Age- and sex-specific care cascades to detect gaps in the care of children with tuberculosis in Bangladesh: a cohort study.

Background: Programmatic interventions to increase the detection of children with tuberculosis (TB) are rarely evaluated to understand age- and sex-specific completion rates. We applied modified TB screening and treatment cascade frameworks to assess indicators of effective implementation by age and sex of a TB screening program for children (zero to 14 years) in Bangladesh.

Methods: We implemented an intensified screening program for paediatric TB detection in 119 health care facilities (2018-21).

Challenges and opportunities for competency-based health professional education in Bangladesh: an interview, observation and mapping study.

Background: Bangladesh has a shortfall of health professionals. The World Health Organization states that improving education will increase recruitment and retention of health workers. Traditional learning approaches, in medical education particularly, focus on didactic teaching, teaching of subjects and knowledge testing.

Uptake and Completion of Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment Using 12-Dose, Weekly Isoniazid-Rifapentine Regimen in Bangladesh: A Community-Based Implementation Study.

Background: The United Nations high-level meeting (UNHLM) pledged to enroll 30 million in tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) by 2022, necessitating TPT expansion to all at tuberculosis (TB) risk. We assessed the uptake and completion of a 12-dose, weekly isoniazid-rifapentine (3HP) TPT regimen.

Methods: Between February 2018 and March 2019 in Dhaka, community-based TPT using 3HP targeted household contacts of 883 confirmed drug-sensitive pulmonary TB patients.

Evaluation of a Mobile-Based Immunization Decision Support System for Scheduling Age-Appropriate Vaccine Schedules for Children Younger Than 2 Years in Pakistan and Bangladesh: Lessons From a Multisite, Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Missed opportunities for vaccination (MOVs), that is, when children interact with the health system but fail to receive age-eligible vaccines, pose a crucial challenge for equitable and universal immunization coverage. Inaccurate interpretations of complex catch-up schedules by health workers contribute to MOVs.

Objective: We assessed the feasibility of a mobile-based immunization decision support system (iDSS) to automatically construct age-appropriate vaccination schedules for children and to prevent MOVs.

Sub-district level correlation between tuberculosis notifications and socio-demographic factors in Dhaka City corporation, Bangladesh.

We developed a novel method to align two data sources (TB notifications and the Demographic Health Survey, DHS) captured at different geographic scales. We used this method to identify sociodemographic indicators - specifically population density - that were ecologically correlated with elevated TB notification rates across wards (~100 000 people) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We found population density was the variable most closely correlated with ward-level TB notification rates (Spearman's rank correlation 0.

Holistic Approach to Tuberculosis Detection, Treatment and Prevention: Emerging Evidence and Strategies from the Field.

The global fight against tuberculosis (TB) has gained momentum since the adoption of the 'End TB Strategy' in 2014 [...

Quantifying geographic heterogeneity in TB incidence and the potential impact of geographically targeted interventions in South and North City Corporations of Dhaka, Bangladesh: a model-based study.

In rapidly growing and high-burden urban centres, identifying tuberculosis (TB) transmission hotspots and understanding the potential impact of interventions can inform future control and prevention strategies. Using data on local demography, TB reports and patient reporting patterns in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Bangladesh, between 2010 and 2017, we developed maps of TB reporting rates across wards in DSCC and DNCC and identified wards with high rates of reported TB (i.e.

Incorporating patient reporting patterns to evaluate spatially targeted TB interventions.

Purpose: Tuberculosis (TB) is geographically heterogeneous, and geographic targeting can improve the impact of TB interventions. However, standard TB notification data may not sufficiently capture this heterogeneity. Better understanding of patient reporting patterns (discrepancies between residence and place of presentation) may improve our ability to use notifications to appropriately target interventions.

Eye diseases: the neglected health condition among urban slum population of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Introduction: Globally, eye diseases are considered as one of the major contributors of nonfatal disabling conditions. In Bangladesh, 1.5% of adults are blind and 21.

Hygiene on maternity units: lessons from a needs assessment in Bangladesh and India.

Background: As the proportion of deliveries in health institutions increases in low- and middle-income countries, so do the challenges of maintaining standards of hygiene and preventing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) in mothers and babies. Adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and infection prevention and control (IPC) in these settings should be seen as integral parts of the broader domain of quality care. Assessment approaches are needed which capture standards for both WASH and IPC, and so inform quality improvement processes.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the short-form condom attitude scale: validity assessment in a sub-sample of rural-to-urban migrant workers in Bangladesh.

Background: The reliable and valid measurement of attitudes towards condom use are essential to assist efforts to design population specific interventions aimed at promoting positive attitude towards, and increased use of condoms. Although several studies, mostly in English speaking western world, have demonstrated the utility of condom attitude scales, very limited culturally relevant condom attitude measures have been developed till to date. We have developed a scale and evaluated its psychometric properties in a sub-sample of rural-to-urban migrant workers in Bangladesh.

Patient experiences of taking antidepressants for depression: a secondary qualitative analysis.

Background: Depression is one of the most commonly encountered mental health problems leading to significant morbidity and mortality and high medical and societal costs. Antidepressant prescribing in the UK has more than doubled in the last decade. There are a variety of factors that have been shown to affect a patient's experience of taking antidepressants The aim of this research was to explore patient narratives interviews about depression and its treatment in order to improve patient and health professional understanding of what it is like to use antidepressants.

Epidemiology of depression and diabetes: a systematic review.

Background: Research suggests that co-morbid diabetes and depression is common; however, the implications for clinical practice remain unclear. This paper reviews the current epidemiological evidence on comorbid diabetes and depression, in order to identify the key publications which could both inform practice and identify gaps in knowledge and research.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify published literature on the epidemiology of diabetes and depression.

Epidemiology of depression in diabetes: international and cross-cultural issues.

Introduction: This paper reviews the most up-to-date epidemiological evidence of the relationship between depression and diabetes, and considers the risk factors for the development of depression and the consequences of depression in diabetes with an emphasis on international and cross-cultural data. The difficulties that researchers face when epidemiological studies require assessment of psychological phenomena, such as depression, across different cultural settings are explored.

Methods: Relevant papers were sought on the epidemiology of diabetes and depression in people with diabetes by undertaking a literature search of electronic databases including MEDLINE, Psych-INFO, CINAHL and EMBASE.

Prevalence of co-morbid depression in out-patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh.

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of depression in people with diabetes in Bangladesh. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with depression in out-patients with Type 2 diabetes in Bangladesh.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study a random sample of 483 diabetes out-patients from three diabetes clinics in Bangladesh was invited to participate.

A comprehensive situation assessment of injection practices in primary health care hospitals in Bangladesh.

Background: Understanding injection practices is crucial for evidence-based development of intervention initiatives. This study explored the extent of injection use and injection safety practices in primary care hospitals in Bangladesh.

Methods: The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Securing recruitment and obtaining informed consent in minority ethnic groups in the UK.

Background: Previous health research has often explicitly excluded individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds due to perceived cultural and communication difficulties, including studies where there might be language/literacy problems in obtaining informed consent. This study addressed these difficulties by developing audio-recorded methods of obtaining informed consent and recording data. This report outlines 1) our experiences with securing recruitment to a qualitative study investigating alternative methods of data collection, and 2) the development of a standardised process for obtaining informed consent from individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds whose main language does not have an agreed written form.