Determinants of incomplete immunization and factors for missed opportunities in urban Dhaka: A cross-sectional study.

Most vaccinations in the immunization schedule need two or more doses to elicit a protective immune response. Therefore, completion of all doses is crucial for achieving the best possible immunity. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors influencing missed opportunities of polio vaccination in children between the ages of 1-3 years in urban Dhaka.

A context-driven approach through stakeholder engagement to introduce a digital emergency obstetric and newborn care register into routine obstetric health care services in Bangladesh.

Background: Emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) in Bangladesh focusses on maternal health, whereby it addresses childbirth and postpartum complications to ensure women's health and well-being. It was transitioned to a digital platform to overcome challenges with the paper-based EmONC register and we conducted implementation research to assess the outcome. Here we outline the stakeholder engagement process integral to the implementation research process.

Evaluation of feasibility phase of adaptive version of locally made bubble continuous positive airway pressure oxygen therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 positive and negative adults with severe pneumonia and hypoxaemia.

Background: Bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP) oxygen therapy has been shown to be safe and effective in treating children with severe pneumonia and hypoxaemia in Bangladesh. Due to lack of adequate non-invasive ventilatory support during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, we aimed to evaluate whether bCPAP was safe and feasible when adapted for use in adults with similar indications.

Methods: Adults (18-64 years) with severe pneumonia and moderate hypoxaemia (80 to <90% oxygen saturation (SpO) in room air) were provided bCPAP via nasal cannula at a flow rate of 10 litres per minute (l/min) oxygen at 10 centimetres (cm) HO pressure, in two tertiary hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Research prioritisation on prevention and management of preterm birth in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a special focus on Bangladesh using the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method.

Background: Fifteen million babies are born preterm globally each year, with 81% occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of newborn deaths and significantly impact health, quality of life, and costs of health services. Improving outcomes for newborns and their families requires prioritising research for developing practical, scalable solutions, especially in low-resource settings such as Bangladesh.

Implementation and Delivery of Oral Cholera Vaccination Campaigns in Humanitarian Crisis Settings among Rohingya Myanmar nationals in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Background: Over 700,000 Myanmar nationals known as the 'Rohingyas' fled into Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in late 2017. Due to this huge displacement into unhygienic areas, these people became vulnerable to communicable diseases including cholera. Assessing the risk, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), with the help of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) and other international partners, decided to take preventive measures, one of which is the execution of oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaigns.

Feasibility and acceptability of home-based neonatal hyperbilirubinemia screening by community health workers using transcutaneous bilimeters in Bangladesh.

Background: Universal screening for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia risk assessment is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to reduce related morbidity. In Bangladesh and in many low- and middle-income countries, there is no screening for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Furthermore, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia may not be recognized as a medically significant condition by caregivers and community members.

Newborn signal functions in Bangladesh: Identification through expert consultation and assessment of readiness among public health facilities.

Background: This study aimed to identify a set of newborn signal functions (NSFs) that can categorize health facilities and assist policymakers and health managers in appropriately planning and adequately monitoring the progress and performance of health facilities delivering newborn health care in Bangladesh and similar low-income settings.

Methods: A modified Delphi method was used to identify a set of NSFs and a cross-sectional health facility assessment among the randomly selected facilities was conducted to test them in public health facilities in Bangladesh. In the modified Delphi approach, three main steps of listing, prioritizing, and testing were followed to identify the set of NSFs.

Introducing pulse oximetry for outpatient management of childhood pneumonia: An implementation research adopting a district implementation model in selected rural facilities in Bangladesh.

Background: Pulse oximetry has potential for identifying hypoxaemic pneumonia and substantially reducing under-five deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) setting. However, there are few examples of introducing pulse oximetry in resource-constrained paediatric outpatient settings, such as Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) services.

Methods: The National IMCI-programme of Bangladesh designed and developed a district implementation model for introducing pulse oximetry in routine IMCI services through stakeholder engagement and demonstrated the model in Kushtia district adopting a health system strengthening approach.

Success and time implications of SpO measurement through pulse oximetry among hospitalised children in rural Bangladesh: Variability by various device-, provider- and patient-related factors.

Background: Hypoxaemia is one of the strongest predictors of mortality among children with pneumonia. It can be identified through pulse oximetry instantaneously, which is a non-invasive procedure but can be influenced by factors related to the specific measuring device, health provider and patient. Following WHO's global recommendation in 2014, Bangladesh decided to introduce pulse oximetry in paediatric outpatient services, ie, the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) services in 2019.

Evaluation of community health worker's performance at home-based newborn assessment supported by mHealth in rural Bangladesh.

Background: In low to middle-income countries where home births are common and neonatal postnatal care is limited, community health worker (CHW) home visits can extend the capability of health systems to reach vulnerable newborns in the postnatal period. CHW assessment of newborn danger signs supported by mHealth have the potential to improve the quality of danger sign assessments and reduce CHW training requirements. We aim to estimate the validity (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value) of CHW assessment of newborn infants aided by mHealth compared to physician assessment.

Introducing pulse oximetry in routine IMCI services in Bangladesh: A context-driven approach to influence policy and programme through stakeholder engagement.

Background: Pneumonia is the leading cause of under-five child deaths globally and in Bangladesh. Hypoxaemia or low (<90%) oxygen concentration in the arterial blood is one of the strongest predictors of child mortality from pneumonia and other acute respiratory infections. Since 2014, the World Health Organization recommends using pulse oximetry devices in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) services (outpatient child health services), but it was not routinely used in most health facilities in Bangladesh until 2018.

Digital auscultation as a novel childhood pneumonia diagnostic tool for community clinics in Sylhet, Bangladesh: protocol for a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: The WHO's Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) algorithm for diagnosis of child pneumonia relies on counting respiratory rate and observing respiratory distress to diagnose childhood pneumonia. IMCI case defination for pneumonia performs with high sensitivity but low specificity, leading to overdiagnosis of child pneumonia and unnecessary antibiotic use. Including lung auscultation in IMCI could improve specificity of pneumonia diagnosis.

Ecosystem Services of Mangrove Forests: Results of a Meta-Analysis of Economic Values.

Mangrove forests are paramount for sustaining and enhancing ecosystem services benefitting both local and regional communities, and the global environment. Scholars have long studied the values of ecosystem services of mangrove forests. However, the number of recent primary studies monetizing ecosystem services is rather limited.

Post-vaccination campaign coverage evaluation of oral cholera vaccine, oral polio vaccine and measles-rubella vaccine among Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals in Bangladesh.

: The new influx of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) into Bangladesh started in August 2017 through different entry points of Bangladesh. Considering the imminent threat of infectious diseases outbreaks, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) decided to vaccinate children against three deadly diseases (measles, rubella and poliomyelitis) and oral cholera vaccine (OCV) for all except <1 year children. After completion of the campaigns, post-vaccination campaign evaluation was carried out to assess the coverage of OCV, OPV and MR vaccines during campaigns.

Field evaluation of a locally produced rapid diagnostic test for early detection of cholera in Bangladesh.

Background: Cholera remains a substantial health burden in Asia and Africa particularly in resource poor settings. The standard procedures to identify the etiological organism V. cholerae are isolation from microbiological culture from stool as well as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Oral cholera vaccination strategy: Self-administration of the second dose in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Cholera remains a major public health problem in many developing countries including Bangladesh. The oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is now considered a key component of the public health response to cholera. Although maintaining cold chain and organizing human resource are the major challenges of vaccine delivery to the community.

The impact and cost-effectiveness of controlling cholera through the use of oral cholera vaccines in urban Bangladesh: A disease modeling and economic analysis.

Background: Cholera remains an important public health problem in major cities in Bangladesh, especially in slum areas. In response to growing interest among local policymakers to control this disease, this study estimated the impact and cost-effectiveness of preventive cholera vaccination over a ten-year period in a high-risk slum population in Dhaka to inform decisions about the use of oral cholera vaccines as a key tool in reducing cholera risk in such populations.

Methodology/principal Findings: Assuming use of a two-dose killed whole-cell oral cholera vaccine to be produced locally, the number of cholera cases and deaths averted was estimated for three target group options (1-4 year olds, 1-14 year olds, and all persons 1+), using cholera incidence data from Dhaka, estimates of vaccination coverage rates from the literature, and a dynamic model of cholera transmission based on data from Matlab, which incorporates herd effects.

Kinetic Analysis of Freeze-Thaw Stability of Mayonnaise.

Kinetic analysis was used to study the destabilization of mayonnaise by focusing on the fat crystals. Mayonnaise prepared from rapeseed oil and soybean oil was stored at temperatures ranging from −20 to −40 °C. The destabilization kinetic parameters were measured by observing oil separation over time.