Background: The impact of the unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic had triggered new challenges for mental health. This quick survey aimed to identify the mental health status of physicians who served the people during COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Methodology: The cross sectional survey was conducted adopting a quantitative approach and using an online questionnaire through Facebook Platform Group. Data was collected from August-October, 2020, on socio-demographic status, information on COVID-19 and questionnaires about Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). A total of 395 participants were enrolled from all eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Result: Our study reported a higher prevalence of depression (55.3%), anxiety (35.2%), and stress (48.4%) among 347 participants. Female physicians were found to have more stress (OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.09 – 4.30) compared to the male. Physicians who were previously diagnosed as mentally ill were found to be significantly more depressed (OR = 3.45, 95% CI: 1.07 – 11.10) and stressed (OR = 4.22, 95% CI: 1.48 – 12.02) compared to them who did not. Along with that, having a chronic disease, working in non-government and COVID hospitals significantly contributed to poor mental health outcomes. Conclusion: The study findings denoted that, the mental health of physicians was deeply affected by the pandemic situation. The availability of appropriate mental health support will help foster resilience by giving them the ability and confidence to manage crisis moments like the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aimed at examining the relationship between parenting styles and depression in adolescents. Convenient sampling was used to collect 100 adolescents (Mean age = 15.25 years, Sd = 0.90) from two colleges of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Parental Attitude Questionnaire (PAQ) was used to measure parenting styles and two other self-report measures, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) were used to assess depression in adolescents. From multiple regression analysis significant relationship was found between parenting style and adolescents’ depression measured by one self-rating scale. The overall regression model for investigating the relationship between parenting style and depression in adolescent was significant with HADS, (F = 3.77, p = 0.007) but not significant with SMFQ scores (F = 0.880, p = 0.454). For the dependent variable of depression measured by HADS, the strongest predictors were authoritative parenting style (β = –0.28, p = 0.03) and monthly income of the family which is also significant (β = 0.25, p = 0.01). Implications of the findings for child rearing and research are discussed. Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 28(1): 49-59, 2019 (January)

The current novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak, COVID-19, was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China has spread all over the world causing startling loss of lives, stalling the global economy and disrupting the social life. One of the challenges to contain the COVID-19 is making people adopt personal hygiene, social distancing and self-quarantine practices which are all related to knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of the people in respective countries. Bangladesh, the most densely populated countries with a fast-growing economy and moderate literacy rate, has shown many hiccups in its efforts to implement COVID-19 policies. Understanding KAP may give the policy makers to make informed decisions. Hence, this study aimed to make a quick assessment of KAP of people in relation to COVID-19 in Bangladesh. An online survey using a pre-tested questionnaire conducted in late March 2020 attained 1837 responses across Bangladesh. However, 1589 completed responses were included in statistical analysis to calculate KAP scores, their interrelations with socio-demographic variables. The overall KAP is poor with only 10% of the respondents showed good knowledge with parallel attitudes and practices. Socio-demographic factors have strong bearings on the KAP scores. Significantly higher KAP score is evident in female over male respondents, among aged (45 years and above) over younger respondents and among retired and homemakers above students and public service holders. The study indicated a panic fuelled by poor understanding of COVID-19 associated facts and the need for the government to ensure more granular and targeted awareness campaigns in a transparent and factual manner to gain public confidence and arrest more meaningful public participation in mitigation measures. The study provides a baseline of KAP among people in Bangladesh on COVID-19.

Cultural values and standard social rules of communities strongly influence any psychological therapy. Being developed and modified in the Western world, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is not anyway different from such influences. In this study, CBT was adapted in Bengali to determine the functional feasibility of the psychological intervention for people with depression in Bangladesh. This is the first pilot study of an adapted CBT manual for psychological intervention for working with depressive clients in Bangladesh. There were three phases of the study. In the first two phases, the standard protocols of CBT were adapted for the Bangladeshi community, as practiced by mainstream practitioners and mental health professionals around the world. The information gathered during the first phase of the standard protocols of CBT was written in Bengali as the first draft. In the second phase, the CBT manual was judged by seven senior clinical psychologists in Bangladesh who were trained in CBT by British clinical psychologists and later provided training to fellow mental health professionals. After the judges' evaluation, their comments and suggestions were synthesized and the first draft of the adapted intervention was finalized. In the third phase, to evaluate the functional feasibility of the Bengali CBT-based manual, five patients diagnosed with major depression by psychiatrists were tested. Four valid and reliable psychometric measurements were used to measure symptoms of depression and comorbid symptoms of anxiety, psychological distress, and suicidal risk. Assessments were completed at 2 time points (pretest and posttest) via scales. The intervention was delivered within 6 to 10 sessions, and improvements were monitored over the scores of all the questionnaires. The possibilities of Bengali CBTs to reduce depression and appear to be promising treatment options for depression are discussed in this paper.