Adolescent and young adult mortality in Bangladesh: findings from household surveys.

Background: In 2021, over 1.5 million adolescents (aged 10-19 years) and young adults (aged 20-24 years) died globally, approximately 4500 deaths daily. However, research on causes and factors influencing deaths among adolescents and young adults in Bangladesh is limited.

Mobile Apps to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG): Systematic App Research and Content Analysis.

Background: Numerous reviews have explored specific aspects of violence prevention apps, but given the rapid development of new apps, increased violence during COVID-19, and gaps in understanding functionalities and geographical distribution, an updated review is needed.

Objective: Therefore, we aimed to systematically evaluate the trends, geographical distribution, functional categories, available features, and feature evolution of mobile apps designed to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Methods: We conducted a systematic search on app reselling platforms and search engines from April 24, 2024 to May 28, 2024, using terms related to VAWG in multiple languages.

Depressive, anxiety symptoms and their co-occurrence among women seeking antenatal care in Bangladesh.

Anxiety and depression are significant concerns among antenatal women in Bangladesh. Despite the critical need for tailored mental health care in health facilities, studies on these symptoms in this demographic remain lacking. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the levels, distribution, and associated factors of depressive and anxiety symptoms and their co-occurrence among women seeking antenatal care at a public healthcare facility in Bangladesh.

Effective coverage for maternal health: operationalising effective coverage cascades for antenatal care and nutrition interventions for pregnant women in seven low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Efforts to improve maternal health have focused on measuring health and nutrition service coverage. Despite improvements in service coverage, maternal mortality rates remain high. This suggests that coverage indicators alone do not fully capture the quality of care and may overestimate the health benefits of a service.

Paper-based death record-keeping in Bangladeshi cemeteries: a qualitative exploration of practices and expectations.

Background: Countries like Bangladesh face significant challenges in effectively registering and tracking deaths within their civil registration systems, which are essential for public health. To improve data collection for public health policy, death record-keeping at burial sites should be enhanced, particularly in areas where burial certificates are issued. With this in mind, we examined the traditional paper-based practices for recording deaths, the perceived significance of these practices, and the associated challenges, expectations, and concerns related to death record-keeping in Bangladeshi cemeteries.

Impact of COVID-19 on In-Patient and Out-Patient services in Bangladesh.

Introduction: The global Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted healthcare systems, reducing access to medical services. In Bangladesh, strict lockdowns, healthcare worker shortages, and resource diversion further strained the system. Despite these challenges, the impact on inpatient and outpatient service utilisation in Bangladesh remains unaddressed.

Excess mortality during COVID-19 and prediction of mortality in Bangladesh: an analysis based on death records in urban graveyards.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global mortality, underscoring the need for reliable data to guide public health policy. In low- and middle-income countries, graveyard-based death records can offer valuable insights into COVID-19-related mortality, yet they remain limited. Additionally, data on mortality beyond the pandemic remains scarce as we approach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Design, development and implementation of a digital burial record-keeping and management system in Bangladesh.

Background: Digitalisation of death documentation in Bangladesh's graveyards is crucial for accurate mortality data and public health planning. Additionally, studying the usability, technology acceptance, and implementation aspects of the digital death record-keeping system, an innovative intervention that has not been previously explored, ensures the effectiveness, user adoption, and long-term sustainability. We designed, implemented, and evaluated a digital mortality surveillance system in graveyards in Dhaka city of Bangladesh.

Social franchising in healthcare: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of implementation and outcomes.

Introduction: The growing prominence of social franchising in healthcare underscores the need to analyse its implementation and impacts; however, substantial research gaps remain. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence to analyse the social franchise models, implementation and outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search in February 2024 on Medline, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL and Scopus using terms related to 'social franchising' in healthcare.

Measuring progress in availability and readiness of Basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) services in Bangladesh, 2014-2017.

Increasing the availability and readiness of basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) services is essential for improving maternal and neonatal health. However, little is known about any progress made in the availability and readiness of BEmONC services in Bangladesh. Using nationally representative data from the Bangladesh Health Facility Survey conducted between 2014 and 2017, we measured changes in the availability and readiness of BEmONC services in health facilities in Bangladesh, calculating the BEmONC service availability and readiness scores according to the World Health Organization Service Availability and Readiness Assessment guideline.

User experience with pregnancy tracker mobile apps: Findings from comment-based qualitative study.

Background: Worldwide, millions of pregnant women use pregnancy-related apps to monitor their baby's growth and development. While most of the apps are user-friendly, not all of them are equally appealing. This study aimed to explore the user experience (UX) of pregnancy tracker mobile apps used by pregnant women.

Enhancing Access to Mental Health Services for Antepartum and Postpartum Women Through Telemental Health Services at Wellbeing Centers in Selected Health Facilities in Bangladesh: Implementation Research.

Background: Globally, 10% of pregnant women and 13% of postpartum women experience mental disorders. In Bangladesh, nearly 50% of mothers face common mental disorders, but mental health services and trained professionals to serve their needs are scarce. To address this, the government of Bangladesh's Non-Communicable Disease Control program initiated "Wellbeing Centers," telemental health services in selected public hospitals.

Evaluation of the causal effect of maternal education on the utilisation of maternal health services in Bangladesh using an observational study - a comparison of different propensity score methods and covariate adjustment.

Background: Assessing maternal health care utilisation is imperative for the health of both mother and her child. Maternal education is an important determinant in subsequent maternal health care usage, according to research. There is a dearth of research on the causal relationship between maternal education and maternal health services as well as examining the performance of different propensity score methods for estimating absolute effects.

Unveiling the dimension of regional disparities: Assessing the disruption of immunisation services by COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted essential health care services worldwide, including those related to immunisation. National data from Bangladesh shows that child immunisation may have been adversely affected by the pandemic but regional evidence is limited. We therefore aimed to explore the regional differences in the indirect effects of COVID-19 on child immunisation in Bangladesh.

Excess mortality during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh - evidence from a rural survey.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had a profound impact worldwide. In Bangladesh, the official number of deaths for COVID-19 was around 29 000. However, many countries including Bangladesh experienced substantial underreporting of COVID-19 deaths due to lack of complete national civil registration system.

Understanding the socio-demographic and programmatic factors associated with adolescent motherhood and its association with child undernutrition in Bangladesh.

Background: Worldwide, a significant number of girls become mothers during adolescence. In Bangladesh, adolescent childbirth is highly prevalent and has adverse effects on children's health and undernutrition. We aimed to identify the relationship between the undernutrition of children and adolescent motherhood, the factors associated with adolescent mothers' age at first birth, and to examine the programmatic factors and gaps influencing children's undernutrition in Bangladesh.

Effect of low-cost kitchen with improved cookstove on birthweight of neonates in Shahjadpur, Bangladesh: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Background: Smoke from biomass fuels used for cooking in traditional cookstoves contains a variety of health-damaging pollutants. Inhalation of these pollutants by pregnant women has been linked to abnormal foetal development and adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birthweight (LBW). There is a dearth of data on environmental interventions that have the potential to reduce exposure to biomass fuel during pregnancy and improve birth outcomes.

Effective multi-sectoral approach for rapid reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality: the exceptional case of Bangladesh.

Background: Bangladesh experienced impressive reductions in maternal and neonatal mortality over the past several decades with annual rates of decline surpassing 4% since 2000. We comprehensively assessed health system and non-health factors that drove Bangladesh's success in mortality reduction.

Methods: We operationalised a comprehensive conceptual framework and analysed available household surveys for trends and inequalities in mortality, intervention coverage and quality of care.

Trends and inequity in improved sanitation facility utilisation in Bangladesh: Evidence from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys.

Improved sanitation is indispensable to human health. However, lack of access to improved sanitation remains one of the most daunting public health challenges of the twenty-first century in Bangladesh. The aim of the study was to describe the trends in access to improved sanitation facilities following the inequity gap among households in different socioeconomic groups in Bangladesh.

Disparities in the maternal healthcare continuum among Bangladeshi women: evidence from nationally representative surveys.

Introduction: Utilisation of maternal healthcare is low, and it consistently decreases across antenatal to postnatal period in Bangladesh. However, there is paucity of knowledge in Bangladesh to understand gaps and associated factors in seeking continuum of maternal healthcare along the pathway. Therefore, we aimed to assess the trend in socioeconomic and demographic factors and wealth inequity in maternal CoC using the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).