Background: COVID-19 was originated from Wuhan city, China in December 2019 and spread very fast to all over the world. This study was carried out to assess the awareness, perceived risk and protective behaviours of Myanmar adults on COVID-19.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted using face to face interview method among 597 adults from Yangon and Bago regions. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the factors influencing on practicing protective behaviours and the results were described by adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results: Almost all, 584 (98%) of 597 respondents, have heard about COVID-19. Among those 584 respondents, 87% had low knowledge level. Risk perception level towards COVID-19 was moderate to high. Regarding perception to information in social media, about 36% of the respondents agreed on sharing news from social media without verifying the sources. Only 22% reported good protective behaviours. Multivariable analysis revealed that knowledge score (aOR=1.19, 95% CI- 1.08-1.30) was significantly and positively influenced the protective behaviours. The odds of protective behaviour of participants from Ayeyarwaddy (aOR=0.41, 95% CI- 0.19-0.91) and other states and regions (aOR=0.49, 95% CI- 0.24-0.99) were significantly less than those of participants from Yangon.Conclusions: The study concluded that community has no enough knowledge and inadequate protective behaviours to prevent COVID-19. The awareness raising activities and mass media health education should urgently be conducted focusing on hand washing, cough etiquette, social distancing behaviours and responsibility to inform suspected cases to local health authority to prevent COVID-19. Further research using nationally represented sample are warranted.

Nutritional deficiencies are a major problem among developing countries including Myanmar. They can occur in all age groups, but the impact is more severe among children age 6–23 months as this period is critical for child development, and irreversible damages can occur due to nutritional deficiencies. Proper infant and young child feeding practices are pivotal to tackle nutritional problems and to prevent irreversible consequences among children. To assess the current feeding practices and associations with nutritional status, we conducted a secondary data analysis using the 2015–16 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done adjusting for covariates and the results were presented by adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 1,222 children age 6–23 months were included in this analysis. Twenty percent were stunted and 43% were moderately anemic. Only 16% of children received a minimum acceptable diet, 25% received diverse food groups, 58% were fed with minimum meal frequency, 85% currently breastfed, and 59% consumed iron-rich foods. Breastfeeding reduced the odds of being stunted. Male sex, perceived small birth size, mother with short stature, and working mother were significant predictors of stunting. Iron-rich food consumption was inversely associated with moderate anemia. Male sex and maternal anemia were also significant predictors of moderate anemia. The study concluded that stunting and anemia among young children in Myanmar are major public health challenges that need urgent action. While further prospective research is needed to determine the effect of feeding practice on linear growth, interventions such as iron supplementation, and nutritional education programs according to the World Health Organization complementary feeding guidelines could help prevent stunting and childhood anemia and might reduce their prevalence in Myanmar.

IntroductionEarly access to adequate antenatal care (ANC) from skilled providers is crucial for detecting and preventing obstetric complications of pregnancy. We aimed to assess factors associated with the utilisation of the new WHO ANC guidelines including the recommended number, on time initiation and adequate components of ANC contacts in Myanmar.MethodsWe examined data from 2943 mothers aged 15–49 years whose most recent birth occurred in the last 5 years prior to the 2015–2016 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey. Factors associated with utilisation of the new WHO recommended ANC were explored using multinomial logistic regression and multivariate models. We used marginal standardisation methods to estimate the predicted probabilities of the factors significantly associated with the three measures of ANC.ResultsApproximately 18% of mothers met the new WHO recommended number of eight ANC contacts. About 58% of the mothers received adequate ANC components, and 47% initiated ANC within the first trimester of pregnancy. The predicted model shows that Myanmar could achieve 70% coverage of adequate components of ANC if all women were living in urban areas. Similarly, if ANC was through private health facilities, 63% would achieve adequate components of ANC. Pregnant women from urban areas (adjusted risk ratio (aRR): 4.86, 95% CI 2.44 to 9.68) were more than four times more likely to have adequate ANC components compared with women from rural areas. Pregnant women in the highest wealth quintile were three times more likely to receive eight or more ANC contacts (aRR: 3.20, 95% CI 1.61 to 6.36) relative to mothers from the lowest wealth quintile. On time initiation of the first ANC contact was fourfold for mothers aged 30–39 years relative to adolescent mothers (aRR: 4.07, 95% CI 1.53 to 10.84).ConclusionThe 2016 WHO ANC target is not yet being met by the majority of women in Myanmar. Our results highlight the need to address health access inequity for women who are from lower socioeconomic groups, or are younger, and those living in rural areas.

Key results We analysed the results from 15 trials with 2496 participants. The e ects of azithromycin on cure, improvement or failure were not better than those of amoxycillin or amoxyclav. However, azithromycin seems to have a lower incidence of adverse events than amoxycillin or amoxyclav but it is not significant. Quality of evidence Overall the quality of the evidence for the main outcome is low as only three of 15 included trials showed adequate allocation concealment. Hence, currently, there is insu icient evidence to show conclusively that azithromycin is superior to amoxycillin or amoxyclav in treating acute LRTI.

ObjectivesTo explore the intake of fruits and vegetables in the Yangon region, Myanmar, and to describe associations between intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) and established risk factors for non-communicable diseases.Design2 cross-sectional studies, using the STEPs methodology.SettingUrban and rural areas of the Yangon region of Myanmar.Participants1486, men and women, 25–74 years, were recruited through a multistage cluster sampling method. Institutionalised people, military personnel, Buddhist monks and nuns were not invited. Physically and mentally ill people were excluded.ResultsMean intake of fruit was 0.8 (SE 0.1) and 0.6 (0.0) servings/day and of vegetables 2.2 (0.1) and 1.2 (0.1) servings/day, in urban and rural areas, respectively. Adjusted for included confounders (age, sex, location, income, education, smoking and low physical activity), men and women eating ≥2 servings of fruits and vegetables/day had lower odds than others of hypertriglyceridaemia (OR 0.72 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.94)). On average, women eating at least 2 servings of fruits and vegetables per day had cholesterol levels 0.28 mmol/L lower than the levels of other women. When only adjusted for sex and age, men eating at least 2 servings of fruits and vegetables per day had cholesterol levels 0.27 mmol/L higher than other men.ConclusionsA high intake of FV was associated with lower odds of hypertriglyceridaemia among men and women. It was also associated with cholesterol levels, negatively among women and positively among men.