Adapting to change: Exploring reverse migration as a coping strategy among internal migrants in Bangladesh.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down economic growth and disrupted labor markets throughout the world, including Bangladesh. A significant proportion of people lost income sources in the formal and informal sectors, triggering them to return to villages, and the transition introduces us to the new phenomenon known as "reverse migration". This study explores and synthesizes the COVID-19 induced changing patterns of migration and returnees' coping strategies based on their level of preparedness as well as resource mobilization. A mixed-method research approach was applied to conduct the research. The study area was Rangpur (Pirganj, Taraganj, and Kaunia). For collecting primary data, semi-structured survey questionnaires were used and conducted 84 field survey data, 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 6 In-Depth Interviews (IDIs), 2 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and participant observations. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis with the assistance of NVivo software were used to present the findings of this study. The findings of the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic fueled informal job holders' returning to their homeland due to a low level of preparedness and mobilized resources. The study found that most respondents were in severe level unemployment. As a result, a lack of physical assets, they could not start new income-generating ventures and encountered food insecurity due to unexpected price hikes. The alarming result indicates that internal reverse migration is gendered, and the adverse impact is more prevalent among female migrants rather than male migrants. Along with the governmental organizations, the highlights of this study would be essential for non-governmental organizations and development practitioners.

ChatGPT and the Future of Health Policy Analysis: Potential and Pitfalls of Using ChatGPT in Policymaking.

Scholars increasingly rely on new artificial intelligence models for convenience and simple access to necessities due to the rapid evolution of scientific literature and technology. The invention of ChatGPT by OpenAI stands out as a key example of how significant advances in large language model technology have recently changed the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Since ChatGPT's development, it has been tested by multiple sectors on various topics to see how well it functions in a natural and conversational mode. The crucial question is how much ChatGPT can influence global health policy analysis. In this article, the researcher briefly explains ChatGPT's potential and the difficulties that users, such as researchers or policymakers, may continue to face.

Effects of COVID-19 on Livelihood, Health, and Psychology of Hijra Population: Insights from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The COVID-19 lockdown in Bangladesh has left hijra individuals at an increased risk of poverty and food insecurity due to the economic crisis. COVID-19 challenges the fundamental foundation of the public health system, and now the hijra group is out of the system because of stigma and discrimination. This article features three focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted by 23 respondents about their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following research aimed to understand the health, mental stress, and social and economic effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the lives of deprived and marginalized hijra people in Bangladesh. The results reflect the effect of COVID-19 in terms of social, health care, and mental health problems on the hijra community in Bangladesh. In the aftermath of the pandemic, their disadvantaged and socially excluded status makes the hijra population more vulnerable to being affected by the virus and facing its economic and social impacts. The conclusion presents that hijra people are assumed to suffer under the severity of the pandemic even more than the general population due to the intersections between their status as a vulnerable social group and their high level of medical risk factors.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of school-going adolescents: insights from Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

The pandemic has affected every walk of life, and mental health is no exception. Bangladesh has been operating under a resource crisis, and this crisis has incurred and is incurring a governance priority dilemma. Unending vacations of the educational institutions are taxing our students' mental serenity, and among those, adolescents are more vulnerable. Unending leaves of the educational institutions are taxing our students' mental peace, and among those, adolescents are more susceptible. Across the globe, a good number of studies have been performed, and Bangladesh is no exception. However, adolescents have received less attention in those studies, and this paper fills the gap. This explorative study opted for a qualitative method that covered data collection like in-depth interviews among 60 respondents. This study aims to simultaneously unveil the causes of mental dissonance among adolescents and the impact of infection prevention measures (e.g., lockdown) on adolescents' mental health in the capital city of Bangladesh. This study also recommends a possible way out of this crisis. The study revealed that prolonged school closure, fear of the disease, disruption in education, excessive use of digital devices, and the culture of ignoring adolescents' mental health are responsible for pausing detrimental effects on adolescents' mental health. Adolescents suffered from mental health issues like stress, anxiety, depression, and sleeping disorders during the lockdown.

The mental impact of digital divide due to COVID-19 pandemic induced emergency online learning at undergraduate level: Evidence from undergraduate students from Dhaka City.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 outbreak has drawn out institutions to closure with several challenges for university students of undergraduate level in Dhaka city including an emergency shift from traditional learning to online learning, which associated digital divide, left several arguments in response to technological inefficiency, pedagogic inefficiency of teachers, inappropriate study environment and so on. Previous literature shows that the COVID-19 is imposing a threat to mental health all over the nation since its spread. This study intended to evaluate the emerging reasons for psychological distress among university students of undergraduate level in Dhaka, also assess the execution methods, barriers of online learning, and lastly, the attitudes of students regarding online learning throughout the pandemic. METHODS: A mixed methodology was used to conduct the research. Primary data has been collected using simple purposive sampling on 180 undergraduate students, 9 interviews were taken including 6 in-depth interviews of different university undergraduates from Dhaka city and also 3 (KIIs) from specialists of pedagogy and medical anthropology, and a high official from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). RESULTS: Based on the Kessler K-10 distress scale, the study found that the prevalence of no psychological distress (16.67%) followed by mild (40%), moderate (30.56%), and severe psychological distress (12.78%). CONCLUSION: The results concluded considering several reasons for mild to severe psychological distress. The findings suggest some recommendations to accumulate the process of online learning effectively and also strategies to regulate the preferred mode of learning in future.

Strategic assessment of mental health and suicide amid COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this study is to explore how the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has affected the mental health of our society in Bangladesh as a thorough assessment of mental health is salient during this pandemic crisis. The study seeks to ensure that their unheard voices are reached to both national and international academic discourse, which has so far been uninhabited. It adopted qualitative interpretative methods of social research through content analysis. The study found that the pandemic did not affect all groups of society uniformly, rather the intensity of its impact varied depending on factors such as economic status and family institutions. The lower socioeconomic class is the worst affected as the pandemic made them unemployed, leading them to an uncertain future. Despite such variations, the general population has experienced a subsequent increase in workload, and challenges in using routine health facilities that increased behavioural changes, higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression and suicides.