Objectives: The study aimed to determine the associated factors of household food security (HFS) and household dietary diversity (HDD) during the COVID−19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Design: Both online survey and face-to-face interviews were employed in this cross-sectional study. The Household Food Security Scale and Household Dietary Diversity Score were used to access HFS and HDD, respectively. The HDD scores were derived from a 24-h recall of food intake from 12 groups. Setting: Bangladesh. Participants: A total sample of 1876 households were recruited. Results: The overall mean scores of HFS and HDD were 31·86 (sd 2·52) and 6·22 (sd 5·49), respectively. Being a rural resident, having no formal education, occupation of household head other than government job and low monthly income were potential determinants of lower HFS and HDD. Approximately 45 % and 61 % of Bangladeshi households did not get the same quantity and same type of food, respectively, as they got before the pandemic. Over 10 % of respondents reported that they lost their job or had to close their businesses, and income reduction was reported by over 70 % of household income earners during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn was negatively associated with HFS and HDD. Conclusion: Household socio-economic variables and COVID-19 effects on occupation and income are potential predictors of lower HFS and HDD scores. HFS and HDD deserve more attention during this pandemic particularly with reference to low-earning households and the households whose earning persons’ occupation has been negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Handwashing is one of the vital public health measures. It helps to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, water overuse during hand scrubbing with soap keeping the tap on may put enormous pressure on the already overstretched groundwater resources and households’ economic well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the overuse of water while scrubbing hands with soap for handwashing when the tap is on amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Sociodemographic data were collected using a web-based survey tool among 1980 participants and an experiment was conducted among 126 participants to estimate the overuse of water during hand scrubbing while the tap is on. A total of 80% of the participants washed their hands regularly after returning home from outside. About 57.27% of participants did not turn off their tap throughout the handwashing process. A single participant, who kept his tap on throughout the handwashing process, overused approximately 1.7L of water per handwash and 14.9L of water per day. Hand scrubbing with soap keeping the tap on, raised the overuse of water 13-fold during this pandemic compared to the non-pandemic situation which cost an extra 224.95 BDT (2.65$) per day for 1980 participants. Minimize the speed of tap, using automatic taps, and using taps operated by legs might be an effective solution to reduce the water overuse. Furthermore, behavioral change interventions are needed to aware people turn off the tap during hand scrubbing with soap.

Aim The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly infected people worldwide, leading to a massive public reaction. Peoples’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19 are the most important for the control and prevention of the infectious disease pandemic. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices (KAP) toward the COVID-19 among Bangladeshi residents during the lockdown situation. Subjects and methods An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1765 Bangladeshi adults through the social media networks of the authors. Results The respondents were older than 18 years, with an average age of 24.88 years (SD 6.30). Approximately 15% of our participants received online training. The mean knowledge score was 14.49 (SD 1.8, range 0–17), and the overall correct response rate on this knowledge test was 85%. Approximately 67.2% scored well (above the mean 4.5, range 1–5) regarding the practices. To avoid the infection, 96.6% wore masks outside the home, and 98.7% washed their hands with soap when they came back. COVID-19 knowledge score was significantly associated with a lower odds of (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.79–0.92) negative attitudes. Again, the awareness score was associated with a lower likelihood of (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87–0.98) poor practices. Conclusion Online health education programs focusing on young people, housewives, and people with less education may potentially improve the attitudes and practices to control the COVID-19 pandemic in the long term in such a low-resource setting.

Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices among hospital food service staff are crucial in the prevention of foodborne disease outbreaks, as hospitalized patients are more vulnerable to potential hazards. This study, therefore, sought to assess the food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of food service staff in Bangladeshi hospitals. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 191 food service staff from seven different hospitals in Dhaka and Chattogram from October 2021 to March 2022 using pretested questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the factors associated with the food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. The findings showed moderate knowledge but high levels of attitudes and practices of food safety among hospital food handlers. Food safety knowledge was significantly higher among males, participants from private hospitals and participants working in a hospital that had a food service supervisor and dietitian in charge of food service operations. Moreover, participants from private hospitals and participants working in a hospital that had a food service supervisor and dietitian in charge of food service operations had more positive attitudes and better practices regarding food safety. Hospital management should consider these factors for enhancing food handlers’ knowledge and increase training and supervision on food safety practices to reduce foodborne diseases and outbreaks.

In low-resource settings like Bangladesh, there is a dearth of research on the mental health of university students. This pilot study aimed to identify the prevalence of depressive symptoms, loneliness, and physical activities as well as the associated factors of depressive symptoms among graduate students in a public university of Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was carried out among 323 graduate students between February 2019 and May 2019. By the convenience sampling technique, data were collected by a pretested, structured questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the validated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) tool with a cut-off score of ≥10 vs. less; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) loneliness scale was applied to assess loneliness, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) scale was used to measure physical activity level. The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 52% and about 43% of participants felt most lonely. About 32.8% of students were involved in low physical activity. Being female, from lower income families, having poor academic performance, experiencing shorter sleep time, lower physical activity, and being lonely were potential risk factors for depressive symptoms among graduate university students. A positive correlation was found between loneliness and depressive symptoms of students (r = 0.367, p < 0.001). The higher prevalence of depressive symptoms among Bangladeshi graduate university students suggests the need for situation analysis, confirmatory clinical diagnosis, in-depth qualitative explorations, and large-scale surveys to explore the burden of such disorders and design appropriate low-intensity interventions like implementing student counselling service, offering mental assistance or other mental health support program in the country.