Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the physical, mental and financial health of many individuals. Individuals living in impoverished crowded settings may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19-related stressors. How substantially marginalized groups like impoverished urban-dwelling indiv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663687/full |
| _version_ | 1818973122692382720 |
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| author | Md. Saiful Islam Md. Saiful Islam Md. Estiar Rahman Rajon Banik Md. Galib Ishraq Emran Noshin Saiara Sahadat Hossain M. Tasdik Hasan Md. Tajuddin Sikder Lee Smith Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza |
| author_facet | Md. Saiful Islam Md. Saiful Islam Md. Estiar Rahman Rajon Banik Md. Galib Ishraq Emran Noshin Saiara Sahadat Hossain M. Tasdik Hasan Md. Tajuddin Sikder Lee Smith Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza |
| author_sort | Md. Saiful Islam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the physical, mental and financial health of many individuals. Individuals living in impoverished crowded settings may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19-related stressors. How substantially marginalized groups like impoverished urban-dwelling individuals have been impacted during this pandemic is poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the associated factors of financial concerns and symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic among impoverished urban-dwelling individuals residing in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and September 2020 using face-to-face interviews in six disadvantaged neighborhoods (“slums”) in Dhaka. Individuals were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of questions assessing socio-demographics, lifestyle, financial well-being relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, depression, and PTSD.Results: Four-hundred-and-thirty-five individuals (male = 54.7%; mean age = 45.0 ± 12.0 years; age range = 18–85 years) participated. Most (96.3%) reported that their household income decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors associated with decreased household incomes included female gender, primary education, joblessness, food scarcity and depression. Depression symptoms were linked to female gender, joblessness, divorce, living in a joint family, excessive sleep and smoking. Low incomes, excessive sleep, joblessness and food scarcity were positively associated with PTSD symptoms. In contrast, less sleep appeared protective against PTSD.Conclusions: Public health initiatives, in particular mental health services that target stress and biocentric approaches that consider how humans interact with multiple facets of nature, should be introduced to mitigate against potential financial and psychological effects of the pandemic on impoverished urban-dwelling individuals in Bangladesh. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T15:19:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa920e9f334c40a386961b403396772e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T15:19:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa920e9f334c40a386961b403396772e2022-12-21T19:36:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-08-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.663687663687Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19Md. Saiful Islam0Md. Saiful Islam1Md. Estiar Rahman2Rajon Banik3Md. Galib Ishraq Emran4Noshin Saiara5Sahadat Hossain6M. Tasdik Hasan7Md. Tajuddin Sikder8Lee Smith9Marc N. Potenza10Marc N. Potenza11Marc N. Potenza12Marc N. Potenza13Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshCenter for Advanced Research Excellence in Public Health, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United KingdomDepartment of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BangladeshThe Cambridge Center for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United KingdomDepartment of Psychiatry and Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United StatesConnecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, United StatesConnecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, United States0Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the physical, mental and financial health of many individuals. Individuals living in impoverished crowded settings may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19-related stressors. How substantially marginalized groups like impoverished urban-dwelling individuals have been impacted during this pandemic is poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the associated factors of financial concerns and symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic among impoverished urban-dwelling individuals residing in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and September 2020 using face-to-face interviews in six disadvantaged neighborhoods (“slums”) in Dhaka. Individuals were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of questions assessing socio-demographics, lifestyle, financial well-being relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, depression, and PTSD.Results: Four-hundred-and-thirty-five individuals (male = 54.7%; mean age = 45.0 ± 12.0 years; age range = 18–85 years) participated. Most (96.3%) reported that their household income decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors associated with decreased household incomes included female gender, primary education, joblessness, food scarcity and depression. Depression symptoms were linked to female gender, joblessness, divorce, living in a joint family, excessive sleep and smoking. Low incomes, excessive sleep, joblessness and food scarcity were positively associated with PTSD symptoms. In contrast, less sleep appeared protective against PTSD.Conclusions: Public health initiatives, in particular mental health services that target stress and biocentric approaches that consider how humans interact with multiple facets of nature, should be introduced to mitigate against potential financial and psychological effects of the pandemic on impoverished urban-dwelling individuals in Bangladesh.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663687/fullCOVID-19 pandemicpovertyBangladeshsleepdepressionpost-traumatic stress disorder |
| spellingShingle | Md. Saiful Islam Md. Saiful Islam Md. Estiar Rahman Rajon Banik Md. Galib Ishraq Emran Noshin Saiara Sahadat Hossain M. Tasdik Hasan Md. Tajuddin Sikder Lee Smith Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Marc N. Potenza Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19 Frontiers in Psychology COVID-19 pandemic poverty Bangladesh sleep depression post-traumatic stress disorder |
| title | Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19 |
| title_full | Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19 |
| title_short | Financial and Mental Health Concerns of Impoverished Urban-Dwelling Bangladeshi People During COVID-19 |
| title_sort | financial and mental health concerns of impoverished urban dwelling bangladeshi people during covid 19 |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic poverty Bangladesh sleep depression post-traumatic stress disorder |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663687/full |
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