Demographic and Socioeconomic Homogeneity among Districts and District Towns in Bangladesh

Runa

Mosabbir

2021

Preprint

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Objectives Thalassaemia is a life-threatening rare disease, which requires regular blood transfusion and medical care. The information on how thalassaemia patients are affected during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis is scarce. This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the blood transfusion and healthcare access of thalassaemia patients at the community level in Bangladesh. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among thalassaemia patients registered in a community-based thalassaemia registry in Jamapur, Bangladesh. Results As compared to pre-COVID-19 time, the number of blood transfusions among patients under the thalassaemia registry was significantly reduced during COVID-19 pandemic (190 units versus 81 units). In addition, the median number of red cell transfusions per patient was dropped significantly from 4 units to one unit. Over 80% of patient had no access to healthcare services at all during the early phase of the pandemic. Conclusion Emergency response with appropriate mitigative measures must be a priority for addressing an acute shortage of blood supply in situations like COVID-19 pandemic.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on rare diseases- A case study on thalassaemia patients in Bangladesh

Runa

Mosabbir

2021

Preprint

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“…General limitations of this study are those applicable to cross-sectional studies conducted by self-administered questionnaire. With regard to the sample population our study sample is representative to majority of the districts (33 out of 64) in Bangladesh considering demographic and socio-economic factors [37], but may not be fully generalizable to the population of Bangladesh as a whole.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Jamalpur has a population of 2.3 million (2011 census) and is located 140 km northwest of the capital city, Dhaka. Bangladesh is generally homogeneous in the in terms of demographic and socio-cultural factors [37]. For instance, considering socio-economic factors our study setting (Jamalpur) is representative of 33 districts within Bangladesh [37].…”

Section: Study Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of knowledge and misperceptions about thalassaemia among college students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional baseline study

Hasan

Raheem

et al. 2020

Orphanet J Rare Dis

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Background: Thalassaemia is a potentially life-threatening yet preventable inherited hemoglobin disorder. Understanding local socio-cultural context and level of public awareness about thalassaemia is pivotal for selecting effective prevention strategies. This study attempted to assess knowledge and perceptions about thalassaemia among college students in Bangladesh. Methods: A supervised cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1578 college students using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The survey took place from 15 February 2018 to 17 March 2018 in the Jamalpur district in Bangladesh. Besides the attitude-related questions, the study asked a total of 12 knowledge-related questions, which were scored on a scale of 0-12 points. Results: Over two-thirds (67%) of the college students had never heard of thalassaemia. The urban-rural dichotomy was observed among those familiar with the term; (46.4% from urban vs. 25.8% from rural colleges). A similar pattern was observed for knowledge score; 5.07 ± 1.87 for students from the urban colleges compared to 3.69 ± 2.23 for rural colleges. Students from the science background had the highest knowledge score (5.03 ± 1.85), while those from arts and humanities background scored lowest (3.66 ± 2.3). Nearly 40% of the students were not sure or did not want to be a friend of a thalassaemia patient. Whereas 39% either declined or remained hesitant about helping thalassaemia patients by donating blood. However, most of the respondents (88%) showed a positive attitude towards 'premarital' screening to prevent thalassaemia. Conclusions: This study has identified critical knowledge gaps and societal misperceptions about thalassaemia. A better understanding of these aspects will be pivotal for disseminating thalassaemia related information. As the first study of this kind in Bangladesh, findings from this study has generated baseline data that would contribute to developing effective intervention strategies in Bangladesh and other countries with a comparable socio-cultural setting.

“…Our findings are not generalizable to all urban settings in the country. However, important demographic and socio-economic factors of Jamalpur are comparable to other 33 district towns (out of 64) in Bangladesh[10]. It appears that cemetery-based death registration could help track various crises (e.g., COVID-19), especially when collecting data on the ground is challenging for resource-limited countries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) in an urban community of Bangladesh

Khan

Mamun

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Objectives Unlike high-income countries, the magnitude of COVID-19-related mortality is largely unknown in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to determine the COVID-19-associated excess mortality in an urban setting in Bangladesh using a cemetery-based death registration dataset. Study design Retrospective observational study Methods Data extracted from the death registry books managed by the local municipality. A total of 6,271 deaths (3,790 male and 2,481 female) recorded between January 2015 and December 2021 were analyzed by using the Bayesian structural time series model (BSTS). Results During the pre-COVID-19 period, the average monthly number of deaths was 69, whereas, during the COVID-19 period, this number significantly increased to 92. Overall, according to model-based results, during COVID-19 period, the number of deaths increased on average by 17% (95% CrI: -18%, 57%): males 29% (95 % CrI: -15%, 75%) and 2.9% for females (95% CrI: -61%, 70%). Conclusions This first-of-its-kind study in Bangladesh has revealed the excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) in an urban community. It appears that cemetery-based death registration could help track various crises (e.g., COVID-19), especially when collecting data on the ground is challenging for resource-limited countries.