Publications by authors named "Halim Abdul"

In Bangladesh, Midwife Led Birthing Centres (MLBCs) have been established to provide midwifery care and sexual and reproductive health services for the displaced Rohingya population in Cox's Bazar. The aim of this study was to explore MLBCs in this humanitarian context from the perspectives of women, midwives, and other key stakeholders. A mixed-method case study was conducted at one of the MLBCs within the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.

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The rise in the number of facility-based births in Bangladesh has been accompanied by a caesarean section (CS) epidemic. The current CS rate is 45% and while many are performed when medically unnecessary, there is still maternal mortality due to lack of access to CS. A significant contributor to the rising CS rates in Bangladesh is repeat CS.

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The government of Bangladesh has initiated Adolescent Friendly Health Services (AFHS) at health facilities to improve access of adolescents to quality health care. This study aimed to document the AFHS program experiences and interventions implemented in four districts of Bangladesh. The study adopted review of literature, relevant project documents, research reports and analysis of secondary data on AFHS.

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Pandemics like COVID-19 have illuminated the significant disparities in the performance of national healthcare systems (NHCSs) during rapidly evolving crises. The challenge of comparing NHCS performance has been a difficult topic in the literature. To address this gap, our study introduces a bi-criteria longitudinal algorithm that merges fuzzy clustering with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses how Midwife-led birth centres (MLBCs) offer a viable alternative to traditional hospital care for low-risk pregnancies, aiming to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes.
  • A cost analysis of 12 MLBC sites in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Uganda revealed significant variability in costs per birth, highlighting midwife salaries and operational expenses as key factors.
  • The findings suggest that MLBCs can lead to better health outcomes at lower costs or provide high cost-effectiveness compared to standard care, indicating the need for further cost assessments during implementation.
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In this study, bioplastics with antioxidant and UV protection properties based on tannin and PVA were created for packaging uses. Using a hot water extraction method at various extraction temperatures (60-100 °C), tannins were removed from the bark of Acacia mangium. Tannins with the best antioxidant activity were extracted at 80 °C.

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Bacterial biofilm-like aggregates have been observed in plants, but their role in pathogenicity is underinvestigated. In the present study, we observed that extracellular DNA and polysaccharides colocalized with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) aggregates in Arabidopsis leaves, suggesting that Pst aggregates are biofilms.

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Membrane bioreactor (MBR) deteriorates due to fouling on the membrane pores, which can reduce the membrane performance. To reduce membrane fouling, the addition of inorganic filler can enhance the antifouling properties. This study investigates two different membrane preparation by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) and dip coating methods to modify hollow fiber membrane with Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs)-Zeolites used in MBR for industrial wastewater treatment.

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Background: Midwives are essential providers of primary health care and can play a major role in the provision of health care that can save lives and improve sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health outcomes. One way for midwives to deliver care is through midwife-led birth centres (MLBCs). Most of the evidence on MLBCs is from high-income countries but the opportunity for impact of MLBCs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could be significant as this is where most maternal and newborn deaths occur.

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Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is modified cellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) biomass waste that has been prepared through etherification using sodium monochloroacetate (SMCA) in the presence of sodium hydroxide. In this research, CMC hydrogel was prepared using calcium chloride (CaCl) as the chemical crosslinker. Throughout the optimization process, four important parameters were studied, which were: (1) CMC concentration, (2) CaCl concentration, (3) reaction time, and (4) reaction temperature.

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Article Synopsis
  • Adapted automated peritoneal dialysis (aAPD) improves ultrafiltration and solute clearance compared to standard peritoneal dialysis, and this study observed its effectiveness in clinical practice over a year.
  • A total of 180 adult aAPD patients were recruited, and 160 were analyzed; researchers identified 27 different prescription patterns, with nearly half using a combination of short and long dwells.
  • Although some measures of renal function and dialysis efficiency decreased over time, no safety issues arose, indicating that aAPD's individualized treatment options are effectively utilized as patients progress through chronic kidney disease.
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Background: Community misperception on newborn care and poor treatment of sick newborn attributes to neonatal death and illness severity. Misperceptions and malpractices regarding neonatal care and neonatal complications are the leading causes of neonatal deaths in Bangladesh. The study was conducted to explore neonatal care's perceptions and practices and manage complications among Bangladesh's rural communities.

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The two types of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) surface characteristics were evaluated by oil contact angle under ethanol-water solution at several concentrations as well as in air. Wood pulp-based 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxylradical (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TOCNF) sheets and bamboo-derived mechanical counter collision cellulose nanofiber (ACC-CNF) sheets were fabricated by casting followed by drying. The CNF shows underwater superoleophobic mimicking fish skin properties and slippery surface mimicking Nepenthes pitcher.

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Background And Objective: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a prevalent and important disease during pregnancy and has detrimental effects on both the mother and the baby. The current study explored the perception and attitude of the community people about GDM and describes the challenges and gaps in knowledge, availability and accessibility of services for GDM screening and management at a rural community in Bangladesh.

Methods: We performed a qualitative study including seven Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and eight Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) from November 2017 to January 2018 at randomly selected areas of Tangail district.

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Jute fibre is the second most important fibre next to cotton. It is obtained from the bark of plant through microbial retting process. Here we report optimized microbial retting protocol that can lower retting period and produce high fibre quality.

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Every year in Bangladesh, approximately 5200 mothers die (172 maternal deaths/100,000 live births) due to maternal complications. The death rate is much higher in hard-to-reach areas and underprivileged communities, such as Bangladesh's tea gardens. The women living in the tea garden areas are deprived of quality health care services due to inadequate knowledge, education, and access to health care services.

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This study explored the community perception of maternal deaths influenced by natural disaster (flood), and the practice of maternal complications during natural disaster among the rural population in Bangladesh. It also explored the challenges faced by the community for providing healthcare and referring the pregnant women experiencing complications during flood disaster. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) and eight in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted in the marginalized rural communities in the flood-prone Khaliajhuri sub-district, Netrakona district, Bangladesh.

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Bangladesh has an established comprehensive death review system for tracking and reviewing maternal and perinatal deaths. This death review system, established in 2010, was initially known as the "Maternal and Perinatal Death Review (MPDR) System." One of the key interventions of the MPDR system, social autopsy (SA), is generally undertaken following a maternal or perinatal death notification.

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Background: An estimated 2.6 million stillbirths occur every year, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Understanding the cause of and factors associated with stillbirth is important to help inform the design and implementation of interventions aimed at reducing preventable stillbirths.

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Prompt and efficient identification, referral of pregnancy related complications and emergencies are key factors to the reduction of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. As a response to this critical need, a midwifery led continuum of reproductive health care was introduced in five teagardens in the Sylhet division, Bangladesh during 2016. Within this intervention, professional midwives provided reproductive healthcare to pregnant teagarden women in the community.

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Jute (Corchorus sp.) is one of the most important sources of natural fibre, covering ∼80% of global bast fibre production. Only Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis are commercially cultivated, though there are more than 100 Corchorus species in the Malvaceae family.

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Introduction: Maternal and neonatal death review (MNDR) introduced in Bangladesh and initially piloted in a district during 2010. MNDR is able to capture each of the maternal, neonatal deaths and stillbirths from the community and government facilities (hospitals). This study aimed to estimate the cost required to implement MNDR in a district of Bangladesh during 2010-2012.

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Objectives: Social Autopsy (SA) is an innovative strategy where a trained facilitator leads community groups through a structured, standardised analysis of the physical, environmental, cultural and social factors contributing to a serious, non-fatal health event or death. The discussion stimulated by the formal process of SA determines the causes and suggests preventative measures that are appropriate and achievable in the community. Here we explored individual experiences of SA, including acceptance and participant learning, and its effect on rural communities in Bangladesh.

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Background: Better data on cause of, and factors contributing to, neonatal deaths are needed to improve interventions aimed at reducing neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: Community surveillance to identify all neonatal deaths across four districts in Bangladesh. Verbal autopsy for every fifth case and InterVA-4 used to assign likely cause of death.

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