Kaniz Gausia
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
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Featured researches published by Kaniz Gausia.
The Lancet | 1999
Sarah Hawkes; Susan Foster; Kaniz Gausia; J. Chakraborty; Rosanna W. Peeling; David Mabey
BACKGROUND In the control of reproductive-tract infections, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in low-income and middle-income countries, WHO recommends syndromic management for individuals with symptoms. This intervention was initially developed in areas where prevalence of such infections is high. We investigated the clinical effectiveness and cost of this approach among a group of women with a low prevalence of infection. METHODS During a 5-month period, we investigated all women complaining of abnormal vaginal discharge and seeking care at maternal and child health/family-planning centres in Matlab, Bangladesh, for the presence of laboratory-diagnosed reproductive-tract infections and STIs. Syndromic diagnoses made by trained health-care workers were compared with laboratory diagnosis of infection. We then calculated the costs of treating women by means of the recommended WHO algorithm and an adapted algorithm incorporating use of a speculum and simple diagnostic tests. FINDINGS The prevalence of endogenous infections among 320 women seen was 30%. Cervical infections (Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis) were found in only three women. The WHO algorithm had a high sensitivity (100%) but a low specificity (zero for bacterial vaginosis, candida, and Trichomonas vaginalis). The speculum-based algorithm had a low sensitivity (between zero and 59%) but a higher specificity (79-97%). Between 36% and 87% of costs would have been spent on uninfected women. INTERPRETATION The high rate of overtreatment in the population studied carries both financial and social costs--the latter in potentially exposing women misdiagnosed as having an STI to threats of domestic disruption or even violence. We make recommendations for management programmes in areas of low STI prevalence and low income.
The Lancet | 2006
Mahbub Elahi Chowdhury; Carine Ronsmans; Japhet Killewo; Iqbal Anwar; Kaniz Gausia; Sushil Kanta Dasgupta; Lauren S. Blum; Greet Dieltiens; Tom Marshall; Sajal Kumar Saha; Jo Borghi
BACKGROUND Few studies have assessed whether the poorest people in developing countries benefit from giving birth at home rather than in a facility. We analysed whether socioeconomic status results in differences in the use of professional midwives at home and in a basic obstetric facility in a rural area of Bangladesh, where obstetric care was free of charge. METHODS We routinely obtained data from Matlab, Bangladesh between 1987 and 2001. We compared the benefits of home-based and facility-based obstetric care using a multinomial logistic and binomial log link regression, controlling for multiple confounders. FINDINGS Whether or not a midwife was used at home or in a facility differed significantly with wealth (adjusted odds ratio comparing the wealthiest and poorest quintiles 1.94 [95% CI 1.69-2.24] for home-based care, and 2.05 [1.72-2.43] for facility-based care). The gap between rich and poor widened after the introduction of facility-based care in 1996. The risk ratio (RR) between the wealthiest and poorest quintiles was 1.91 (adjusted RR 1.49 [95% CI 1.16-1.91] when most births with a midwife took place at home compared with 2.71 (1.66 [1.41-1.96]) at the peak of facility-based care. INTERPRETATION In this area of Bangladesh, a shift from home-based to facility-based basic obstetric care is feasible but might lead to increased inequities in access to health care. However, there is also evidence of substantial inequities in home births. Before developing countries reinforce home-based births with a skilled attendant, research is needed to compare the feasibility, cost, effectiveness, acceptability, and implications for health-care equity in both approaches.
Psychological Medicine | 2009
Kaniz Gausia; Colleen Fisher; Mohammed Ali; Jacques Oosthuizen
BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that the prevalence of postnatal depression (PND) is highest in low-income developing countries. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of PND and its associated risk factors among Bangladeshi women. METHOD The study was conducted in the Matlab subdistrict of rural Bangladesh. A cohort of 346 women was followed up from late pregnancy to post-partum. Sociodemographic and other related information on risk factors was collected on structured questionnaires by trained interviewers at 34-35 weeks of pregnancy at the womans home. A validated local language (Bangla) version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS-B) was used to measure depression status at 34-35 weeks of pregnancy and at 6-8 weeks after delivery. RESULTS The prevalence of PND was 22% [95% confidence interval (CI) 17.7-26.7%] at 6-8 weeks post-partum. After adjustment in a multivariate logistic model, PND could be predicted by history of past mental illness [odds ratio (OR) 5.6, 95% CI 1.1-27.3], depression in current pregnancy (OR 6.0, 95% CI 3.0-12.0), perinatal death (OR 14.1, 95% CI 2.5-78.0), poor relationship with mother-in-law (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.1-11.8) and either the husband or the wife leaving home after a domestic quarrel (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.6-10.2). CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence of PND in the study was similar to other countries in the South Asian region. The study findings highlight the need for programme managers and policy makers to allocate resources and develop strategies to address PND in Bangladesh.
Bulletin of The World Health Organization | 2002
Sarah Hawkes; J. Chakraborty; Kaniz Gausia; Farid Ahmed; Shamim Sufia Islam; Nazmul Alam; David W. Brown; David Mabey
OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for reproductive tract infections among men and women in a rural community in Bangladesh. METHODS In the Matlab area a systematic sample of married non-pregnant women aged 15-50 years was drawn from a comprehensive household registration system for married women. A systematic sample of married and unmarried men in the same age group was drawn from a census-derived demographic surveillance list. Private interviews were conducted with 804 women in a clinic, and cervical, vaginal, urinary and serological samples were collected. Urine and blood specimens were obtained from 969 men who were interviewed at home. FINDINGS The prevalence of bacterial and viral reproductive tract infections was low to moderate. For example, fewer than 1% of the women had a cervical infection. No cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were found. However, among men there was a high level of reported risk behaviour and a low level of protection against infection. CONCLUSION A low prevalence of reproductive tract infections, coupled with a high level of reported risk behaviour, indicated a need for primary programmes that would prevent an increase in the incidence of reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted infections and HIV infection.
Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology | 2007
Kaniz Gausia; Christopher Fisher; Sultana Algin; Jacques Oosthuizen
In developing countries, postnatal depression (PND) is estimated to affect a high proportion of women following childbirth. There are no reliable estimates for the magnitude of the problem in Bangladesh, a country of 140 million people. The lack of a validated Bangla version of screening scale such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has hindered attempts to quantify and address the problem in the country. This study was carried out among Bangladeshi women to validate the Bangla version of the EPDS with the help of a multi‐disciplinary research consultative group. A research assistant administered the Bangla EPDS to a convenience sample of 100 mothers at 6–8 weeks postpartum attending an urban childhood immunization clinic. A psychiatrist examined all women using the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) for DSM‐IV diagnosis of depression. Nine (9%) women were found to have depression. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbachs alpha coefficient (0.84). The optimal Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) cut‐off score of Bangla EPDS was 10 with a sensitivity of 89%, specificity of 87 %, positive predictive value of 40%, and negative predictive value of 99%. The Bangla EPDS is thus a valid and reliable screening scale for identifying PND in Bangladesh.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases | 2007
Nazmul Alam; Motiur Rahman; Kaniz Gausia; Yunus; Nazrul Islam; Parwez Chaudhury; Shirajum Monira; Ellen Funkhouser; Sten H. Vermund; Japhet Killewo
Objective: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of selected sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and their risk factors among workers in and near a truck stand in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Study Design: A random sample of 696 men and 206 women were recruited into a cross-sectional study using a census that enumerated transport agents, motor mechanics, laborers, and vendors in Tejgaon truck stand. Results: The prevalence rates of syphilis (rapid plasma reagin and Treponema pallidum hemagglutination), gonorrhea (polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), and chlamydial infections (PCR) among men were 4.1%, 7.7%, and 2.3%, respectively, and among women were 2.9%, 8.3%, and 5.2%. Multivariable analysis revealed that having ≥2 sex partners in the last month, never using a condom with sex workers, and ever injecting narcotics were significant predictors of STI among men. Being never married, working as a laborer, older age, and living within the truck stand were significant predictors of practicing high-risk behaviors among men, but none predicted infection with STIs. Conclusions: Both behavioral and STI data suggest that truck stand workers should be included in the STI/HIV intervention programs.
The Journal of Infectious Diseases | 2001
Edward T. Ryan; Emily A. Bridges; Thomas I. Crean; Kaniz Gausia; Jena D. Hamadani; Ayesha Aziz; Sarah Hawkes; Monira Begum; Jozef Bogaerts; Shah M. Faruque; Mohammed Abdus Salam; George J. Fuchs; Stephen B. Calderwood
To investigate whether intestinal presentation of an antigen by Vibrio cholerae, a noninvasive organism, could induce an anatomically distant mucosal immune response in reproductive tract tissues, the endocervical immune responses of women in Bangladesh were evaluated after cholera. Endocervical secretions were analyzed for secretory IgA (sIgA) antibody against the B subunit of cholera toxin (CtxB) in 9 women with cholera and 8 women with diarrhea caused by neither V. cholerae nor heat labile enterotoxin-producing Escherichia coli. Women infected with V. cholerae developed significant sIgA anti-CtxB responses in endocervical samples (P< or =.02). Antibody subtype analysis of endocervical IgA was consistent with local mucosal production (P< or =.001). Women with cholera did not develop sIgA anti-CtxB responses in serum. The ability to generate specific mucosal immune responses in reproductive tract tissues after intestinal presentation of antigen could facilitate development of vaccines effective against reproductive tract pathogens.
Archives of Womens Mental Health | 2009
Kaniz Gausia; Christopher Fisher; Mohammad Ali; Jacques Oosthuizen
Journal of Health Population and Nutrition | 2012
Kaniz Gausia; David Ryder; Mohammed Ali; Colleen Fisher; Allisyn C. Moran; M. Koblinsky
Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin | 2008
Kaniz Gausia; Jena D. Hamadani; Md. Manirul Islam; Mohammed Ali; Sultana Algin; M. Yunus; Colleen Fisher; Jacques Oosthuizen