Health Sector In Bangladesh Research Articles

Waiting Line System in Health Sector of Bangladesh:

Waiting is inevitable in any service organization. Hence queues are formed. A long queue makes customer dissatisfied whereas increasing server to decrease the length of a queue requires costs. Waiting Line Theory provides a platform to that notion. The health sector of Bangladesh has been facing a bad experience for any citizen of Bangladesh. One of the reasons behind this is the queuing system prevailing in this sector. This paper presents an investigation into the prevailing queuing system in the private practices of Dhaka city. On the basis of investigation suggestions are put forward to improve the situation.

Unveiling End-users' Satisfaction and Actual Use of Blockchain in e-Health: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh

Data safety and security have become threatening issues in the health industry. Against this backdrop, blockchain technology has opened up a new window for healthcare stakeholders. This research aims to enhance the understanding of the factors that influence user satisfaction and actual use behavior of blockchain technology in the electronic health sector in Bangladesh. A convenience sampling collected primary data (270 responses) from nurses, doctors, emergency staff, and laboratory technicians. AMOS and SPSS were used for analysis. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, assessing normality, common method bias, validity, reliability test and regression weight analysis. The findings of this study reveal that the task characteristics, performance expectancy, information quality, and service quality of blockchain are significantly related to end-user satisfaction. Performance expectancy had the greatest weighted influence on satisfaction. End-user satisfaction reflects strong usage behavior towards blockchain technology in Bangladesh. Surprisingly, system quality does not substantially affect user satisfaction derived from blockchain technology. This study analyzes the most critical predictors of satisfaction evoked by using blockchain, particularly relevant to the context of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), such as Bangladesh. To our knowledge, limited studies have yet examined user satisfaction and actual use behavior through the lens of IS success, Task Technology Fit (TTF), and UTAUT models in Bangladesh's e-health sector. This study is anticipated to provide an opportunity for additional investigation into the potential uses of blockchain in the medical field and other commercial sectors.

Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response in Bangladesh: A case study on measuring impact through health information systems

The health sector in Bangladesh is thriving, and the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) program has been in place to investigate the causes of maternal and perinatal death. This study aimed to investigate the availability of information systems for measuring the status of an MPDSR program and the planning process and actions developed based on real-time information. This study delved into innovative information systems that can be used to monitor and measure the impact of health programs. The study included both the primary and secondary data. A total of six key informant interviews were conducted to explore the enablers and strengths of information systems. Secondary data were collected from government websites and MPDSR action plans. This study highlights the potential and challenges of governmental health information systems in notifying maternal and neonatal deaths. While the current notification rates are not up to national standards, it is encouraging to see health managers develop action plans and address this issue. The MPDSR information system is a valuable tool to help health managers measure changes in maternal and perinatal mortality rates and design locally targeted interventions. However, several obstacles must be addressed, such as insufficient data, lack of monitoring, and irregularities in MPDSR review meetings. By finding ways to overcome these challenges, we can unlock the full potential of MPDSR and improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. The success of an MPDSR program relies on how the information is utilized to take action and measure the outcome. Advanced information systems, such as health dashboards, scorecards, and administrative data, can play a vital role in measuring the progress and impact of a program. The primary challenge lies in capturing all deaths, including their causes, and having the capacity to analyze the data effectively to develop action plans for health managers.

Effects of healthcare spending on public health status: An empirical investigation from Bangladesh

The escalation of healthcare spending in many nations, particularly in emerging countries such as Bangladesh, may be largely attributed to the growing demand for healthcare services. Evidently, there has been a significant expansion in the public funding allocated to the health sector in Bangladesh, intending to enhance health outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of healthcare expenditure on health outcomes, specifically focusing on the reduction in different mortality rates and the transmission of various infectious diseases. A total of 30 years of data (1990–2019) on the health sector of Bangladesh were collected from different national and international sources. The Vector Autoregression with Exogenous Variables (VARX) model was employed to determine the effects of healthcare expenditure on health outcomes. Results revealed that the per capita health expenditure and the number of doctors showed a significant positive impact on life expectancy and maternal and child health. Also, the government's annual budget on the health sector and number of doctors had a significant positive impact on lowering deaths by Diphtheria, Cholera, Tuberculosis, and Malaria diseases. In order to develop a sustainable healthcare system within the nation, it is imperative for the government to prioritize the allocation of sufficient and effective healthcare funding to cater to the needs of the populace.

A Survey Study on Disease Rate and Tendency of Taking Treatment of Urban and Rural People in Gaibandha District, Bangladesh

Ever rising prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases a major challenge for the health sector in Bangladesh. Gaibandha district under Rangpur division aggregate population is 23, 79, 255 of which males are 11, 69,127 and females are 12, 10,128 [2]. Among population aged 7 years and over, the literacy rate of this district is 42.8% (Both male and female) in which male 46.3% and female 39.5% [8]. There is a general hospital and six government hospitals and 54 family welfare centers, six Upazila health complex, one maternity and childcare centered tuberculosis clinic in Gaibandha. A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 200 urban and rural people in Gaibandha district within seven Upazila to determine the disease rate and tendency of taking treatment. At offline data were collected face-to-face interview of the selected respondents and also collected by online creating Google form. Almost all respondents gave history of illness of his/her family members during the preceding last six months. Various ages give different level of diseases with significant positive attitude except exorcism and magic treatment. The day-labors remain in risk zone with multi- disciplinary occupational diseases. Asthma is the leading occupational disease. High treatment seeking behavior in businessman is about 6.50% with complementary and traditional treatment. Another leading disease is gastrointestinal disease 8.5%. Sanitation is a big issue about 61.1% where government should give more concentration to improve this worst condition [1]. However, in this study the result found was elaborated throughout the study.

Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder among People in a Remote Area of Bangladesh

Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which are manifested within two years of life. It exhibits difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as repetitive or constrained interests and actions. Autism has already posed significant burden in health sector in Bangladesh. That’s why it is high time to address autism. Objectives: To assess the factors affecting children with ASD and perception of rural people about it. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out from 01 January to 31 December, 2021 among 55 people of different unions of Bauphal Upazila of Patuakhali district. Results: Majority of the autistic children are male (61.82%). In maximum cases, parents and family members were usually the first persons to identify (60%) the autistic symptoms. A good percentage (21.82%) respondents were ignorant about the cause of autism. Most (38.18%) of the children with autism were treated at government hospital. Maximum therapy received by the children is speech therapy (41.82%) and there is partial improvement (54.55%) of autism by applying therapy. Conclusion: This study revealed that most of the parents of autistic child were unaware about its contributory factors and treatment. Even there is scarcity of trained or specialist health professionals. There are also false belief about autism that inhibit people to take proper treatment. JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 18, No 2 (December) 2022: 66-71

Covid 19 corruption in the public health sector - Emerging evidence from Bangladesh.

This paper explores the Covid-19-related corruption in Bangladesh. Specifically, we analyse the issue of Covid-19-related corruption in the health sector of Bangladesh. We also explore how denial strategies adapted by government officials have worsened the problem. Using Cohen's (2001) notion of denial strategies, we analyse media reports during the pandemic that highlighted Covid-19-related corruption occurring in the Bangladeshi health sector. Our analyses reveal that the Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to a new wave of corruption, particularly in the procurement of testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the issuance of false COVID-19 certificates. We call for an in-depth investigation of Covid-19-related corruption in Bangladesh and other developing countries that follows similar social, contextual and cultural values via interviews with policymakers and health professionals. Our paper extends the ongoing debate on Covid-19-related corruption and its impacts on the public health sectors.

Investigation of Prescription Data to Define the Disease Demography of Bangladesh

The prosperity of a country is highly dependent on its public health. Bangladesh is very keen to achieve a sustainable public health sector as a developing country. Bangladesh reached the goal of MDG (Millennium Development Goals) and pursued the goal of SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). Without sound public health, it is impossible to achieve SDG. So, Bangladesh is investing a good amount of money in the public health sector. As a part of this grand vision, this research has been conducted on the disease demography of Bangladesh. An interested pharmaceutical company collected prescription data from all administrative districts of Bangladesh, and weather and population data have been collected as a part of this work. An in-depth analysis of these data has been performed to discover insights into Bangladesh’s disease demography. Finally, a set of recommendations has been presented to assist the public health sector of Bangladesh.

Likelihood of infectious diseases due to lack of exclusive breastfeeding among infants in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a South Asian developing country trying to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-3 and the objective of the Rural Electrification Board (REB) regarding child mortality. Infectious diseases are leading causes of child mortality, and lack of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among infants aged 0-6 months increases child morbidity and mortality from various infectious diseases in developing countries. However, as per existing literature, no study has been conducted yet to determine the lack of EBF practice effect on child mortality in Bangladesh. With this backdrop, the authors intend to measure the likelihood of infectious diseases due to the lack of EBF of infants aged 0-6 months in Bangladesh. This study used Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) data over 1996-97 to 2017-18. The mothers of infants aged 0-6 months who were willingly participated in the BDHSs were considered to include in our analysis. Initially, there were 9,133 cases in the combined dataset. After filtering, there were 5,724 cases in the final dataset. We have considered diarrhea (D), acute respiratory infection (ARI) separately as well as the presence of either D or ARI or both and named as CoDARI as outcome variables. This study used both graphical and statistical techniques (Chi-square test, Wald test, and logistic regression) to analyze the data. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to quantify the likelihood of infectious diseases due to lack of EBF practice and its elasticity, respectively. The EBF practice got a conspicuous increasing trend, but the prevalence of infectious diseases was declined from 0 to 3 months of age of infants, whereas an inverse scenario is observed between 4-6 months. The significance of that inverse relationship was confirmed by p-value corresponding to the chi-square test and the Wald test of the adjusted regression coefficients after adjusting the associated factor's effect on infectious diseases. The adjusted ORs also concluded that the lack of EBF practice up to six months of age could enhance the risk of D, ARI, and CoDARI by 2.11 [95% CI: 1.56-2.85], 1.43 [95% CI: 1.28-1.60], and 1.48 [95% CI: 1.32-1.66] times higher, respectively. Findings of this study emphasize the importance of EBF up to six months of age of infants against diarrhea and ARI specific morbidity and mortality. Our results also agreed to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and National Nutrition Programme of Ethiopia (NNPE) that the EBF practice for the first six months of age could be a best, cost-effective, long-lasting natural preventive way to reduce the child morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases in developing countries. Therefore, findings would help policymakers ensuring the achievement target of REB and SDG-3 associated with the health sector in Bangladesh.

Lifestyle and dietary habits of high school going students in north-eastern part of Bangladesh during COVID-19 Pandemic

Food habits and lifestyle are risk factors of health problem. Moreover, adulthood health depends on adolescent health. A cross-sectional study was designed to know the lifestyle and dietary habits of high school going students during the pandemic. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and data were collected randomly from the students. Descriptive analysis, logistic regression model and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that most of the students fairly follow the lifestyle and dietary habits. It is observed that students who read newspapers daily are 75% more likely to follow the dietary pattern. During a pandemic, most of the high school going students in north-eastern part of Bangladesh were taking protein types food (communality=0.724) and vegetables (communality=0.694) maximum times per week. Students increased their sleeping hours (communality=0.784) and intended to do job (communality=0.781) to help their families during the COVID-19. Moreover, the study also observed some important lifestyle factors like- watching mobile/laptop, connecting social media etc. and most of the students (45%) thought that electronic devices hamper their normal education. Taken together, the findings of this study may be useful to make awareness in the society about the healthy and unhealthy lifestyle as well as food habits. Government and Non-Government organizations should take proper nutritional and health related programs in the high schools that provide healthy lifestyle and food habits for improving the public health sector in Bangladesh. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2021, 7 (4), 359-366

Implementing a digital human resources management tool in the government health sector in Bangladesh: a policy content analysis

IntroductionIn Bangladesh, to address the challenges of ensuring adequate human resources for health (HRH), the government began implementing a digital tool for HRH management in 2017. However, evidence suggests institutionalizing such tools in low-and-middle-income countries is impeded by policy aspects like implementation strategy and poor regulatory framework. Therefore, we aimed to explore factors in the current policy landscape that might facilitate and challenge the implementation of the tool in Bangladesh.MethodsWe conducted a review of policies related to ICT implementation and human resources management in the health sector in Bangladesh using qualitative content analysis method. Ten policies have been identified, and extensive reading was done to ascertain common themes and patterns. A document analysis matrix was developed to synthesize and help interpret the findings.ResultsRegarding facilitators, strong upstream level commitments were reflected in the content of policies in terms of setting out specific objectives, targets, timelines, and budget allocation. However, the lack of explicit monitoring strategy and extent of stakeholders’ engagement was not well-defined, ultimately creating chances for impeding downstream implementation. In addition, effective coordination among stakeholders and different HRH and ICT policies could be strengthened.DiscussionFindings support the current discourse that national commitment plays a vital role in the integration of ICTs in health services. However, well-defined monitoring strategy and inter-ministry and intra-ministry policy coordination are crucial.

The Obstacles to Combat against Covid-19 Pandemic and the Remedies: Bangladesh Scenario.

BackgroundBangladesh has been going through the austerity of the unique COVID-19 for more than a year like several other nations in the world in spite of concerted efforts taken by the government along with other concerned authorities who have advocated compulsory guidelines involving social distancing procedures accompanied by lockdown to have control over the pandemic. In this paper, the barriers faced by the government to protect people from the COVID-19 pandemic have been investigated. Also, the number of daily infected people against the number of daily tests has been underlined to comprehend the overall pandemic picture in Bangladesh.Design and MethodsA descriptive study has been carried out to investigate the obstacles to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic for this country. The intensity of the outbreaks of the pandemic in this country is stated from March 8, 2020, to February 12, 2021. Secondary data have been employed from different sources to serve the goals of the study.ResultsThe poor management in the health sector of Bangladesh has been an issue of major concern during the early stage of COVID-19 which incorporates deficiency of medical equipment, lack of facilities for testing COVID-19, poor patient management, and uncertainty in the medication system. Finally, some recommendations have been proposed for the concerned organizations to tackle the current pandemic and as well in the future.ConclusionsTo control this COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to find the difficulties and discover the remedies which have been done in this paper for the Bangladesh perspective.

Efficiency Across Hospitals in Bangladesh: Results from Stochastic Frontier Analysis

The health sector of Bangladesh achieved many of its goals. The sector, however, faces challenges. One major challenge is low efficiency. In a resourcepoor country, inefficiency leads to the waste of available resources widening the financing gap of the health sector. A technically efficient production unit produces a large amount of output with a given amount of inputs using a given state of technology. Technical efficiency of the district hospitals in Bangladesh is measured using the secondary source of data applying stochastic frontier analysis. Results show that the efficiency of some facilities is quite low and there is a mismatch of utilization rate and efficiency levels of the district hospitals. Measures like reducing absenteeism, increasing healthcare demand, and ensuring proper functioning of all inputs should be taken to enhance the efficiency and utilization of the district hospitals.
 Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 145-159

The obstacles to combat against COVID-19 pandemic and the remedies: Bangladesh scenario

Bangladesh has been going through the austerity of the unique COVID-19 for more than a year like several other nations in the world in spite of concerted efforts taken by the government along with other concerned authorities who have advocated compulsory guidelines involving social distancing procedures accompanied by lockdown to have control over the pandemic. In this paper, the barriers faced by the government to protect people from the COVID-19 pandemic have been investigated. Also, the number of daily infected people against the number of daily tests has been underlined to comprehend the overall pandemic picture in Bangladesh. A descriptive study has been carried out to investigate the obstacles to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic for this country. The intensity of the outbreaks of the pandemic in this country is stated from March 8, 2020, to February 12, 2021. Secondary data have been employed from different sources to serve the goals of the study. The poor management in the health sector of Bangladesh has been an issue of major concern during the early stage of COVID-19 which incorporates deficiency of medical equipment, lack of facilities for testing COVID-19, poor patient management, and uncertainty in the medication system. Finally, some recommendations have been proposed for the concerned organizations to tackle the current pandemic and as well in the future. To control this COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to find the difficulties and discover the remedies which have been done in this paper for the Bangladesh perspective.

The Legal Aspects of Social Safety of Senior Citizens in Bangladesh

This paper explores the vulnerability and sufferings of the old-age people of Bangladesh in respect to health care, economic, and social protections. The article presents an analytical and conceptual approach to the socio-economic status of old-aged people in Bangladesh while focusing on the global context. The numbers of old-aged persons are increasing in the last years due to decreasing mortality rate and increasing life expectancy of the people as a result of improvement of the health sector in Bangladesh. Older persons need food with nutrient, proper and regular healthcare, adequate and comfortable living place, access to law, if necessary, proper recreation and more significantly the company of others which is very crucial in old age. Development of the so-called nucleus family in today‟s modern society, which means a family staying away from their parents, put the aged persons in very miserable conditions in our society. The right to enjoyment of the basic rights by the elderly people is recognized by the Constitution of the People‟s Republic of Bangladesh. This paper focuses on analyzing the National Policy and legal framework for upholding and protecting the rights, socio-economic development, and welfare concerns of elderly people in Bangladesh. There is an endeavor to explore the challenges which are standing as obstacles in ensuring the protection of the rights of old-age people and the development of their socio-economic condition in Bangladesh. Research methods used in this paper are documentation, analytical, comparative, and logical method. Authors tried to show that senior citizen of the society should get legal and moral protection from the family, society, and the state.

Digital opportunities in the healthcare enterprises during COVID-19: An empirical analysis of the developing country

The health sector in Bangladesh is yet to develop and provide universal healthcare services. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the applicability of digitization especially medical robots and blockchain technology can help to improve healthcare enterprises in Bangladesh during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that Bangladesh healthcare enterprises are in a vulnerable situation because of unethical work practices of health workers, the need for medical robots, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology to improve healthcare management. The study suggests that large investment, pro-patient care, corruption-free and ethical services in the healthcare management and service delivery is required, through joint collaboration with the public and the private sectors and also collaborative effort from the foreign sectors to implement the fourth industrial revolution in healthcare enterprises of the country

Alternative Mode of Health Service Delivery

The health sector of Bangladesh has improved a lot in the last decade which can be seen in improved immunization coverage and life expectancy of citizens. But still, there is some disparity between the healthcare system of urban and rural areas as most of the qualified doctors provide their services in urban areas only.telemedicine has an opportunity to play a vital role to reduce this disparity in the healthcare system of Bangladesh. This paper presents the the role of telemedicine in reaching people, especially in COVID pandemic, to provide adequate healthcare service.

Challenges and facilitators of implementation of an information communication and technology (ICT)-based human resources management tool in the government health sector in Bangladesh: protocol for an exploratory qualitative research study

IntroductionTo improve human resources for health (HRH) management in Bangladesh, the directorate general of health services (DGHS) introduced a new information and communications technology (ICT) tool, named ‘human resources information...

Antimicrobial resistance situation in animal health of Bangladesh.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a crucial multifactorial and complex global problem and Bangladesh poses a regional and global threat with a high degree of antibiotic resistance. Although the routine application of antimicrobials in the livestock industry has largely contributed to the health and productivity, it correspondingly plays a significant role in the evolution of different pathogenic bacterial strains having multidrug resistance (MDR) properties. Bangladesh is implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) for containing AMR in human, animal, and environment sectors through “One Health” approach where the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) is the mandated body to implement NAP strategies in the animal health sector of the country. This review presents a “snapshot” of the predisposing factors, and current situations of AMR along with the weakness and strength of DLS to contain the problem in animal farming practices in Bangladesh. In the present review, resistance monitoring data and risk assessment identified several direct and/or indirect predisposing factors to be potentially associated with AMR development in the animal health sector of Bangladesh. The predisposing factors are inadequate veterinary healthcare, monitoring and regulatory services, intervention of excessive informal animal health service providers, and farmers’ knowledge gap on drugs, and AMR which have resulted in the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, ultimate in the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes in all types of animal farming settings of Bangladesh. MDR bacteria with extreme resistance against antibiotics recommended to use in both animals and humans have been reported and been being a potential public health hazard in Bangladesh. Execution of extensive AMR surveillance in veterinary practices and awareness-building programs for stakeholders along with the strengthening of the capacity of DLS are recommended for effective containment of AMR emergence and dissemination in the animal health sector of Bangladesh.

Prescribing Trends in the outpatient Department in A Rural Hospital in Bangladesh

This study was carried out to find the medicine-prescribing pattern in outpatient department of Medicine, Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics in government and private hospitals in Faridpur city, Bangladesh. To see the patterns of prescriptions of 250 patients were collected over a period of three months and analyzed for the average number of drugs per prescription, number of drugs prescribed per prescription, most common diagnosis, most commonly prescribed antibiotics, most commonly prescribed groups of drugs, percentage of drugs prescribed by generic names, percentage of drugs prescribed from Essential Drug List (EDL) of Bangladesh. The average number of medicines per prescription was 4.14 and 48.8% patients were prescribed up to 3 medicines. Only 37.I6% drugs were prescribed from EDL of Bangladesh. Percentage of encounters with an antiulcer ant, a NSAID and a multivitamin & mineral prescribed were 29.25%, 18.15% and 9.84% respectively. It was evident that 73.6% [184] of the prescriptions contained antibiotics. Cefixim and ciprofloxacin were found to be the most preferred antibiotics in physician’s prescriptions survey. The diseases, which were seen in the studies, include cough, typhoid, diarrhea, nausea, chronic UTI, RTI, fever and rhinitis. The result of the present survey indicates that antibiotics are widely and inappropriately practiced without following standard guidelines. This is an alarming condition in the health sector of Bangladesh and therefore, the respective authority should take necessary steps to minimize the harmful effects of antibiotics.