A Rapid Ethnographic Assessment of Cultural and Social Perceptions and Practices About COVID-19 in Bangladesh: What the Policy Makers and Program Planners Should Know.

Anthropological literature on health beliefs and practices related to COVID-19 is scarce, particularly in low and middle-income countries. We conducted a qualitative research on perceptions of COVID-19 among slum residents of Dhaka, Bangladesh from November 2020 through January, 2021. Methods included in-depth interviews and photo elicitation with community residents.

Making doctors stay: Rethinking doctor retention policy in a contracted-out primary healthcare setting in urban Bangladesh.

Background: "Contracting Out" is a popular strategy to expand coverage and utilization of health services. Bangladesh began contracting out primary healthcare services to NGOs in urban areas through the Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP) in 1998. Over the three phases of this project, retention of trained and skilled human resources, especially doctors, proved to be an intractable challenge.

Mental health condition of physicians working frontline with COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh.

Background: The impact of the unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic had triggered new challenges for mental health. This quick survey aimed to identify the mental health status of physicians who served the people during COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Methodology: The cross sectional survey was conducted adopting a quantitative approach and using an online questionnaire through Facebook Platform Group.

Exploring the lived experiences of pregnant women and community health care providers during the pandemic of COVID-19 in Bangladesh through a phenomenological analysis.

Background: Like many countries, the government of Bangladesh also imposed stay-at-home orders to restrict the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (COVID-19) in March, 2020. Epidemiological studies were undertaken to estimate the early possible unforeseen effects on maternal mortality due to the disruption of services during the lockdown. Little is known about the constraints faced by the pregnant women and community health workers in accessing and providing basic obstetric services during the pandemic in the country.

Contracting-out urban primary health care in Bangladesh: a qualitative exploration of implementation processes and experience.

Background: Contracting-out (CO) to non-state providers is used widely to increase access to health care, but it entails many implementation challenges. Using Bangladesh's two decades of experience with contracting out Urban Primary Health Care (UPHC), this paper identifies contextual, contractual, and actor-related factors that require consideration when implementing CO in Low- and Middle- Income Countries.

Methods: This qualitative case-study is based on 42 in-depth interviews with past and present stakeholders working with the government and the UPHC project, as well as a desk review of key project documents.