A systematic literature review on preventing violent extremism.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, violent extremism (VE) attacks have escalated worldwide. More schools and students are being attacked. Examining and addressing VE core causes through preventing VE (PVE) strategies can help avoid future atrocities. Due to the tremendous proliferation of research geared toward PVE, an extensive but disorganized knowledge review has accumulated in recent years. The review aims to discover several common themes and strategies across different disciplines and suggests resilience approaches might be the effective framework for PVE worldwide. METHODS: This study followed the guidelines provided by PRISMA. A systematic literature review on 81 articles was conducted in January 2022, with a screening approach starting from the title, abstract and finally, full articles. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were identified with a total sample of 2415 vulnerable young adults, age range: 16-29, male: 68.65% and female 31.35% mainly influenced VE pursuits through internet, TV and social media. In addition, the study identified that for PVE, individual actions would include ineffective approaches compared to a group approach starting from family to educational institutions. CONCLUSIONS: The effective PVE will be ensured by developing strategies for resilient individuals and dialoguing from the social-ecological perspective for taking practical actions in reducing VE activities.

Gender disparity in telehealth usage in Bangladesh during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Telehealth allows healthcare workers to see patients virtually in locations that were not accessible previously, which has reduced cost and time and saved lives. The research aims to examine gender disparity among telehealth usage during the pandemic in 2020. This study will leverage a timely national experiment to evaluate the users of telehealth across the Bangladeshi population. METHODS: We obtained de-identified data for 200 patients among outpatient telehealth visits from Global Health Data Exchange as it captured telehealth use throughout Bangladesh. RESULTS: The analysis showed that male patients had a higher dependency on telehealth than female patients. 14% of the female patients opted for telehealth visits only with 57% cases of missed doses of medication, compared to males with 20% of them choosing telehealth visits and 29% missing their doses of medication. We found that the youngest age group, 16-25, had the highest dependence on telehealth compared to any other age group, and the lowest dependence was among the oldest age group of 45 years and above. CONCLUSIONS: There was a strong association between telehealth use and gender disparity with p value â€‹= â€‹0.02 â€‹< â€‹0.05. Longitudinal and geographical data are needed to understand more about the gender disparities and impact in telehealth utilizations.

Countering violent extremism using social media and preventing implementable strategies for Bangladesh.

Globally, more than 85% of youth use social media daily in the medium of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc., which is more than 70% for Bangladesh. The young population of Bangladesh is rapidly embracing social media through the internet and afflicted with the malaise of countering violent extremism (CVE), often through Facebook. Given the increasing connectedness that the internet and social media offer, it is crucial that the fight against CVE shift to the digital space. Extremists are increasingly adopting novel ways and means based on technology to draw unsuspecting youth to their cause. It is essential to establish effective implementable strategies to stop the CVE activities using social media in Bangladesh. This study aims to identify existing initiatives globally in the space of disruptive online technologies that have yielded some success in preventing CVE. Various publications such as journal and news articles, TV news, and blogs have been used as data sources for this study. Also, fifteen expert interviews have been conducted to identify the most effective strategies for CVE in Bangladesh. Through the content analysis, the study highlights successful efforts and explores technology-based initiatives that can be deployed in Bangladesh to minimize the impact of VE activities through online technology. Finally, recommendations for strategies to restrict VE activities through technologies have been suggested that can be potentially implemented by the Bangladesh government by coordinating with international donor agencies and CVE practitioners. The research output recommends that Bangladesh and other less developed countries can concurrently deal with CVE by successfully using cutting-edge online/digital technologies.

A perception-based study to explore COVID-19 pandemic stress and its factors in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Worldwide the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated sufferings of mental health and behaviour attitudes of people. Many countries, including Bangladesh, reported suicide as extreme consequences of the psychological burden influenced by COVID-19. The present study explores human stress and its factor influenced by COVID-19 in Bangladesh, which significantly affect the quality of life. METHODS: An online-based questionnaire survey was conducted among 651 adult Bangladeshi populations by capturing socio-demographic information, possible human stress, and consequences of the pandemic. A set of statistical tools such as Pearson's Correlation Matrix (PCM), T-test, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were applied to identify the relationship between different factors and influential factors increasing human stress. RESULTS: More than 83% of the participants are facing COVID-19 related mental stress, which results in short temper, sleep disorder, and family chaos. PCA and HCA outcomes indicated a significant relationship between the respondents' opinions and human stress factors, which harmonized with the country's existing scenario. PCM results enlighten the relationship between human stress factors and found financial hardship, cutting back daily spending, and food crisis are interconnected together causes stress. Also, hampering students' formal education and future career plans significantly contribute to mental stress. CONCLUSION: Based on the above findings, it's crucial to introduce a time-oriented strategy and implement precaution monitoring plans for Bangladesh. The rescue plan will help people to manage the pandemic and improve mental health to fight against psychological challenges related to COVID-19 and future pandemics.