Housne Ara Begum

Knowledge and self-care practices regarding diabetes among newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundLevels of knowledge about diabetes mellitus (DM) among newly diagnosed diabetics in Bangladesh are unknown. This study assessed the relationship between knowledge and practices among newly diagnosed type 2 DM patients.MethodsNewly diagnosed adults with type 2 diabetes (N = 508) were selected from 19 healthcare centers. Patients’ knowledge and self-care practices were assessed via interviewer-administered questionnaires using a cross-sectional design. Knowledge questions were divided into basic and technical sections. Knowledge scores were categorized as poor (mean + 1 SD). Chi square testing and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to examine the relationship between diabetes-related knowledge and self-care practices.ResultsApproximately 16%, 66%, and 18% of respondents had good, average, and poor (GAP) basic knowledge respectively and 10%, 78%, and 12% of respondents had GAP technical knowledge, about DM. About 90% of respondents from both basic and technical GAP did not test their blood glucose regularly; a significant relationship existed between basic knowledge and glucose monitoring. Technical knowledge and foot care were significantly related, though 81% with good technical knowledge and about 70% from average and poor groups did not take care of their feet. Approximately 85%, 71%, and 52% of the GAP technical knowledge groups, consumed betel nuts; a significant relationship existed between technical knowledge and consumption of betel nuts. Around 88%, 92%, and 98% of GAP technical knowledge groups failed to follow dietary advice from a diabetes educator. About 26%, 42%, and 51% of GAP basic and technical sometimes ate meals at a fixed time (p < 0.05). Approximately one-third of respondents in each basic knowledge group and 29%, 32%, and 32% of GAP technical knowledge groups partially followed rules for measuring food before eating. Total basic knowledge (TBK) and business profession were significant independent predictors of good practice. OR for TBK: 1.28 (95% CI: 1.03 to 1.60); OR for business profession 9.05 (95% CI: 1.17 to 70.09).ConclusionsNewly diagnosed type 2 diabetics had similar levels of basic and technical knowledge of DM. Health education and motivation should create positive changes in diabetes-control-related self-care practices.

Attitudes towards justifying intimate partner violence among married women in Bangladesh.

This study examines womens attitude towards intimate partner violence among 331 Bangladeshi women in five selected disadvantaged areas of Dhaka city. This study used a shorter version of the Inventory of Beliefs about Wife Beating (IBWB) to measure womens attitude towards intimate partner violence. The results revealed that the mean score on the wife-beating scale of 15 items was 7.81 (SD = 4.893). Significant amounts of the variance (42.9%) in womens attitude towards intimate partner violence can be attributed to respondents education (B = -0.60, p < 0.001), husbands education (B = -1.251, p < 0.01), exposure to mass media (B = -1.251, p < 0.01), respondents current age (B = 0.081, p < 0.05), age at marriage (B = 0.215, p < 0.01), intimate partner violence victimization within the last 12 months (B = -1.533, p < 0.001) and women receiving micro-credit (small-scale loan or financial assistance) (B = -2.214, p < 0.001). The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings.

The impact of food supplementation on infant weight gain in rural Bangladesh; an assessment of the Bangladesh Integrated Nutritional Program (BINP).

OBJECTIVES To examine the efficiency of the Bangladesh Integrated Nutritional Program (BINP) in identifying which infants should be supplemented, whether full supplementation was given for the stipulated period of time, and whether the correct exit criteria from the supplementation programme were used. To test whether targeted food supplementation of infants between 6-12 months of age resulted in enhanced weight gain. SETTING Mallickbari Union, Bhaluka, a rural area located about 100 km north of Dhaka, Bangladesh. PARTICIPANTS Five hundred and twenty-six infants followed for 6 to 12 months. RESULTS Of the 526 infants studied, 368 should have received supplementation based on BINP criteria but only 111 infants (30%) did so, while a further 13% were incorrectly given supplementation. So in total over half (52.8%) of the sample was incorrectly identified for supplementation. In addition, less than a quarter of the infants received the full 90 days of supplementation and close to half of the infants exited the programme without the requisite weight gain. Infants were assigned to one of four groups: correctly supplemented, correctly non-supplemented, incorrectly supplemented or incorrectly non-supplemented. This classification provided natural controls; the correctly supplemented infants versus the incorrectly non-supplemented infants, and the correctly non-supplemented infants versus the incorrectly supplemented infants. There were no significant differences in weight gain between the correctly supplemented group and the incorrectly non-supplemented group or between the correctly non-supplemented and the incorrectly supplemented groups, nor was there any evidence of growth faltering in the incorrectly non-supplemented group. CONCLUSIONS This study found serious programmatic deficiencies - inability to identify growth faltering in infants, failure to supplement for the full time period and incorrect exit procedures. There was no evidence that food supplementation had any impact on improving infant weight gain.

Women’s attitudes towards formal and informal support-seeking coping strategies against intimate partner violence

This article examines women’s attitudes towards informal, formal social and formal legal support-seeking strategies against intimate partner violence (IPV). This study found that the majority of the participants were likely to seek help from informal, formal social and formal legal agents. Multivariate analyses revealed that women’s attitudes significantly varied by women’s age, women’s working status, experience of violence, receipt of micro-credit, women’s decision-making authority, husband’s age, husband’s education, family economic status and family type. We suggest that increased employment opportunities and increased number of micro-credit recipients may change women’s attitudes from avoidance coping strategies to help-seeking coping strategies.

Child Care Hygiene Practices of Women Migrating From Rural to Urban Areas of Bangladesh

Children’s hygiene is very important for better health but there is a paucity of studies in this area. This questionnaire study examined the child care hygiene practices of mothers of young children. A total of 354 women from slum areas of Dhaka city, Bangladesh, who migrated from rural to urban areas were selected for this study. The mean score on hygiene practice was 6.21 of 10 items (SD = 2.113). Low (score = 3) and high hygiene practice (score = 7-10) were practiced by 12.4% and 45.8% of participants, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that independent variables explained 39.9% of variance in hygiene practices. Eight variables have significant effect: participant’s education (0.108; P < .05), time spent since marriage to first birth (0.030; P < .05), number of children (−0.105; P < .05), number of antenatal visits (0.319; P < .001), microcredit status (0.214; P < .001), breastfeeding (0.224; P < .001), husband’s monthly income (0.146; P < .001), and household economic status (−0.0114; P < .05). The overall hygiene practice indicates the necessity of awareness building initiatives.

Service Utilization, Selection Criteria and Clients’ Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis between Public and Private Hospitals in Bangladesh

Acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. It accounts for the second or sometimes even the first common reason for admissions in hospitals in developing countries. The Aim of this research was to study ARI in children less than 5 years of age in Erbil city, and their socio-demographic correlates. Methods: The study included 190 children less than 5 years of age with ARI attending Rapareen pediatric teaching hospital in Erbil, Iraq during the four month period from November 2006March 2007. Data was collected via modified questionnaire filled out by a researcher who interviewed mothers regarding acute respiratory infections in their children. The necessary socio-demographic characteristics of the mothers and children were collected. The control sample (192 children) collected the same data obtained for all patients. Results: Most of the patients with ARI were below 1 year of age (58.9%) with mean age of 15.44 months and male gender (64.7%). Unvaccinated children, whether incompletely vaccinated or unvaccinated, and another sibling in the family with ARI is significantly related to having ARI in children below 5 years of age. Maternal factors like her SES (socio-economic status) and employment are significantly correlated with increased incidence of ARI among their children. Increase in family size and overcrowding also increase the chance of ARI among children below 5 years of age. While mother’s age and regional distribution is not correlated significantly with ARI in those children. Logistic regression model showed that risk of having ARI is 22.9 times more in children with low SES and 7.18 times more likely in those who are not vaccinated compared to those are vaccinated. Conclusion: Factors significantly associated with ARI were younger children, boys, those with another sibling in the family with ARI, those living in low socio-economic circumstances and overcrowded family. Improperly vaccinated children were more prone to ARI and this encourages periodic follow up visits for children.