Health-related quality of life of the adult COVID-19 patients following one-month illness experience since diagnosis: Findings of a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stances an incredible impact on the quality of life and denigrates the physical and mental health of the patients. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of COVID-19 patients. We conducted this study at the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) of Bangladesh for the period of June to November 2020. All the COVID-19 patients diagnosed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in July 2020 formed the sampling frame. The study enrolled 1204 adult (aged >18 years) COVID-19 patients who completed a one-month duration of illness after being RT-PCR positive. The patients were interviewed with the CDC HRQOL-14 questionnaire to assess HRQOL. Data were collected by telephone interview on the 31st day of being diagnosed and by reviewing medical records using a semi-structured questionnaire and checklist. Around two-thirds (72.3%) of the COVID-19 patients were males and a half (50.2%) were urban residents. In 29.8% of patients, the general health condition was not good. The mean (±SD) duration of physical illness and mental illness was 9.83(±7.09) and 7.97(±8.12) days, respectively. Most of the patients (87.0%) required help with personal care, and 47.8% required assistance with routine needs. The mean duration of 'healthy days' and 'feeling very healthy' was significantly lower in patients with increasing age, symptoms, and comorbidity. The mean duration of 'usual activity limitation', 'health-related limited activity', 'feeling pain/worried', and 'not getting enough rest' were significantly higher among patients' having symptoms and comorbidity. 'Not so good' health condition was significantly higher in females (OR = 1.565, CI = 1.01-2.42) and those having a symptom (OR = 32.871, CI = 8.06-134.0) of COVID-19 and comorbidity (OR = 1.700, CI = 1.26-2.29). Mental distress was significantly higher among females (OR = 1.593, CI = 1.03-2.46) and those having a symptom (OR = 4.887, CI = 2.58-9.24). Special attention should be given to COVID-19 patients having symptoms and comorbidity to restore their general health, quality of life, and daily activities.

Health-related quality of life and coping strategies adopted by COVID-19 survivors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to investigate the health-related quality of life and coping strategies among COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 2198 adult, COVID-19 survivors living in Bangladesh. Data were collected from previously diagnosed COVID-19 participants (confirmed by an RT-PCR test) via door-to-door interviews in the eight different divisions in Bangladesh. For data collection, Bengali-translated Brief COPE inventory and WHO Brief Quality of Life (WHO-QoLBREF) questionnaires were used. The data collection period was from October 2020 to March 2021. RESULTS: Males 72.38% (1591) were more affected by COVID-19 than females 27.62% (607). Age showed significant correlations (p<0.005) with physical, psychological and social relationships, whereas gender showed only a significant correlation with physical health (p<0.001). Marital status, occupation, living area, and co-morbidities showed significant co-relation with all four domains of QoL (p<0.001). Education and affected family members showed significant correlation with physical and social relationship (p<0.001). However, smoking habit showed a significant correlation with both social relationship and environment (p<0.001). Age and marital status showed a significant correlation with avoidant coping strategies (p<0.001); whereas gender and co-morbidities showed a significant correlation with problem-focused coping strategies (p<0.001). Educational qualification, occupation and living area showed significant correlation with all three coping strategies(p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Survivors of COVID-19 showed mixed types of coping strategies; however, the predominant coping strategy was avoidant coping, followed by problem-focused coping, with emotion-focused coping reported as the least prevalent. Marital status, occupation, living area and co-morbidities showed a greater effect on QoL in all participants. This study represents the real scenario of nationwide health-associated quality of life and coping strategies during and beyond the Delta pandemic.

Health-Related Quality of Life and Coping Strategies adopted by COVID-19 survivors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

This study aims to investigate the health-related quality of life and coping strategies among COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh. MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study of 2198 adult, COVID-19 survivors living in Bangladesh. Data were collected from previously diagnosed COVID-19 participants (confirmed by an RT-PCR test) via door-to-door interviews in the eight different divisions in Bangladesh. For data collection, Bengali translated Brief COPE inventory and WHO Brief Quality of Life (WHO-QOLBREF) questionnaires were used. The data collection period was from June 2020 to March 2021. ResultsMales 72.38% (1591) were more affected by COVID-19 than females 27.62% (607). Age showed significant correlations (p<0.005) with physical, psychological and social relationships; whereas, gender showed only significant correlation with physical health (p<0.001). Marital status, occupation, living area, and co-morbidities showed significant co-relation with all four domains of QoL (p<0.001). Education and affected family members showed significant correlation with physical and social relationship (p<0.001). However, smoking habit showed significant correlations with both social relationship and environment (p<0.001). Age and marital status showed a significant correlation with avoidant coping strategy (p<0.001); whereas gender and co-morbidities showed significant correlation with problem focused coping strategies (p<0.001). Educational qualification, occupation and living area showed significant correlation with all three coping strategies (p<0.001). ConclusionSurvivors of COVID-19 showed mixed types of coping strategies; however, the predominant coping strategy was avoidant coping, followed by problem focused coping, with emotion focused coping reported as the least prevalent. Marital status, occupation, living area and co-morbidities showed a greater effect on QoL in all participants. This study represents the real scenario of nationwide health associated quality of life and coping strategy during and beyond the Delta pandemic.

Malnutrition and other risk factors of geriatric depression: a community-based comparative cross-sectional study in older adults in rural Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition and depression are highly prevalent in older adults and can lead to disparaging outcomes. Analytical studies on geriatric depression (GD) and its association with malnutrition are very scarce in Bangladesh, although the size of the older population is increasing fast in the country. The current study aimed to assess the association between malnutrition and depression and associated risk factors in rural older adults. METHODS: A community-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in 600 older adult residents (aged ≥60 years) of three rural communities of Bangladesh from January to October 2019. The study enrolled two groups of participants; 300 depressed as cases and another 300 non-depressed older adults as a comparison group matching their age and living area. We used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data through a face-to-face interview. Geriatric Depression Scale-15 was used to determine depression, and a score of ≥5 was considered as depressed. We used the Bangla version of the Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form to assess nutritional status, which comprised questions related to appetite, weight loss, mobility, recent illness/stress, dementia/depression, and BMI, and considered a score of 0-7 as the cutoff score for malnutrition. Measures included baseline and personal characteristics, malnutrition, GD, and its associated risk factors. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify variables associated with the risk of GD. RESULTS: The study found no significant difference in gender (male Vs. female) between depressed (44.0% Vs. 56.0%) and non-depressed (46.0% Vs. 54.0%) older individuals. The study revealed that malnutrition was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in depressed (56.0%) than in non-depressed (18.0%) rural older adults. The malnourished older adults had around three times (AOR = 3.155; 95% CI: 1.53-6.49, p = 0.002) more risk of having depression than the well-nourished older individuals. Older adults who were unemployed (AOR = 4.964; 95% CI: 2.361-10.440; p = 0.0001) and from lower and middle class (AOR = 3.654; 95% CI: 2.266-7.767; p = 0.001) were more likely to experience depression. Older adults having a 'poor diet' were more likely to experience depression (AOR = 3.384; 95% CI: 1.764-6.703; p = 0.0001). The rural older adults who were single (AOR = 2.368; 95% CI: 1.762-6.524; p = 0.001) and tobacco users (AOR = 2.332; 95% CI: 1.663-5.623; p = 0.003) were found more likely to experience depression. CONCLUSIONS: A significant association between malnutrition and depression was evident by the current study in the rural older individuals of Bangladesh. It will be a prolific initiative if policymakers merge malnutrition and the risk factors associated with geriatric depression in providing universal health care for better health and well-being of the rural older populations.

Impact of childhood cancer on the family: evidence from Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: The care of children with cancer creates emotional, financial, and social impacts for their families. Information on the impact of childhood cancer (CC) on the family is scarce in Bangladesh. Thus, the study was set out to assess the impact of CC on the families in the local context. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2018 in three purposively selected tertiary hospitals. All the children diagnosed and treated at those hospitals during the study period were eligible for this study. Children undergoing bone marrow transplantation, or those who were seriously ill, or those transferred to another hospital, or those who died were excluded or whose parents were not willing to participate. A total of 242 children were enrolled in the study and their parents were included in the interview. Measures included socio-demographic attributes, financial burden, personal strain, social impact, mastery, and treatment cost. Informed written consent was obtained from the parents and a face-to-face interview was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire based on (i) About you and your-family and (ii) the Impact-On-Family (IOF) scale. High scores of the scale correlated to high impact. Medical records were reviewed to collect data on the pattern of CC and treatment costs. RESULTS: Major CCs included leukemia (36.0%), blastoma (18.2%), sarcoma (14.9%), and lymphoma (12.4%). The weighted score was highest for mastery (3.63) followed by financial burden (3.33), personal strain (3.27), and social impact (3.21) domains. The difference of IOFS score was significant by family type (p < 0.05), father's occupation (p < 0.05), type (p < 0.01) and duration of cancer (p < 0.01), and treatment cost (p˂0.01). Families adopted diverse coping strategies including changed lifestyle (98.3%), sought social support (86.0%), rely more on religion (98.8%), and reduced family investment (83.9%) to adjust the impact. CONCLUSION: The impact of CC on the family is evident at many levels. In particular, mean scores of financial burden, personal strain, social impact, and mastery domains of the IOF scale were significantly associated with the employment status of parents, residing place, treatment cost, type, and duration of cancer. The study findings could contribute to devising impact-reducing intervention programs in Bangladesh.

Profile of stroke patients treated at a rehabilitation centre in Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in Bangladesh. Rehabilitation services have not yet been integrated into the Bangladesh health system. Only a few non-governmental organisations provide rehabilitation for stroke patients. The demographic profile of these patients has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the socio-demographic data, risk factors, place of primary management and cost of stroke for those who attended rehabilitation at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 103 conveniently selected stroke patients who attended CRP between December 2015 and May 2016. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 49 years. The majority (68%) originated from urban areas. About 85% of the patients had a history of hypertension prior to their stroke. Following the stroke, most patients received their initial treatment in a general clinic or hospital by registered physicians. Only 22% of the patients were advised to pursue follow-up rehabilitation services by their physicians. All patients interviewed in the survey received unpaid full-time care from their family members. The reported cost of rehabilitation was approximately US $328 per month per patient.