Rohingya refugees of Ukhiya, Cox’s bazar are an unaccounted group of people who form the largest cluster of refugees worldwide. Non-communicable disease (NCD) alone causes 70% of worldwide deaths every year therefore, the trend of NCD among Rohingya refugees demands proper evaluation and attention. The objective of this study was to measure the NCD risk factors among a convenient sample of Rohingya refugees. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 249 Rohingya refugees living in Balukhali and Kutupalang Rohinga Camps at Ukhiya, Cox’s bazaar using a survey dataset adapted from the WHO Stepwise approach to NCD Risk Factor Surveillance (STEPS). Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were done by trained medical assistants. Descriptive analysis was applied as appropriate for categorical variables. A Chi-square test and a student t test were performed to compare the categories. In general, the findings of NCD risk factors as per STEPS survey was 53.4% for tobacco use including smokeless tobacco, 2.8% for alcohol consumption, 23.7% for inadequate vegetable and fruit intake, 34.5% for taking extra salt, 89.6% for insufficient physical activity, 44.5%for confirmed hypertension, 16.9% for overweight, 1.2% for obesity and 0.8% for high blood sugar. Some modifiable non-communicable disease risk factors such as physical inactivity, tobacco smoking, extra salt with food, and hypertension are present among the Rohinga refugees in Bangladesh. These findings were timely and essential to support the formulation and implementation of NCD-related policies among the Rohingya refugees as a priority sub-population.

Introduction Palliative care is still a new concept in many developing countries like Bangladesh. Basic knowledge about palliative care is needed for all physicians to identify and provide this care. This study aims to assess the preliminary knowledge level and the misconceptions about this field among physicians. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among 479 physicians using a self-administered structured questionnaire adapted from Palliative Care Knowledge Scale (PaCKs) on various digital social media platforms from December 2019 to February 2020. Chi-square, Fisher’s extract test, and the Monte Carlo extract test was done to compare the knowledge level with the study subjects’ demographic variables. Results An almost equal number of physicians of both genders from four major specialties and their allied branches took part in the study (response rate 23.9%). The majority (71%) of the respondents had an average to an excellent level of knowledge about palliative care, with a median score of 11.0. Although most physicians had average knowledge about the primary goals and general concepts of palliative care, misconceptions are highly prevalent. The commonly present misconceptions were that palliative care discourages patients from consulting other specialties (88.9%), refrains them from taking curative treatments (83.1%), and this care is only for older adults (74.5%), cancer patients (63%), and the last six months of life (56.4%). Age, educational qualifications, and specialties had significant relationships (P<0.05) with the level of knowledge. Conclusion Despite having average or above knowledge about palliative care, the physicians’ prevailing misconceptions act as a barrier to recognizing the need among the target populations. So, proper education and awareness among the physicians are necessary to cross this field’s barrier and development.

Background and Aims Patient satisfaction is an important quality indicator of health care service. The concept of home‐based palliative care has been recently introduced in Bangladesh, but the patients' satisfaction with this care remained unexplored. This study aimed to assess the satisfaction of the cancer patients receiving this care. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted among 51 surviving cancer patients above 18 years of age registered under the home‐based care service of the Department of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data were collected by face‐to‐face interviews using a structured questionnaire based on the FAMCARE P16 questionnaire from February to March 2019. Descriptive analysis was done for the sociodemographic and satisfaction‐related indicators. A correlation matrix was done to see the correlation among the satisfaction indicators. Result The majority of the patients (88.2%) were satisfied with the service provided by the home care team. Most (76.5%) of the patients were women, and the mean age was 56.25 ± 14.8 years. The median duration of getting home‐based care was 4 months. Main satisfaction indicators were—assessment of physical symptoms (70.6%), providing information about pain management (70.6%), the inclusion of the family in decision making (76.5%), coordination of care between the members of the home care team (84.3%) and availability of doctors, nurses and palliative care assistants (74.5%). A high correlation was observed between satisfaction regarding the care of physical symptoms and provision of information ( R = 0.814, p < 0.001). Also, satisfaction regarding the provision of information and support provided to the family is highly correlated ( R = 0.722, p < 0.001). Conclusion Despite the limitations, the overall satisfaction level of the patients regarding home‐based palliative care services in Bangladesh is very high. Home‐based palliative can be a solution to provide palliative care to patients who are unable to access institution‐based care and improve their quality of life.

Background The concept of home-based palliative care has been recently introduced in Bangladesh, but the patients’ quality of life remains unexplored. This study aimed to assess the quality of life and its determinants of the cancer patients receiving home-based palliative care in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among 51 surviving cancer patients above 18 years registered under the home-based care service of the Department of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data was collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire based on the “Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative (FACIT-Pal)” questionnaire from February to March 2019. Descriptive analysis was done for the socio-demographic, disease and treatment related factors. Mann-Whiteney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, and logistic regression were done to determine the relationships between independent variables and QoL. Result The majority of the patients (76.5%) were women. The mean age of the respondents was 56.2±4.8 years. Common primary sites of cancer were breast (39.2%), gastrointestinal (17.6%), and genitourinary system (23.5%). The median duration of getting home-based care was four months. The most prevalent problems were pain, sadness, feeling ill, and lack of satisfaction regarding sexual life. The majority (88.2%) of the patients had an average and above-average quality of life. Although, 92.1%patients had average or above-average social and emotional wellbeing, 60.8% had below-average physical wellbeing. Patients’ marital status, belief about disease prognosis, and duration of getting home-based care had a positive influence, and age negatively influenced the quality of life. Conclusion The majority of the patients receiving home-based palliative care in Dhaka city had average or above-average quality of life. However, these patients had better social and emotional wellbeing, but the physical wellbeing and symptom control were below-average according to the individual domain.