Does parent-child connectedness influence substance use among Bhutanese adolescents: evidence from a national survey?

BACKGROUND: Adolescent substance use is recognized as a global health crisis that threatens adolescents' physical and mental health worldwide. Alcohol is the most available one; WHO findings suggest that more than 155 million adolescents, representing over a quarter of the adolescent population aged between 11 and 15, use alcohol-based drinks worldwide. Since adolescents are the future of the world, protecting them from substance use is of paramount importance. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of adolescent substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco) among Bhutanese adolescents and examine the association with parent-child connectedness as a protective factor while controlling sociodemographic, socio-emotional distress, and other contextual factors. METHODS: A total of 7576 school-going adolescents' data from the 2016 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) Bhutan dataset were used in this study. To analyze the relationship between predictor and outcome variables, both univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models were constructed utilizing the "complex samples" tool of SPSS 25. A significance level of p ≤ 0.05 was used for the analyses. RESULTS: An estimated 30.7% of the Bhutanese school-going adolescents used tobacco, 25.8% consumed alcohol, and 12.7% used marijuana. Parent-child connectedness: (i) child's homework supervision and (ii) child's free time supervision by parents significantly lower the odds of using tobacco and alcohol consumption, while parents understanding child's problem showed no significant association with substance use among the respondents. However, no significant association was found between parent-child connectedness and marijuana use. Besides parental connectedness, anxiety, bullying, passive smoking, school truancy, being involved in fights, or being attacked were also significantly associated with adolescents' substance use. CONCLUSION: Parental connectedness has been found to be an important factor that can lead to a substantive reduction in substance use among the adolescents of Bhutan. However, the lesson is pertinent for any global initiatives aiming to prevent the harmful use of substances among global adolescents.

Disaster response self-efficacy of nursing students: Perceived level and associated factors.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess the level of disaster response self-efficacy (DRSE) among nursing students in Bangladesh and examine the factors influencing their level of DRSE. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used for this research. A self-administered descriptive structured questionnaire was used to collect survey data from 573 students of nursing colleges in four districts: Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, and Rajshahi. The Bengali version of the DRSE Scale was adopted and used to measure the outcome variable. RESULTS: The nursing students exhibited a moderate level of disaster response self-efficacy (Mean = 3.63; SD = 0.73), as well as moderate levels of knowledge (Mean = 3.87; SD = 0.71), skills (Mean = 4.24; SD = 0.91), and preparedness (Mean = 4.31; SD = 0.76) in disaster management. Significant positive correlations were found between respondents' disaster knowledge (r = 0.447, p < 0.01), skills (r = 0.516, p < 0.01), and preparedness (r = 0.701, p < 0.01) with disaster response self-efficacy. Gender, age, having children in the household, post-basic BSc in nursing students, and disaster knowledge were significantly associated with nursing students' DRSE. Female respondents had a 0.27-unit lower DRSE (ß = -0.270 (95 % CI: -0.389, -0.115), p < 0.001) than male respondents. Besides, the respondents per unit increase in disaster knowledge occurred a 0.438-unit increase in DRSE (ß = 0.438 (95 % CI: 0.367, 0.510), p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant associations were found between the respondents' disaster experience and disaster-related training with their DRSE scores. CONCLUSION: Improving disaster management knowledge by including disaster management-related courses and organizing more training, drills, seminars, and workshops may improve their DRSE.

Health Consequences Management in a Multi-Hazard Context: A Systematic Review of the Coincidence of Flood and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The co-occurring flood and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) increase the consequences for health and life. This study examined the strategies to manage the health consequences of the co-occurring flood and COVID-19, with a specific focus on these 2 challenges. METHODS: This review included all the studies published in peer-reviewed journals between January 1980 and June 2021. Several electronic databases were searched, including Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. Mixed Methods Appraisal Tools (MMT), version 2018, assessed the articles retrieved through a comprehensive and systematic literature search. Descriptive and thematic analyses were carried out to derive strategies for managing the health consequences of the simultaneous flood and COVID-19. RESULTS: Among 4271 identified articles, 10 were eligible for inclusion. In total, 199 strategies were identified in this review for managing the multi-hazard health consequences of flooding and COVID-19, which were classified into 9 categories and 25 subcategories. The categories included policy making and decision making, coordination, risk communication, logistics, planning, preparedness measures, response measures, social and humanitarian support, and actions of local communities and non-governmental organizations. CONCLUSIONS: Managing a multi-hazard and reducing its health consequences requires various actions. Flood management must be needed, and flood-affected people and their health should be protected.

Deep analysis of adsorption isotherm for rapid sorption of Acid Blue 93 and Reactive Red 195 on reactive graphene.

Graphene-based adsorbent was prepared by adopting a green synthetic route via the chemical exfoliation of graphite and low-temperature thermal activation. Prepared reactive graphene (RG) was characterized through various techniques, and its adsorption capabilities for textile dye removal were investigated for Acid Blue-93 (AB) and Reactive Red-195 (RR) under different operational conditions. The dye sorption equilibrium and mechanism were comprehensively studied using isotherm and kinetic models and compared statistically to explain the sorption behavior. Results show AB and RR adsorption by RG attains equilibrium in 60 min and 70 min, with a high sorption quantity of 397 mg g-1 and 262 mg g-1 (initial dye concentration of 100 mg L-1), respectively. The dye sorption anticipates that the high surface area (104.52 m2 gm-1) and constructed meso-macroporous features of RG facilitated the interaction between the dye molecules and graphitic skeleton. The R-P isotherm fitted the best of equilibrium data, having the least variance in residuals for both dyes (AB = 0.00031 and RR = 0.00047). The pseudo-second order model best fitted the kinetics of sorption on RG, with chemisorption being the predominant process delimiting step. The overall results promise the dye removal capability of RG to be an efficient adsorbent for azo-based dyes from textile effluents.

Effects of mass casualty incidents on anxiety, depression and PTSD among doctors and nurses: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Both doctors and nurses showed a greater risk of being exposed to different mental health conditions following mass casualties. This systematic review aims to synthesise the existing evidence on the prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and their associated risk factors among doctors and nurses following mass casualty incidents. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Seven electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, MEDLINE Ovid, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science and Nursing & Allied Health database) will be searched from 2010 to 2022 with peer-reviewed articles in English language using the predefined keywords. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles and abstracts, as well as review the full texts using the eligibility criteria, then extract data independently. The National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tools (NIH-QAT) for quantitative studies, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Checklist for qualitative studies and the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for mixed-method studies will be used to measure the quality appraisal of eligible studies. A third reviewer will resolve the discrepancies when the two reviewers cannot reach an agreement in any step. The result from the eligible studies will be described following narrative synthesis with the key characteristics and findings of the included studies, and meta-analysis will be performed, if applicable. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review deals with existing published studies without any personally identifiable information of participants. Therefore, ethical approval from the research committee is not required. Findings from this review will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant international conferences. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023412852.

Family resilience and neighborhood factors affect the association between digital media use and mental health among children: does sleep mediate the association?

The associations between digital media use and mental well-being among children and adolescents have been inconclusive. We examined (i) the associations between digital media use and mental health outcomes, anxiety, depression, and ADHD, (ii) whether family resilience and neighborhood factors attenuate the associations, and (iii) whether sleep mediates these associations. We used the National Survey of Children's Health data from 2019 to 2020. A total of 45,989 children's (6-17 years) data were analyzed in this study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the associations between digital media use and anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Path models and Paramed command in STATA were used to test the role of sleep as a mediator of these associations. The prevalence of heavy digital media users (who spent 4 or more hours per day) among the analytic sample was 30.52%, whereas anxiety was 13.81%, depression was 5.93%, and ADHD was 12.41%. Children in the heavy media user group had 63% increased odds of anxiety (95% CI: 1.32-2.01) and 99% increased odds of depression (95% CI: 1.35-2.94) after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, compared to the children in light media user group (who spent < 2 h per day), and these relations were significant at 0.01 level. However, family resilience and community factors significantly attenuated the effect of digital media use on anxiety and depression. Sleep did not mediate the associations between digital media use and anxiety or depression.   Conclusions: Family resilience and neighborhood factors protect against the harmful effects of digital media use. Further research is needed to examine the relationships of media contents, the presence of electronic devices in bedrooms, and sleep quality with mental health. What is Known: • Spending long hours on digital media may adversely affect children and adolescents' health and development. However, the mediating role of sleep in the association between digital media use and mental health outcomes is inconclusive. What is New: • Digital media use has detrimental effects on anxiety and depression. However, family resilience and neighborhood factors attenuated the association. The study highlights the importance of positive family functioning and neighborhood conditions reducing the harmful effects of digital media use.

Hospital Surge Capacity Preparedness in Disasters and Emergencies: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Hospitals' medical surge preparedness or surge capacity preparedness plays a significant role in reducing mortalities and in the treatment of severe injuries in disasters and emergencies. Though actions or activities for surge capacity preparedness of hospitals are discussed in several studies, they remain fragmented and need to be compiled. This systematic review will provide a comprehensive synthesis of evidence of actions or steps taken to strengthen hospitals' medical surge preparedness in disasters and emergencies, which will eventually help develop surge capacity programs and relevant policies. All the studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 1 January 2016 and 30 July 2022, with full text available, will be included in this review. Seven electronic databases-PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and Ovid-will be searched. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles and abstracts using the eligibility criteria, review full-text articles, and extract data with the help of CADIMA software. A third reviewer will help resolve any discrepancies during the whole process. The extracted data will be narratively synthesized with the key characteristics and findings of the studies. The NIH quality assessment tools will be used to scale up the the quality of the retrieved quantitative studies. Moreover, the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT) and Noyes et al. guidelines will be used to assess the mixed methods studies and qualitative studies quality assessment, respectively.

Determinants of anxiety and depression among Bangladeshi adults during COVID-19 lockdown: An online survey.

Background: Human health and well-being are adversely affected by the effects of COVID-19. This study examined the prevalence of anxiety and depression during COVID-19 lockdown in Bangladesh, and their association with some less explored factors like perceived and relative health status, having elderly members in the family, fear for own and family future, and others from the Asian context. Methods: Using an online survey, data were collected from the population aged 18 years and above, on socio-demographic and economic attributes, and two separate standardized twelve-item scales were used to assess the level of anxiety and depression. Both descriptive and multivariate linear regression were used to analyze the factors associated with anxiety and depression scores. Results: The respondents had an average anxiety score of 21.74 (SD = 8.20) on a scale ranging from 12 to 60 and an average depression score of 24.39 (SD = 10.30) on the same scale. The study findings revealed that respondents' concern for future well-being, perceived physical health status compared to others in the same cohort, and perceived physical health status during the survey compared to prior COVID-19 were significantly associated with anxiety and depression scores during COVID-19 lockdown. In addition, the anxiety score was significantly higher (p = 0.046) for women respondents than men. Moreover, respondents aged 18-24 years had significantly higher (p < 0.001) depression than others. Conclusions: The increased level of anxiety and depression during COVID-19 of adult people in Bangladesh are associated with several factors of which their greater concern about the future of their own and family members and health-related attributes are important. These findings may lead to developing interventions to reduce the psychological crisis during the pandemic in Bangladesh.

Nurses' knowledge, skills and preparedness for disaster management of a Megapolis: Implications for nursing disaster education.

As frontline health caregivers, nurses must be adequately prepared to respond effectively to disasters. Therefore, it is necessary to assess nurses' disaster management capacity to know their preparedness levels, especially for a densely populated Megapolis like Dhaka, which is at high risk of disasters. Thus, the study aimed to examine Dhaka city nurses' knowledge, skills, preparedness (KSP) for disasters and explore the factors influencing the KSP levels. A self-explanatory descriptive survey questionnaire was developed adopting the Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool (DPET) in Bangla language for quantitative data collection. Following multistage sampling, 410 nurses' data were collected from eight hospitals in Dhaka city. The nurses in Dhaka city had moderate levels of knowledge, skills, and preparedness for disaster management, reflecting that they need more development to deal with disasters effectively. Moreover, multiple linear regression analyses indicate that nurses' disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness scores were significantly positively associated with training on disaster management (p < 0.001) and disaster response experience (p < 0.001). In addition, one-half of the respondents demanded more drills and exercises on disaster management in their workplaces to enhance their disaster skills and preparedness. Furthermore, disaster education should be incorporated into the nursing curriculum, which would play a seminal role in preparing them for future disaster management.

Corrigendum to "Climate change impacts and adaptations on health of Internally Displaced People (IDP): An exploratory study on coastal areas of Bangladesh" [Heliyon 6 (9) (September 2020) Article e05018]".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05018.].

Climate change impacts and adaptations on health of Internally Displaced People (IDP): An exploratory study on coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Every year thousands of people are being displaced in coastal areas of Bangladesh due to natural calamities associated with climate change, known as Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). Climate change adaptation measures play a significant role in coping with the alteration of climatic components, while various forms of barriers hinder the sustainability of adaptation. This research was conducted to understand the perception of IDPs on climate change impact on health in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, including the adaptation practices and barriers to the coping strategies. To fulfill the objective, 420 individual surveys were conducted randomly in two Sub-districts of Khulna district in Bangladesh. The findings reveal that the riverbank erosion and cyclones were the primary reasons for displacement, and the social relationships were hampered in the new places of living. Also, the temperature in summer and winter, and the rainfall intensity increased, whereas rainfall slightly decreased over the last ten years. Differences of opinion were identified about the effects of the changing climatic variables on the respondents' health between the previous and present locations. Despite practicing different adaptive strategies, the weak financial condition and a lack of access to health care information are mostly hindering the sustainability of adaptation. This research may help policymakers in taking proper initiatives to ensure sustainable adaptation practices in the coastal areas.

Water pollution in Bangladesh and its impact on public health.

Bangladesh - one of the most densely populated countries of the world- has plentiful water sources, but these sources are being polluted continuously. Both surface water and groundwater sources are contaminated with different contaminants like toxic trace metals, coliforms as well as other organic and inorganic pollutants. As most of the population uses these water sources, especially groundwater sources which contain an elevated amount of arsenic throughout the country; health risk regarding consuming water is very high. Death due to water-borne diseases is widespread in Bangladesh, particularly among children. Anthropogenic sources such as untreated industrial effluents, improper disposal of domestic waste, agricultural runoffs are the main contributors regarding water pollution. A total water pollution status of this country, as well as the sources of this severe condition, is crucial to evaluate public health risk. For this purpose, we reviewed hundreds of well recognized international and national journals, conference proceedings and other related documents to draw a complete picture of recent water pollution status and its impact on public health; also the sources of water pollution are identified.