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The study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with knowledge and use of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) among ever-married women in Bangladesh.The study was based on a secondary dataset of the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Complete (weighted) data of 17,592 women aged 15-49 years were analysed.The prevalence of having knowledge and use of the ECP among ever-married women in Bangladesh was 13.6% and 1.8%, respectively. Administrative region and type of residence (urban or rural), household wealth index, educational level (of both the woman and her spouse), spouse's occupation, number of living children, weight, current use of contraception and a history of pregnancy termination were positively associated with knowledge and use of the ECP.A large proportion of Bangladeshi women of reproductive age had a lack of knowledge and use of the ECP. Nationwide reproductive health education programmes may improve the situation.

BRAC Bangladesh trains community health workers to communicate about nutrition in its Maternal, Newborn and Child Health programme. We estimate the programme’s impact on nutrition outcomes among ru...

The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with household (HH) handwashing practice in Bangladesh and draw a trend of COVID-19 spreads and compare that with the countrywide HH handwashing practice. The study is based on the two national representative publicly available datasets (MICS 2019, and confirmed cases of COVID-19). Of 61,209 (weighted) HH, the overall prevalence of HH handwashing was found 56.3%, and the prevalence was significantly varied across the socio-economic status of the HH. Map comparison suggested that the gradual increasing trend of COVID-19 cases in areas where HH handwashing practice is low. The northern part of Bangladesh had the highest handwashing practice, whereas it had less effected by COVID-19 cases. However, central Bangladesh had the hardest hit by COVID-19 cases, and it had around 50% handwashing practice coverage. Large-scale observational study is necessary to establish the causality.