggested a higher prevalence of mental health problems during this pandemic among the general population in Bangladesh. However, there was no information regarding the mental health problems of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers as this pandemic poses a threat to these specific population's mental health. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess pregnant and breastfeeding women's mental health status during the COVID 19 pandemic in Bangladesh. In the present study, data were collected from a sample of 201 pregnant women and 279 breastfeeding mothers via an online survey. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale -21 (DASS-21) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were utilized to assess the mental problems in this study. Results suggested 39.31% had moderate to extremely severe depression symptoms, 43.29% had moderate to extremely severe anxiety symptoms, 28.86% moderate to extremely severe stress symptoms, and 11.42% COVID-19 anxiety symptoms among pregnant women. For the breastfeeding mothers, these ratios were 39.78%, 36.98%, 26.16%, and 12.90%, respectively. Breastfeeding mothers who were students had higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms compared to housewives and job holder mothers. Mothers who gave birth for the first time had a higher depression ratio than mothers who had previously delivered babies. These findings suggested the strong need for heightened assessment and treatment of mental health for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers during the current pandemic.Funding: None to declare. Declaration of Interest: None to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: The Ethical Review Committee of the Noakhali University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, has approved this study (ERB No: 66/2021, dated: 10/02/2021). This study was carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.