BackgroundPeople are becoming more dependent on technology than ever before. Today’s children and adults are heavily plugged into electronics, which raises concerns for their physical and cognitive development. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the relationship between media usage and cognitive function among school-going children.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 schools in 3 of Bangladesh’s most populous metropolitan areas: Dhaka, Chattogram and Cumilla. A semistructured questionnaire with three sections was used to obtain data from the respondents: (1) background information, (2) PedsQL Cognitive Functioning Scale and (3) Problematic Media Use Measure Short Form. Stata (V.16) was used for statistical analysis. Mean and SD were used to summarise quantitative variables. Qualitative variables were summarised using frequency and percentage. The χ2test was used to explore bivariate association between categorical variables, and a binary logistic regression model was fit to investigate the factors associated with the cognitive function of the study participants after adjusting for confounders.ResultsThe mean age of total of 769 participants was 12.0±1.8 years, and the majority (67.31%) were females. The prevalence of high gadget addiction and poor cognitive function was 46.9% and 46.5%, respectively, among the participants. After adjusting the factors, this study found a statistically significant relationship (adjusted OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.7) between gadget addiction and cognitive function. In addition, the duration of breast feeding was a predictor of cognitive function as well.ConclusionThis study found digital media addiction as a predictor of decreased cognitive performance in children who use digital gadgets regularly. Although the cross-sectional design of the study precludes causal relationships from being determined, the study finding deserves further examination via longitudinal research.

Background When caring for COVID-19 patients, using personal protective equipment (PPE) may significantly lower the risk of infection of health care workers (HCWs). However, adverse responses due to PPE use have been observed during the 2003 SARS pandemic. This study will highlight the different adverse reactions caused by face mask use, one of the essential components of PPE in the HCWs, and identify the factors associated with these problems. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted between September and October 2021. 404 HCWs were selected by snowball sampling from four randomly selected healthcare facilities of Bangladesh. Trained volunteers collected data by face-to-face interview using a pretested structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using STATA (v.16) and summarized using frequency and relative frequency. Later, the chi-square test was used to explore bivariate relationships, and the binary logistic regression model was fit to identify the predictors. Results The majority of the respondents were 26–36 years (70.30%), male (69.80%), and doctors (74.50%). 48.76% of the respondents had unfavorable skin responses beneath the face masks; female gender, physicians, professionals working more than 32 hours a week, wearing N95, and more than one mask were predictors of skin problem. 28.47% and 60.15% of all participants suffered from some form of oral and neurological problems, respectively. Conclusion Face mask use sequelae, especially skin, oral and neurological problems, are prevalent among health care workers. Therefore, necessary precautionary measures should be taken to safeguard our frontlines.

Background Bangladesh’s population commonly utilizes Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat their health issues. Despite the increasing interest in CAM, it has been excluded from conventional medical training in Bangladesh for many years. Therefore, this study assessed and compared the knowledge level, attitude, perceived effectiveness, and self-practice of CAM among undergraduate students of Bangladesh. Methods This cross-sectional group comparison study was conducted among undergraduate (both medical and non-medical) students of Bangladesh between November and December 2021. Data was collected using a self-reported pretested semi-structured online questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions regarding background information, knowledge regarding CAM, source of CAM knowledge, attitude towards CAM, interest in attaining CAM knowledge, perceived effectiveness of CAM, perceived adverse effects of CAM, self-practice of CAM, and whether would they refer CAM to others. A total of 576 students responded and the data gathered allowed for the following: (1) an overview of the study groups, (2) respondents’ general perception and knowledge regarding CAM, and (3) a comparison of respondents’ CAM knowledge, general perception, and usage by area of study. Data were analyzed using STATA (v.16) and descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test were performed. Results A total of 329 medical students and 247 non-medical students participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 21.57 ± 1.8 years and 56.2% of them were male. The most known CAM among medical (M) students was homeopathy (44.6%) and among non-medical (NM) students were herbal medicine (45.7%). Non-medical students had significantly better knowledge about nine out of twelve CAM modalities included in the study, and no significant differences were present for the rest of the modalities. Medical (81.1%) and non-medical students (86.2%) perceived traditional Chinese medicine and homeopathy to be the most effective respectively. “Incorporating CAM with conventional medicine would result in increased patient satisfaction” showed the most statistically significant (p = 0.0002) difference among both groups. Yoga was the most often practiced modality among medical students and homeopathy among non-medical students. Conclusion Medical students have a lacking of knowledge and a positive attitude towards CAM, despite its very common practice among the people of Bangladesh. Therefore, emphasis should be put on the inclusion of CAM modules in medical training.

Background: Covid-19 pandemic era introduce E-learning process in education system all over the world include medical science. Repeated researches should be conducted to explore the limitations and combat with the challenges of the E-learning process as well as find out the methods of suitable medical education system for future. Method: A cross-sectional study was performed among 334 MBBS (n = 114, 34.3%) and BDS (n = 218; 65.7%) students of four selected private Medical and Dental colleges in Bangladesh to reveal the perception of the students towards E-learning during the COVID-19 outbreak. Data was collected through an online platform using the snowball sampling technique in between October 2021 to March 2022. Result: Most of the participants use mobile phones (n = 308, 92.8%) and Wi-Fi connections (n = 153, 46.1%) for online classes. Majority of the participants had negative perception regarding E-learning. In addition, most of the participants responded that, E-learning is not better than traditional teaching (n = 292, 88%), the quality of E-learning is not satisfactory (n = 198, 59.6%), the usefulness of E-teaching regarding clinical and practical demonstrations is not satisfactory (n = 284, 85.5%), and the blend of E-learning will be beneficial in the future (n = 224, 67.5%), where female students (p = 0.049) and BDS students (p = 0.003) gave a more positive response in comparison to male students and MBBS students. BDS students gave more positive response about the satisfaction in quality of E-learning rather than MBBS students (p= 0.003). MBBS students significantly responded more negatively than did BDS students (p = 0.003) regarding student-teacher interactions during the e-learning process. Conclusion: Students adjusted themselves with the E-learning techniques but they believe that blending of E-learning, which combines both classroom and distance learning will be beneficial for them in future. The COVID-19 pandemic affects future approaches to teaching methodologies and changes to the medical education system. Update Dent. Coll. j: 2023; 13(1): 3-8