Difficulties faced by older Rohingya (forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals) adults in accessing medical services amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

Mistry, Sabuj Kanti; Ali, Arm Mehrab; Yadav, Uday Narayan; Huda, Md. Nazmul; Ghimire, Saruna; Bestman, Amy; Hossain, Mohammed Anwar; Reza, Sompa; Qasim, Rubina; Harris, Mark

doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007051

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This study reported a very high prevalence of COVID-19-related anxiety and perceived stress (68% and 93% respectively) among the older adults residing in the Rohingya refugee camp. Poor-socioeconomic conditions, previous traumatic experiences, ongoing risks in their life, uncertainties, and poor access to health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic might have resulted higher level of COVID-19-related anxiety and perceived stress among the participants (Limon et al, 2020 ; Mistry et al, 2021b , c ). We did not find any study conducted in the refugee settings exploring COVID-19 related anxiety and stress using the scales used in the current study to compare with.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Immediate partner could play a crucial role providing mental support to the fellow partner, particularly during an emergency like COVID-19 pandemic when the support from outside is limited (Jiang et al, 2022 ; Vowels et al, 2021 ). In absence of the partner, the participants would have found it difficult to deal with their emotions related to the overwhelming fear associated with COIVD-19 pandemic (Mistry et al, 2021a , b , c , d ; Quadros et al, 2021 ), resulting higher level of COVID-19-related anxiety and perceived stress. We also found that COVID-19-related anxiety and perceived stress was significantly higher among the participants who were feeling concerned/overwhelmed by COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Among the Community Dwelling Older Adults Residing in the Largest Refugee Camp of the World

Anwar

Yadav

Huda

et al. 2023

Community Ment Health J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current cross-sectional study was conducted among 864 older adults aged ≥ 60 years residing in Rohingya refugee camp through face-to-face interviews during November–December 2021. COVID-19-related anxiety was measured using the five-point Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and perceived stress using the 10-point Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The linear regression model identified the factors associated with COVID-19-related anxiety and perceived stress. The prevalence of COVID-19-related anxiety and perceived stress was 68% and 93%, respectively. The average COVID-19-related anxiety score expected to be significantly higher among those who were physically inactive, concerned about COVID-19, had a close friend/family member diagnosed with COVID-19, and had some difficulty in getting food and routine medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the average perceived stress score was expected to be significantly higher among those without partners, who were feeling overwhelmed by COVID-19, and who experienced COVID-19-related anxiety during the pandemic. The findings suggest providing immediate psychosocial support to older Rohingya adults.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Among the Community Dwelling Older Adults Residing in the Largest Refugee Camp of the World

Anwar

Yadav

Huda

et al. 2023

Community Ment Health J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Currently, over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees are living in highly congested camps with high risk of Covid-19 in Bangladesh (Khan & Ors 2021;Mistry & Ors 2021). The majority of the displaced Rohingya population live in 34 camps with poor access to water and sanitation, and very limited health services (UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2021a).…”

Section: [E] Out Of Sight Out Of Mind: Forced Displacement and Covid-...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Limits of Pandemic Governance

Canefe¹

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores the context-bound qualities of the legally sanctified practices of ‘quarantine’ and border closures as it examines the normalized invisibility of populations on the move who have not been ‘protected’ through the use of such standard Covid-19 measures. Inside national borders, isolation and quarantine orders are traditionally issued by states in accordance with the state’s broad powers to protect public health. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, these orders have been either not applied to or on certain occasions intervened with or suspended when a quarantine was deemed unreasonable or inapplicable with reference to migrants, refugees and displaced people. The article proposes a redefinition of death as ‘death-in-living’ and ‘grievable lives’ as ‘disposable lives’ in order to understand the conundrum concerning the selective application of Covid-19 measures to irregular migrants, refugees, undocumented and non-status peoples and stateless communities. Legal responses to the pandemic continue to have a far greater impact upon populations on the move, displaced communities and refugees in radically unequal ways. The article reveals the ethical limitations of global pandemic governance in terms of how legal and policy-based practices systemically fail and desert certain populations and advances a notion of justice that starts from a deeper understanding of existing injustices. Keywords: global governance; death-in-living; grievable lives; populations on the move; Covid-19 pandemic; ethical limits of law.

show abstract

“…Evidence suggests that adult women and children among Rohingya, are most vulnerable to the COVID-19 due to their misconceptions and lack of awareness regarding the same (16). In contrast, older adults are more susceptible to COVID-19 due to age-related complications (34,35). These factors play an important role in how different groups, especially the most vulnerable within the two communities received information about and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Younger women had more access to COVID-19 information”: An Intersectional Analysis of Factors Influencing Women and Girls’ Access to COVID-19 Information in Rohingya and Host Communities in Bangladesh

Parray

Hossain

Sultana

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionThe Rohingya and Bangladeshi host communities live at a heightened risk of COVID-19 impact due to their pre-existing vulnerabilities, religious beliefs, and strict socio-cultural and gender norms that render primarily women and girls vulnerable. However, the extent of this vulnerability varies within and across population groups in the host and Rohingya communities. The intersectionality lens helps identify, recognize, and understand these factors that create inequities within populations. This study explored the factors that influenced the women and girls’ access to information during the COVID-19 pandemic through an intersectional lens.MethodologyThis paper presents partial findings from the exploratory qualitative part of mixed-method research conducted in ten Rohingya camps and four wards of the adjacent host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Data were extracted from 24 in-depth interviews (12 in each community) conducted from November 2020 to March 2021 with diverse participants, including adolescent girls, younger women, adult women, pregnant and lactating mothers, persons with disabilities, older adults, and single female-household heads. All participants provided verbal informed consent before the interviews. In the case of the adolescents, assent was taken from the participants, and verbal informed consent was taken from their parents/guardians. The ethical clearance of this study was sought from the institutional review board of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University.ResultWe find that the women and girls living in Rohingya communities exhibit a more profound structural interplay of factors within their socio-ecological ecosystem depending on their age, power, and position in the society, physical (dis)abilities, and pre-existing vulnerabilities stemming from their exodus, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 impact by hindering their access to information. Unlike Rohingya, the host women and girls explain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their access to information through the lens of intergenerational poverty and continuous strain on existing resources, thereby highlighting shrinking opportunities due to the influx, COVID-19 infodemic and misinformation, access to digital devices amongst the adolescents, and restricted mobility mainly due to transport, school closures, and distance-related issues. Moreover, the socio-cultural beliefs and the gender norms imposed on women and adolescent girls played an essential role in accessing information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently influenced their perception of and response to the disease and its safety protocols. Socio-cultural gender norms led to mobility restrictions, which compounded by lockdowns influenced their access to information resulting in dependency on secondary sources, usually from male members of their families, which can easily mislead/provide mis/partial information. The younger age groups had more access to primary sources of information and a broader support network. In comparison, the older age groups were more dependent on secondary sources, and their social networks were limited to their family members due to their movement difficulty because of age/aging-related physical conditions.ConclusionThis study explored and analyzed the intersectional factors that influenced the women and girls’ access to information during the COVID-19 pandemic from two contexts with varying degrees of pre-existing vulnerability and its extent. These include gender, age, state of vulnerability, power and privilege, socio-economic status, and physical (dis)ability. It is imperative that services geared towards the most vulnerable are contextualized and consider the intersectional factors that determine the communities’ access to information.

show abstract

Difficulties faced by older Rohingya (forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals) adults in accessing medical services amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

Cited by 13 publications

References 46 publications

Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Among the Community Dwelling Older Adults Residing in the Largest Refugee Camp of the World

Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Among the Community Dwelling Older Adults Residing in the Largest Refugee Camp of the World

Ethical Limits of Pandemic Governance

“Younger women had more access to COVID-19 information”: An Intersectional Analysis of Factors Influencing Women and Girls’ Access to COVID-19 Information in Rohingya and Host Communities in Bangladesh

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About