Migration, Gender, and Families: The Effects of Spousal Migration on Women's Empowerment.

Labor migration has a profound effect on families, but evidence documenting the impact of migration on women left behind is still lacking. Utilizing the Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Surveys, we examined the roles of migration and families in four domains of empowerment for women in Bangladesh. We found that women with international migrant spouses saw significant improvements in economic empowerment, mobility, and decision-making relative to women with coresident spouses (p < .

Antibody longevity and waning following COVID-19 vaccination in a 1-year longitudinal cohort in Bangladesh.

COVID-19 vaccines have been effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death, however, the effectiveness diminishes with time. Here, we evaluated the longevity of antibodies generated by COIVD-19 vaccines and the risk of (re)infection in Bangladeshi population. Adults receiving two doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna or Sinopharm vaccines were enrolled at 2-4 weeks after second dosing and followed-up at 4-monthly interval for 1 year.

Caesarean delivery and neonatal mortality: evidence from selected slums in and around Dhaka city, Bangladesh- A prospective cohort study.

Background: This study examined the neonatal mortality for newborn of women who delivered by caesarean section or vaginally using a prospective cohort.

Methods: A total of 6,989 live births registered from 2016 to 2018, were followed for neonatal survival from the selected slums of Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur city corporations, where icddr,b maintained the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). Neonatal mortality was compared by maternal and newborn characteristics and mode of delivery using z-test.

Preterm birth and neonatal mortality in selected slums in and around Dhaka City of Bangladesh: A cohort study.

Background: Although under-five mortality has declined appreciably in Bangladesh over the last few decades, neonatal mortality still remains high. The objective of the study is to assess the level and determinants of preterm birth and the contribution of preterm birth to neonatal mortality.

Methods: Data for this study came from selected slums in and around Dhaka city, where; since 2015, icddr,b has been maintaining the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS).

Serosurveillance among urban slum and non-slum populations immunized with COVID-19 vaccines in Bangladesh.

Using two rounds of serosurveillance, we aimed to observe the COVID-19 vaccination status and the dynamics of antibody responses to different vaccines among urban slum and non-slum populations of Bangladesh. Adults (>18 years) and children (10-17 years) were enrolled in March and October 2022. Data including COVID-19 vaccine types and dosage uptake were collected.

The effects of spousal migration on perinatal healthcare utilization.

Over the last three decades, out-migration has become a stable source of income for more than 12 million Bangladeshis. Of those migrants, 90% are men. Due to patriarchal cultural norms in Bangladeshi society, the migration of a male spouse may have significant consequences for the social well-being and health of left-behind women.

Factors Associated with Reported COVID-like Symptoms and Seroprevalence Data Matched with COVID-like Symptoms in Slums and Non-Slums of Two Major Cities in Bangladesh.

Objectives: To examine the levels and socio-demographic differentials of: (a) reported COVID-like symptoms; and (b) seroprevalence data matched with COVID-like symptoms.

Methods: Survey data of reported COVID-like symptoms and seroprevalence were assessed by Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. Survey data of 10,050 individuals for COVID-like symptoms and seroprevalence data of 3205 individuals matched with COVID-like symptoms were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic analysis.

Status and Trends of Physical Activity Surveillance, Policy, and Research in 164 Countries: Findings From the Global Observatory for Physical Activity-GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys.

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries.

Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys.

Comparison of the Immune Responses to COVID-19 Vaccines in Bangladeshi Population.

Background: The adaptive immune response is a crucial component of the protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2, generated after infection or vaccination.

Methods: We studied antibody titers, neutralizing antibodies and cellular immune responses to four different COVID-19 vaccines, namely Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna Spikevax, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines in the Bangladeshi population ( = 1780).

Results: mRNA vaccines Moderna (14,655 ± 11.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated factors among Bangladeshi slum and non-slum dwellers in pre-COVID-19 vaccination era: October 2020 to February 2021.

Background: Seroprevalence studies have been carried out in many developed and developing countries to evaluate ongoing and past infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Data on this infection in marginalized populations in urban slums are limited, which may offer crucial information to update prevention and mitigation policies and strategies. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and factors associated with seropositivity in slum and non-slum communities in two large cities in Bangladesh.

Levels, trends and socio-demographic determinants of infant and under-five mortalities in and around slum areas of Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

Infant and child mortality are often used to monitor the progress of national population health programs. The data for this study was collected from selected urban slums where icddr,b has maintained the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). Using the HDSS database, 6,666 married women were selected and interviewed in 2018 to collect data on socioeconomic status, pregnancy history and safe motherhood practices.

Effects of spousal migration on access to healthcare for women left behind: A cross-sectional follow-up study.

Background: Women left behind by migration represent a unique and growing population yet remain understudied as key players in the context of migration and development. Using a unique longitudinal survey of life in Bangladesh, the Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Surveys, we examined the role of spousal migration in healthcare utilization for women. The objective of this study was to assess realized access to care (do women actually get healthcare when it is needed) and consider specific macrostructural, predisposing, and resource barriers to care that are related to migration.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Temporary Foreign Workers from Bangladesh.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an extraordinary threat to the health, safety, and freedom of temporary foreign workers (TFWs). Highly effective vaccines against COVID-19 may hold an outsized benefit for TFWs, particularly those living in congregate settings where protective measures such as social distancing are not possible. While some studies of migrant destination countries have included migrants, no study to date has sought to understand variations in vaccine hesitancy among individuals in a single migrant source population across different destinations.

Thirty-five years later: Long-term effects of the Matlab maternal and child health/family planning program on older women's well-being.

Family planning programs are believed to have substantial long-term benefits for women's health and well-being, yet few studies have established either extent or direction of long-term effects. The Matlab, Bangladesh, maternal and child health/family planning (MCH/FP) program afforded a 12-y period of well-documented differential access to services. We evaluate its impacts on women's lifetime fertility, adult health, and economic outcomes 35 y after program initiation.

Health and well-being of male international migrants and non-migrants in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional follow-up study.

Background: Temporary labor migration is an increasingly important mode of migration that generates substantial remittance flows, but raises important concerns for migrant well-being. The migration and health literature has seen a growing call for longitudinal, binational surveys that compare migrants to relevant non-migrant counterfactual groups in the sending country, in order to answer the basic question "Is migration good for health?" This study compares the health of male international migrants, internal migrants, and non-migrants using a unique representative panel survey of the Matlab subdistrict of Bangladesh.

Methods And Findings: A cohort of 5,072 respondents born 1958-1992 were interviewed in 1996-1997, and reinterviewed in 2012-2014.

Correction to: Association of Time since Migration from Rural to Urban Slums and Maternal and Child Outcomes: Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur City Corporations.

There is an error in Fig 2 in this article: There should not be a box indicating p-values.

Association of Time since Migration from Rural to Urban Slums and Maternal and Child Outcomes: Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur City Corporations.

This study analyzes data from a new Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance (UHDSS) in five slums in Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur City Corporations to examine the relationship between migration status and maternal and child health service utilization. Migration status was determined by duration in urban slums (<= 9.99 years, 10-19.

Time trends and sociodemographic determinants of preterm births in pregnancy cohorts in Matlab, Bangladesh, 1990-2014.

Introduction: Preterm birth is the major cause of under-five mortality. Population-based data on determinants and proportions of children born preterm are limited, especially from low-income countries. This study aimed at assessing time trends and social, reproductive and environmental determinants of preterm births based on a population-based pregnancy cohort over 25 years in rural Bangladesh.

Socio-demographic, health and institutional determinants of caesarean section among the poorest segment of the urban population: Evidence from selected slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Caesarean sections (CS) is the most common lifesaving surgeries for obstructed labour and other emergency obstetrical conditions. The WHO had recommended ideal rate for CS to be between 5% and 15%. The rate higher than 15% indicates overused other than lifesaving.

Correction: Temperature extremes and infant mortality in Bangladesh: Hotter months, lower mortality.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Level and determinants of birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women: A cross sectional study in a rural area in Bangladesh.

Background: Increasing the level of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) is one of the key interventions to promote optimal utilization of skilled maternal health services. It is therefore essential to determine the women's ability to recognize the danger signs and the level of BP/CR. This information can be used to design more effective health interventions.

The Transcriptional Signature of Growth in Human Fetal Aortic Valve Development.

Background: In the second trimester of human fetal development, a tenfold increase in fetal size occurs while cardiac valves grow and retain their function. Patterns of transcription in normally growing human aortic valves are unknown.

Methods: Discarded human aortic valve samples were collected from the second trimester, 6 from early (14, 15, 17 weeks) and 6 from late (20, 21, 22 weeks) gestation.

Variations in disability and quality of life with age and sex between eight lower income and middle-income countries: data from the INDEPTH WHO-SAGE collaboration.

Background: Disability and quality of life are key outcomes for older people. Little is known about how these measures vary with age and gender across lower income and middle-income countries; such information is necessary to tailor health and social care policy to promote healthy ageing and minimise disability.

Methods: We analysed data from participants aged 50 years and over from health and demographic surveillance system sites of the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and their Health Network in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, using an abbreviated version of the WHO Study on global AGEing survey instrument.