Health Facilities Readiness and Determinants to Manage Cardiovascular Disease in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal: Evidence from the National Service Provision Assessment Survey.

Background: In South Asia, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are an increasing public health concern. One strategy for dealing with the growing CVDs epidemic is to make health facilities more ready to provide CVDs services. The study's objectives were to: (1) assess healthcare facilities' readiness to offer CVDs services; and (2) identify the variables that influence such readiness. Methods: This study employed data from the Afghanistan Service Provision Assessment Survey 2018-2019, Bangladesh Health Facility Survey 2017, and Nepal Health Facility Survey 2021 that were cross-sectional and nationally representative. In Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, 117, 368, and 1,381 health facilities, respectively, were examined. A total of 10 items/indicators were used to measure a health facility's readiness to provide CVDs services across three domains. Results: The mean readiness scores of managing CVDs were 6.7, 5.6, and 4.6 in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, respectively. Availability of trained staff for CVD services are not commonly accessible in Afghanistan (21.5%), Bangladesh (15.3%), or Nepal (12.9%), except from supplies and equipment. Afghanistan has the highest levels of medicine and other commodity availability. Among the common factors linked with readiness scores, we ought to expect a 0.02 unit rise in readiness scores for three nations for every unit increase in number of CVDs care providers. In Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, availability of both diagnosis and treatment facilities was associated with increases in readiness scores of 27%, 9%, and 17%, respectively. Additionally, an association was observed between nation-specific facility types and the readiness scores. Conclusions: Country-specific factors as well as universal factors present in all three nations must be addressed to improve a health facility's readiness to provide CVDs care. To create focused and efficient country-specific plans to raise the standard of CVD care in South Asia, more investigation is necessary to ascertain the reasons behind country-level variations in the availability of tracer items.

Factors mediating the association between recurring floods and child chronic undernutrition in northern Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVES: Although there is some evidence that flood exposure in Bangladesh and other developing countries increases the risk of chronic undernutrition in children, the underlying mechanisms are, to our knowledge, unknown. The objectives of this research are to examine the association between recurrent flood exposure and the likelihood of chronic undernutrition in children and to investigate the mediators of this association. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Naogaon District in northern Bangladesh. Purposive sampling was used to choose 800 children between the ages of 12 and 59 mo in equal numbers in the specified flood-affected and flood-unaffected areas: 400 children from the flood-affected area and 400 from the flood-unaffected area. The nutrition indicator height for age, expressed as z scores, was used to define child chronic undernutrition. Our study focused on children who have been exposed to multiple floods in the past 5 y. RESULTS: In our sample data, children who had experienced flooding had a 1.74-times higher chance of having chronic undernutrition (95% CI, 1.53-2.28) than children who had not experienced flooding. The mediation analyses found inadequate minimum dietary diversity, history of diarrhea, not being fully vaccinated, not using clean cooking fuel, and not having a separate kitchen contributed 19.5%, 10%, 9.8%, 14.8%, and 10%, respectively, to the flood exposure-child undernutrition association. CONCLUSIONS: Flood exposure was found associated with the likelihood of child chronic undernutrition, and this relationship was mediated through lack of having a separate kitchen, history of diarrhea, insufficient vaccination, use of unclean cooking fuel, and poor minimum dietary diversity. Interventions to reduce the prevalence of these risk factors could contribute to reducing the disparities in child undernourishment brought on by exposure to flooding.

Assessing the readiness of health facilities to provide family planning services in low-resource settings: Insights from nationally representative service provision assessment surveys in 10 Countries.

BACKGROUND: Many low-income countries continue to have high fertility levels and unmet need for family planning (FP) despite progress in increasing access to modern contraceptive methods and in reducing the total fertility rate (TFR). Health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA) are thought to be unable to adequately deal with the burden of high unmet FP demands due to their weaker health systems. As a result, determining the readiness of health facilities that offer FP services is critical for identifying weaknesses and opportunities for continued development of FP health systems in those regions. Service Provision Assessment (SPA) tools-which break down health systems into measurable, trackable components-are one useful way to assess service readiness and the ability of health institutions to deliver FP services. METHODS: Using data from nationally representative SPA surveys, we conducted a study that aimed to: (1) evaluate healthcare facilities' readiness to provide FP services; and (2) identify the factors that affect FP service readiness. Using a cross-sectional survey design, we used data from SPA surveys conducted in 10 low-resource SA and SSA countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We analyzed data from public and private health facilities in Afghanistan (84), Bangladesh (1,303), Kenya (567), Malawi (810), Namibia (357), Nepal (899), Rwanda (382), Senegal (334), Tanzania (933), and the DRC (1,061) for a total of 6,730 facilities. We used 17 items/indicators recommended by the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment to measure a health facility's readiness to provide FP services across four domains. RESULTS: Only 3.6% to 34.1% of the health facilities were reporting at least 75% (12-13 of 17) of the relevant items for FP service provision. Most of the health facilities in the countries under investigation suffered from lack of readiness, meaning that they did not fulfill at least 75% of the standards (12-13 items of 17 items on the availability of trained staff and guidelines, equipment, and commodities components). The factors associated with higher readiness scores varied among the 10 countries analyzed. Regression models showed that increases in the number of FP healthcare providers available at a health facility and infection control measures for FP exams were factors linked to increased readiness scores in all 10 countries. The low readiness of health facilities to provide FP services in the countries studied showed that the health systems in these low-resource settings faced significant problems with providing FP services. Differences in country-specific variability in the characteristics linked with better preparedness ratings could be attributed to data collected across different years in different nations or to country-specific healthcare financing policies. CONCLUSIONS: To increase a health facility's readiness to offer FP services, country-specific factors must be addressed, in addition to common factors found in all 10 countries. Further research is required to determine the causes of country-level differences in FP tracer item availability to develop targeted and effective country-specific strategies to improve the quality of FP services in the SA and SSA regions and address unmet need for FP.

The double burden of maternal overweight and short stature and the likelihood of cesarean deliveries in South Asia: An analysis of national datasets from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to investigate: (a) whether there is an association between the maternal double burden of overweight and short stature and the risk of cesarean delivery and (b) whether socioeconomic status (SES) acts as a moderator in the association between the maternal double burden of overweight and short stature and the risk of cesarean birth (CB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data for this study were obtained from the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey databases of five South Asian countries. The analyses were based on responses from married women between 15 and 49 years of age. The risk of CB was the primary outcome, while the maternal double burden of overweight and short stature (coexistence of overweight and short stature) was the exposure of interest. RESULTS: Maternal double burden of overweight and short stature was significantly associated with 179% higher likelihood of undergoing CB in South Asia (SA), with 304%, 200%, 167%, 155%, and 125% higher likelihood of undergoing CB in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Maldives, and Bangladesh, respectively. Findings also demonstrated that mothers belonging to low SES groups with a double overweight and short stature burden were not uniquely disadvantaged. CONCLUSIONS: A significant marker in SA of higher risk of CB is the maternal double burden of overweight and short stature. The negative effect of the maternal double burden of overweight and short stature extends across all economic backgrounds in relation to the risk of CB. It is not limited to poor mothers who suffer from the double burden of overweight and short stature.

Relationship between implementing interpersonal communication and mass education campaigns in emergency settings and use of reproductive healthcare services: evidence from Darfur, Sudan.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To examine changes in women's awareness and utilisation of reproductive healthcare services in emergency settings following provision of interpersonal communication (IPC) and mass education campaigns, and (2) to describe factors associated with reproductive healthcare service use in internally displaced person (IDP) camps. SETTING: Three camps containing 88 984 IDPs in Darfur, Sudan. PARTICIPANTS: 640 women aged 15-49 who had experienced pregnancy in the camp during the previous 2 years were enrolled in each of two independent cross-sectional surveys 26 months apart. INTERVENTIONS: IPC and mass education campaigns where community health workers disseminated information by home/shelter visits, clinic sessions, public meetings and other means to raise awareness and promote reproductive healthcare service use. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Awareness of the existence of antenatal care (ANC) and tetanus toxoid (TT) vaccination services, reception of ANC and TT vaccination, place of delivery and use of postnatal care (PNC). RESULTS: The percentage of women who received home visits, and attended in-clinic sessions and public meetings increased from 61.6% to 86.7%, from 43.0% to 68.8%, and from 3.8% to 39.8%, respectively, between the initial and follow-up surveys. More women were aware of ANC (OR 18.6, 95% CI 13.1 to 26.5) and TT vaccination (OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.4 to 4.4) in the follow-up than the initial survey, after multivariable adjustment. More women received ≥3 ANC visits (OR 8.8, 95% CI 6.4 to 12.0) and ≥3 doses of TT (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.9 to 3.3), delivered at a healthcare facility (OR 5.4, 95% CI 4.0 to 7.4) and received a PNC visit (OR 5.5, 95% CI 4.0 to 7.7) in the follow-up than in the initial survey, after multivariable adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness about and utilisation of reproductive healthcare services were higher in the follow-up survey. An integrated IPC and mass education campaign is effective for improving women's reproductive health in emergency settings.