BackgroundPeople with disabilities constitute about 10% of the total population of Bangladesh. They are more likely to experience poor health than those without disabilities. However, there is a lack of evidence on their primary health care (PHC) seeking behaviour for their general illness. The aim of this study was to understand the PHC seeking behaviour of people with physical disabilities (PWPDs), and to investigate the determinants of such behaviours.MethodsWe surveyed 282 PWPDs, aged ≥18 years, using a structured questionnaire. Participants were recruited from the out-patient department of a rehabilitation centre in Dhaka between November and December 2014. We explored PHC seeking behaviour using frequency distribution. We performed logistic regression to investigate the factors that determined their PHC seeking behaviours for general illness. In our logistic regression model, the outcome variable was whether PWPDs received treatment from a formal health care provider. The predictors were socio-demographic characteristics and clinical characteristics such as type of impairment and type of illness experienced.ResultsAmong 282 participants, 85% suffered from general illness in the past 6 months. The participants in the higher age group, for example, age group 31–45 years (OR = 3.9, [95% CI 1.2 to 13.4]), 46–59 years (OR = 13.6, [95% CI 2.9 to 63.7) and 60+ years (OR = 12.5, [95% CI 1.7 to 93.0]) were more likely to seek treatment from formal health care providers than the age group 18–30 years. The educational attainment of the primary income earning family member (OR = 3.2, [CI 1.1 to 9.6]), religion (OR = 0.3, [95% CI 0.1 to 0.98]) and mobility aid used (OR = 4.0, [95% CI 1.2 to 13]) were determinants for seeking health care from a formal health care provider. Moreover, the type of illness suffered by participant was a strong predictor of their decision to seek treatment from a formal health care provider. The participants who suffered from urinary tract infections (OR = 10.3, [95% CI 2.3 to 46.6]), ulcers (OR = 13.1, [95% CI 2.11 to 79.3]) and pain (OR = 3.6, [95% CI 1.4 to 9.4]) were more likely to seek treatment from formal health care provider than who suffered from fever.ConclusionsAge, religion, earning member’s education, type of mobility aids used and type of illness suffered were explicative determinants of PHC seeking behaviour of PWPDs. The results suggest that these factors should be considered when devising interventions for this population. Moreover, accessibility, quality of care and expertise of the providers in treating disabled people were among the other factors reported by PWPDs which influence their decision to seek health care. In order to provide inclusive health services, primary health centres need to consider these determinants.

IntroductionThis review aims to assess the effects of dietary supplementation with inulin-type fructans (ITF) compared with no supplementation on cardiovascular disease risk factors in adults and assess the quality of trial reporting using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and CONSORT for abstract (CONSORT-A) checklists.Methods and analysisWe will search randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Emcare, AMED and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception to 31 March 2022, without any language restrictions. The RCTs need to administer ITF in adults for at least 2 weeks and assess effects on at least one cardiovascular risk factor. We will exclude RCTs that (1) assessed the postprandial effects of ITF; (2) included pregnant or lactating participants; (3) enrolled participants undergoing treatment that might affect the response to ITF. We will assess the study risk of bias (RoB) using V.2 of the Cochrane RoB tool for RCTs (RoB 2) and the certainty of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. We will pool data using a random-effects model. We will use the χ2 test to compare compliance of CONSORT and CONSORT-A checklists and Poisson regression to identify factors associated with better reporting.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required for secondary analysis of already published data. We will publish the reviews in a peer-review journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019136745.

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