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Aims: This paper presents updated prevalence estimates of awareness, ever‐use, and current use of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) from 14 International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project) countries that have varying regulations governing NVP sales and marketing. Design, Setting, Participants and Measurements: A cross‐sectional analysis of adult (≥ 18 years) current smokers and ex‐smokers from 14 countries participating in the ITC Project. Data from the most recent survey questionnaire for each country were included, which spanned the period 2013–17. Countries were categorized into four groups based on regulations governing NVP sales and marketing (allowable or not), and level of enforcement (strict or weak where NVPs are not permitted to be sold): (1) most restrictive policies (MRPs), not legal to be sold or marketed with strict enforcement: Australia, Brazil, Uruguay; (2) restrictive policies (RPs), not approved for sale or marketing with weak enforcement: Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand; (3) less restrictive policies (LRPs), legal to be sold and marketed with regulations: England, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, United States; and (4) no regulatory policies (NRPs), Bangladesh, China, Zambia. Countries were also grouped by World Bank Income Classifications. Country‐specific weighted logistic regression models estimated adjusted NVP prevalence estimates for: awareness, ever/current use, and frequency of use (daily versus non‐daily). Findings NVP awareness and use were lowest in NRP countries. Generally, ever‐ and current use of NVPs were lower in MRP countries (ever‐use = 7.1–48.9%; current use = 0.3–3.5%) relative to LRP countries (ever‐use = 38.9–66.6%; current use = 5.5–17.2%) and RP countries (ever‐use = 10.0–62.4%; current use = 1.4–15.5%). NVP use was highest among high‐income countries, followed by upper–middle‐income countries, and then by lower–middle‐income countries. Conclusions: With a few exceptions, awareness and use of nicotine vaping products varied by the strength of national regulations governing nicotine vaping product sales/marketing, and by country income. In countries with no regulatory policies, use rates were very low, suggesting that there was little availability, marketing and/or interest in nicotine vaping products in these countries where smoking populations are predominantly poorer. The higher awareness and use of nicotine vaping products in high income countries with moderately (e.g. Canada, New Zealand) and less (e.g. England, United States) restrictive policies, is likely due to the greater availability and affordability of nicotine vaping products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with language disorder across languages have problems with verb morphology. The nature of these problems varies according to the typology of the language. The language analyzed in this paper is the Standard Bangla spoken in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by more than 200 million people. It is an underexplored language with agglutinative features in its verb inflections. Some information on the acquisition of the language by typically developing children is available, but to date we have no information on the nature of ALD. As in many places in the developing world, the circumstances for research into language disorder are challenging, as there is no well‐ordered infrastructure for the identification of these children and approaches to intervention are not evidence based. This study represents the first attempt to characterize the nature of morphosyntactic limitations in standard Bangla‐speaking children with language disorder. Aims: To describe the performance of a group of children with language disorder on elicitation procedures for three Bangla verb inflections of increasing structural complexity—present simple, present progressive and past progressive—and to compare their abilities on these forms with those of a group of typically developing Bangla‐speaking children. Methods & Procedures: Nine children with language disorder (mean age = 88.11 months) were recruited from a special school in Dhaka. Eight of the children also had a differentiating or co‐occurring condition. They responded to three tasks: a semi‐structured conversation to elicit present simple, and two picture‐based tasks to elicit present progressive and past progressive. Their performance was compared with data available from a large group of younger typically developing children. Outcomes and Results: Group data indicated a comparable trajectory of performance by the children with language disorder with the typically developing children (present simple > present progressive > past progressive), but with significantly lower mean scores. Standard deviations suggested considerable individual variation and individual profiles were constructed for each child, revealing varying patterns of ability, some of which did not accord with the typical developmental trajectory and/or substitution patterns. Conclusions & Implications: This study identified verb morphology deficits in Bangla‐speaking children with language disorder who had asociated conditions. Variation in performance among the children suggests that individual profiles will be most effective in guiding intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Improving infant and young child feeding practices is critical for improving growth and reducing child mortality and morbidity. This paper aims to compare predictors of minimum dietary diversity, an important indicator of adequate complementary feeding practices, in Bangladesh in 2011 and 2014. The 2011 and 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey were used to examine predictors of minimum dietary diversity among 6–23 months. An additional analysis was conducted for the 18–23‐month group, because a significant increase in meeting minimum dietary diversity recommendations was seen in this age group only. Factors found to be associated with practices were compared across time points. In 2011, minimum dietary diversity was 23.8% and increased to 28.8% in 2014. Among children 18–23 months, in 2011, minimum dietary diversity was 32.5% and increased to 42.8% in 2014. Among all children, wealth, education, exposure to media, and antenatal care were significant predictors of dietary diversity. In the 18–23‐month age group, significant predictors in 2011 were wealth and decision making. In 2014, significant predictors were education and exposure to media. Demographic trends indicated a significant increase in education and exposure to media between 2011 and 2014. As these were significant for minimum dietary diversity in 2014 overall and for 18–23 months, they might be important targets of future interventions, specifically utilizing media channels and tailoring special strategies for women with low education and limited exposure to media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behaviour change communication (BCC) can improve infant and young child nutrition (IYCN) knowledge, practices, and health outcomes. However, few studies have examined whether the improved knowledge persists after BCC activities end. This paper assesses the effect of nutrition sensitive social protection interventions on IYCN knowledge in rural Bangladesh, both during and after intervention activities. We use data from two, 2-year, cluster randomised control trials that included nutrition BCC in some treatment arms. These data were collected at intervention baseline, midline, and endline, and 6-10 months after the intervention ended. We analyse data on IYCN knowledge from the same 2,341 women over these 4 survey rounds. We construct a number correct score on 18 IYCN knowledge questions and assess whether the impact of the BCC changes over time for the different treatment groups. Effects are estimated using ordinary least squares accounting for the clustered design of the study. There are 3 main findings: First, the BCC improves IYCN knowledge substantially in the 1st year of the intervention; participants correctly answer 3.0-3.2 more questions (36% more) compared to the non-BCC groups. Second, the increase in knowledge between the 1st and 2nd year was smaller, an additional 0.7-0.9 correct answers. Third, knowledge persists; there are no significant decreases in IYCN knowledge 6-10 months after nutrition BCC activities ended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continual course correction during implementation of nutrition programmes is critical to address factors that might limit coverage and potential for impact. Programme improvement requires rigorous scientific inquiry to identify and address implementation pathways and the factors that affect them. Under the auspices of 'The Micronutrient Powders Consultation: Lessons Learned for Operational Guidance,' 3 working groups were formed to summarize experiences and lessons across countries regarding micronutrient powder (MNP) interventions for young children. This paper focuses on how MNP interventions undertook key elements of programme improvement, specifically, the use of programme theory, monitoring, process evaluation, and supportive supervision. Methods included a review of published and grey literature, interviews with key informants, and deliberations throughout the consultation process. We found that although much has been written and published about the use of monitoring and process evaluation to inform MNP interventions at small scale, there has been little formal documentation of lessons for the transition from pilot to scaled implementation. Supervision processes and experiences are not documented, and to our knowledge, there is no evidence of whether they have been effective to improve implementation. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of interventions requires identification of critical indicators for detecting implementation challenges and drivers of impact, integration with existing programmes and systems, strengthened technical capacity, and financing for implementation of effective monitoring systems. Our understanding of programme improvement for MNP interventions is still incomplete, especially outside of the pilot stage, and we propose a set of implementation research questions that require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Children from developing countries are more vulnerable to traumatic experiences and more likely to suffer a range of psychological problems than children from developed countries. Method The current paper describes a survey of 1360 children and adolescents from Bangladesh who were selected either from the general community or through a range of social service organizations. Children completed a checklist of traumatic events and questionnaires to assess symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression. Results Children from both samples reported high levels of exposure to traumatic events, both via direct experience and indirectly. Direct experiences with intentional, man-made events were more frequently reported by children from support services while trauma from natural disasters was more common among community children. Psychological symptoms were significantly higher within children from social support services. The strongest predictors of psychological symptoms were age, gender, sample source and exposure to man-made direct traumas. Conclusion The results point to the common occurrence of traumatic events and their emotional consequences among children and adolescents from Bangladesh and indicate the need to develop effective and accessible mental health services for Bangladeshi children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Maternal depression is associated with poor child development and growth in low-income countries. This paper evaluates the effect of a community-based trial providing psychosocial stimulation and food supplements to severely malnourished children on maternal depressive symptoms in Bangladesh. Methods Severely underweight (weight-for-age Z-score < −3) hospitalized children aged 6-24 months ( n = 507), were randomly assigned to: psychosocial stimulation ( PS), food supplementation ( FS), PS+ FS, clinic control ( CC) and hospital control ( CH) at discharge. PS included play sessions with children and parental counselling to mothers during fortnightly follow-up visit at community clinics, conducted by trained play leaders for 6 months. FS involved cereal-based supplements (150-300 kcal/day) for 3 months. All groups received medical care, micronutrient supplements and growth monitoring. We used Bayley scales, Home Observation for Measurement of Environment ( HOME) inventory and a parenting questionnaire to assess child development, home stimulation and mothers' child-rearing practices, respectively. We assessed mothers' depressive symptoms using a modified version of Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale at baseline and at 6 months post intervention. Results Maternal depressive symptoms were significantly lower in the CH group at baseline ( P = 0.014). After 6 months of intervention there was no significant effect of intervention after adjusting for baseline scores and all possible confounders. Maternal depressive symptoms were higher among poorer ( P = 0.06), older ( P = 0.057) and less educated ( P = 0.019) mothers, who were housewives ( P = 0.053), and whose husbands had more unstable jobs ( P = 0.058). At 6 months post intervention, children's cognitive ( P = 0.045) and motor ( P = 0.075) development, HOME ( P = 0.012) and mother's parenting score ( P = 0.057) were higher among mothers with lower depressive symptoms. Conclusion The study did not show a significant effect of the intervention on the level of maternal depressive symptoms. Interventions with higher intensity and/or of longer duration focusing directly on maternal psychosocial functioning are probably needed to reduce maternal depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]