Browsing by Author "Chowdhury, Mushtaque"

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A visit to a flood shelter in Dhaka City
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998) Karim, Fazlul; Sultan, Sania; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
An assessment of clients' knowledge of family planning in Matlab
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1996) Hashima-E-Nasreen; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas; Rana, AKM Masud; Caldwell, Indrani Pieris
The study aimed to assess the level of effective knowledge of women on different family planning methods to see the impact of quality of care. The study was carried out in two villages chosen from ICDDR,B intervention and comparison areas of Matlab thana where BRAC's Rural Development Programme (RDP) has also been working since 1992. From both the areas 600 women of reproductive age were randomly selected and interviewed. The findings reveal that in the MCH-FP area 56% of women practiced family planning while only 33% did so in the comparison area. In both the areas the main methods used were pills and injectables. Regarding the knowledge of contraceptives, most women in the MCH-FP area were able to name five modem methods while the majority in the comparison area could name only three methods. Virtually all women in both the villages could describe the nature of the pill and ligation while many had no idea about IUD and condom. Correct categorization of methods as temporary or permanent was found to be higher in the MCH-FP area than in the comparison area. The study found that women in both the areas had little or no knowledge of the specific indications of all methods. The majority of women in the MCH-FP area knew about proper use of pill, injection and condom compared to those in the comparison area where none had complete knowledge regarding any method. However, even in the MCH-FP area women did not know what to do if two pills were missed. The nature and the function of the brown tablets were not known to the women in the comparison area but some women in the MCH-FP area had some idea of the furmm. . In the MCH-FP area 78.4 % of the women knew the specific date of menstrual period from which injection should be started compared to the comparison area where only some of them knew about that. The majority of respondents in both the areas knew that it should be taken regularly at an interval of three months on a· fixed date. which was significantly higher in the MCH-FP area. The study found that maj~rity of women in the MCH-FP area knew the exact time and frequency of using condom compared to the comparison area where only a few .knew that. This is not surprising given that only a small proportion of women in the comparison area ever heard of condoms and that none of the couples were using it. \Vomen had no knowledge about the timing of insertion of IUD, but only that it had to be replaced periodically at an interval of2-4 years. - Women's general perception about the mechanism of action of the different methods was that they act by damaging the sperm or ovum. Women had no clear idea about the advantages of any of the methods. It was found that most of the women in the MCH-FP area were interested in injection, as the main advantage was that one injection provided three months' protection and maintained privacy (as it was administered like any other injection). This was specially appreciated by those who were shy about using contraceptives. Women had little knowledge of the side-effects of contraceptive methods. The commonly mentioned side-effects of pill and injection were: giddiness, weakness, headache, and irregular and heavy menstrual bleeding. Some respondents mentioned that injection caused prolonged amenorrhoea which in tum caused bodyache, and burning sensation in hands and feet. The women in the MCH-FP area had misconceptions about condoms such as that it might cause genital ulcer. The side-effects of ligation were more often assumed than actually experienced.
An assessment of clints' knowledge of family planning in Matlab[book]
(Dhaka:BRAC-ICDDR,B Joint Research Project, 1996. v, 31 p., 1996) Hashima-e-Nasreen; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas; Rana, AKM Masud; Pieris, Indrani
An inventory of the development programmes by government and non-government organizations in selected unions of matlab(excluding BRAC & ICDDR,B)
(Dhaka: BRAC-ICDDR,B Joint Research project, 1997. iv, 24 p., 1997) Khan, Monirul Islam; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas
An investigation into the nature and determinants of maternal morbidity related to delivery and the puerperium in rural Bangladesh
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1994-06) Goodbum, E. A.; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Gazi, R.; Marshall, T.; Graham, W.; Karim, F.
It has been estimated that 99% of the world's maternal deaths (currently estimated to be about . 500,000 per annum) occur in developing countries. In Bangladesh, as in many other resource ·poor countries, the maternal mortality ratio has been estimated at between 5 .and 6 deaths per .1 000 live births. The main medical causes of these deaths are haemorrhage, infection, eclampsia, obstructed labour and septic abortion. Far less is known about the nature, determinants, levels and ~ends of maternal morbidity than · is known about maternal mortality. Until recently it was thought that there might be about 16.5 morbidities for every maternal death. More recent estimates· suggest that this figure is far too low and that there may be as many as 100 morbidities for every death meaning that more than 61.8 million women suffer significant ill health annually as a result of childbearing. Studies of maternal deaths which have investigated the timing of maternal deaths show that the majority occur in the post-partum period. It seems likely that most maternal morbidities arise at this time also and are linked to events at delivery. These conditions which include pelvic sepsis, anaemia, prolapse, vesico-vaginal fist~la and prolapse, may not result in death but may have serious social and physical consequences for women. · There have been very few community based studies of maternal morbidity in the post-partum period. One study from Honduras has reported that 28% of women developed complications during the puerperium, but in most countries facility based data is all that is available. Studies which have measured the prevalence of conditions which are long-term consequences of childbirth have often found that the prevalence can be very high. For instance, a recent crosssectional community based study conducted in Egypt discovered that 56% of .508 women examined had demonstrable prolapse. A study in Birmingham UK found that the number of women suffering significant ill health as a result of childbirth was as high as 6~.9%. A recent cross-sectional retrospective study of maternal morbidity in Bangladesh found that around 80% of women reported ill health associated with childbearing. One of the major issues in the estimation of levels of maternal morbidity in the community centres around the measurement techniques needed to provide accurate information. Compared to child health, very little work has been done in this field. Since 1989 a group based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has co-ordinated a programme of methodological research on maternal health with the objective of evaluating existing methods of measuring maternal health, particularly in the community, and of developing, piloting and promoting the use of new approaches. Most interventions to improve maternal morbidity and mortality have focused on ante-natal care with referral of high risk cases to appropriate medical facilities. However, there has been considerable debate as to the value of ante-natal care in a situation where referral facilities are 11 20 absent or inadequate. In addition, in many countries, such as Bangladesh, where most deliveries occur at home, there have been programmes for training traditional birth attendants. However, it is uncertain how far delivery practices play a part in the aetiology of maternal morbidities, and the effectiveness of the interventions in prevention have never been adequately evaluated. Postpartum care is rarely given prominence in programmes for maternal care and no protocol for optimum surveillance has been developed despite recent interest in the potential of this period for integrated maternal, child and family planning interventions. In order to describe the pattern of maternal morbidity during the puerperium in Bangladesh, define the most important determinants of this morbidity and suggest approaches for future postnatal programmes a collaborative research study was undertaken by BRAC, ar1d the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Anaemia and iron deficiency during pregnancy in rural Bangladesh
(Public Health Nutrition, 2004) Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Hyder, SM Ziauddin; Persson, Lars-Ake; Lonnerdal, Bo; Ekstrom, Eva-Charlotte
Assailing poverty and patriarchy, how does small money fare?
(BRAC, 1999) Khan, Monirul I.; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas; Rana, Masud
This report is based on the findings of the case tracking study of 35 BRAC borrowers from Madab RDP over a period of one year Tracking began in July, 1996, and in all cases more than three months had elapsed before tracking began. The issues examined in this study are: background of the borrowers, use of loan, participation of the women in the use of loan, economic return on investment, borrowing from other sources, mobility of the borrowers or the decision making by the borrowers in their households related to the loan from BRAC. Findings revealed varied importance of credit for the BRAC borrowers. BRAC loans were a substantial support for the poor in terms of emergency funds and capital for multifarious investment. Despite access to loans from BRAC, they still borrowed from the moneylenders under compelling situations. It further found that the dominance of patriarchy was difficult to break because of its deep root in the society. Though observance of purdah varied, it was never absent and as such restricted the movement of women to a great extent. Patriarchal division of labour ensured that women remain confined mostly within household. The study concluded that these deep-rooted cultural factors were responsible for the perpetuation of women's subordination and micro-credit could not change it significantly.
Assailing poverty and patriarechy: how does small money fare[book]
(Dhaka: BRAC-ICDDRB joint Research Project, 1998. 43 p., 1998) Khan, Monirul Islam; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas; Rana, Masud
Bangladesh : an intervention study of factors underlying increasing equity in child survival
(2001) Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Ahmed, Faruque; Adams, Alayne M.
Barriers to participation in BRAC RDP
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1995-11) Evans, Timothy G.; Mohammed, Rafi; Adams, Alayne M.; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
As part of the BRAC RDP Impact Assessment Study (lAS), a participatory wealth ranking exercise stratified households into four socio-economic groups: groups 1 and 2 being wellendowed with land, assets and generally without survival worries; group 3 households having marginal land holdings, minimal assets and resources devoted exclusively to survival; and finally a "4th group" in which household viability is threatened by poverty, ill-health and other adversities. Although both 3rd and 4th group households are eligible to participate in BRAC RDP, concern about the accessibility of the Programme to the destitute "4th group" along with a general ignorance about the characteristics of this group, provided the rationale for this study. Its purposes are: 1. to establish the prevalence of household poverty in rural Bangladesh and the rate of BRAC RDP participation; 2. to elicit the circumstances which inhibit the "4th group" from participating in BRAC RDP; and 3. to identify changes in the structure of RDP, or the need for new initiatives, to improve their well-being. In August through to October 1994, a field survey was undertaken in five well-established, good functioning RDP Area Offices (AOs). Ten percent of the Village Organizations (VOs) in each of these AOs were selected for the sample (78 VOs in 55 villages). Key informants enumerated all households in the sample villages, and, employing Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), ranked them into 3 wealth groups: 1. wealthy households; 2. poor households: and 3. very poor households ( 11,805). In each village, 30 households were selected for interview--! 0 RDP members. I 0 eligible non-members, 5 former members, and 5 ineligible or non-target group (NTG) households. Structured questionnaires containing sections on household composition, health, past crises. socio- economic status and BRAC membership were administered to 1637 households.
Beneficial effects of a woman-focused development programme on child survival: evidence from rural Bangladesh
(Social Science and Medicine, 2002-11) Bhuiy, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
This paper reports results from a prospective study of the impact of a woman-focused development programme on child survival in Matlab, a rural area of Bangladesh. The programme was targeted to households owning less than 50 decimals of land and members selling more than 100 days of labour for living in a year. Programme components included formation of women's groups for saving and credit, training on skill development, functional literacy including legal and social awareness, and technical and marketing support to projects undertaken with the loan money from the organization. A total of 13,549 children born alive during 1988–97 in the study area were included in the study. Hazards of mortality during pre- and post-intervention periods were compared among the programme participants and non-participants controlling the effects of other relevant variables. There has been a substantial reduction in mortality during the post-intervention period; however, the reduction was much greater for infants whose mothers participated in the development programme compared to infants of non-participant mothers from similar socioeconomic background. In a relative sense, there has been a 52% reduction of the pre-intervention level hazard of death of children during infancy of participant mothers compared to 31% reduction for the infants of non-participant mothers from similar socioeconomic background. There had also been a substantial reduction in hazard of death during childhood (1–4 year age group), however, the reduction was statistically similar for all groups of children irrespective of their mothers’ participation in the development programmes.
Beneficial effects of a woman-focused development programme on child survival: evidence from rural Bangladesh
(2002) Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
Changing health-seeking behaviour in Matlab, Bangladesh: do development interventions matter
(2003) Ahmed, Syed Masud; Adams, Alayne M.; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas
Changing health-seeking behaviour in the context of development interventions: experiences from Matlab, Bangladesh
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 2002) Ahmed, Syed Masud; Adams, Alayne M; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas
It is generally assumed that socioeconomic development interventions will enhance the-material and social capacities of the poor who are disenfranchised to prevent ill health, and to seek appropriate and timely care. Using cross-sectional data from surveys undertaken in 1995 and 1999 as part of the BRAC-ICDDR, B Joint Research Project in Matlab, Bangladesh, this paper explores patterns of health-seeking behaviour over time, with the hypothesis that exposure to integrated socioeconomic development activities will enhance gender equity in care-seeking, and the use of qualified medical care. While there is tentative evidence of greater gender equity in treatment choice among households benefiting from development interventions, a preference for qualified medical care is not apparent. Findings reveal a striking and generalized rise in selftreatment over the four year period that is attributed to the repercussions of a major flood in 1998, and greater heath awareness due to the density of community health workers in Matlab. Also noteworthy is the substantial reliance on informal and often unqualified practitioners (over 20%) such as pharmacists and itinerant drug sellers. Factors associated with the type of health care sought were identified using logistic regression. Self-care is associated with female gender, the absence of low cost health services, and illnesses of relatively short duration. Medical care, on the other hand, is positively predicted by male gender, geographic location, greater socioeconomic status, and serious illness of long duration. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of enhancing local capacities to determine whether self-treatment is indicated, to self-treat appropriately, or in cases where health care is sought, to judge provider competence and evaluate whether treatment costs are justified. The provision of training on the rational and informed use of allopathic drugs to the full spectrum of informal health care providers is also recommended.
Communication network in reproductive health information dissemination to the adolescents
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1997-12) Hashima-E-Nasreen; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas; Ahmed, Syed Masud; Aziz, Ayesha; Rana, AKM Masud
CYclone aftermath: research and directions for the future[book chapter]
(1992) Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Choudhury, Yusuf; Bhuiya, Abbas; Islam, Kamal; Hussain, Zakir; Rahman, Omar; Glass, Roger; Bennish, Michael
Does involvement of women in BRAC influence ses bias in intra-household food distribution
(Dhaka: BRAC-ICDDR,B Joint Research Project, 1998. ii, 19 p., 1998) Roy, Rita Das; Hyder, SM Ziauddin; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Adams, Alayne
Domestic violence against women : does development intervention matter [book chapter]
(1998) Khan, Mahmuda Rahman; Ahmed, Syed Masud; Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
Domestic violence against women: does development intervention matter?
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998-03) Khan, Mahmuda Rahman; Ahmed, Syed Masud; Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
Domestic violence against women: does development intervention matter[book chapter]
(1998) Khan, Mahmuda Rahman; Ahmed, Syed Masud; Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque