Are SAARC countries prepared to combat COVID-19 to save young, working-age population?

Sultana, Farhana; Reza, Hasan Mahmud

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2020036

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(14 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast to the other countries in Asia and the west, the South Asian countries (including the SAARC) have a higher rate of COVID-19 infection in the young population, which obviously affects the financial parameters. [ 13 ] Zone 16 of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) consists of these countries, namely India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore. [ 14 ] Interestingly, this group consists of nations such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, which took the initial hit of the pandemic and are relatively stable at present, as well as the SAARC countries, which have rising cases presently with increased morbidities and fatalities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health and well-being in South-Asian (World Psychiatric Association zone 16) countries: A systematic and advocacy review from the Indian Psychiatric Society

Banerjee

Vaishnav

Rao

et al. 2020

Indian J Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global health threat. The South-Asian (SA) countries have witnessed both the initial brunt of the outbreak as well as the ongoing rise of cases. Their unique challenges in relation to mental health during the pandemic are worth exploring. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted for all the original studies on the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on psychological health/well-being in the SA countries of the World Psychiatric Association Zone 16. PubMed, Google Scholar, PSYCHINFO, EMBASE, and SCOPUS were searched till June 2020. Studies conducted in the age group of 18–60 years with a minimum sample size of 10, and statistically significant results were included. Results: Thirteen studies were included in the review. They showed increase prevalence in nonpsychotic depression, preanxiety, somatic concerns, alcohol-related disorders, and insomnia in the general population. Psychological symptoms correlated more with physical complaints of fatigue and pain in older adults and were directly related to social media use, misinformation, xenophobia, and social distancing. Frontline workers reported guilt, stigma, anxiety, and poor sleep quality, which were related to the lack of availability of adequate personal protective equipment, increased workload, and discrimination. One study validated the Coronavirus anxiety scale in the Indian population while another explored gaming as a double-edged sword during the lockdown in adolescents. Another study from Bangladesh explored psychosexual health during lockdown. Most studies were cross-sectional online surveys, used screening tools and had limited accessibility. Conclusion: The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its impact serve as an important period for adequate mental healthcare, promotion, research, and holistic biopsychosocial management of psychiatric disorders, especially in vulnerable groups. Mental healthcare and research strategies during the pandemic and preparedness for postpandemic aftermath are advocated subsequently.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health and well-being in South-Asian (World Psychiatric Association zone 16) countries: A systematic and advocacy review from the Indian Psychiatric Society

Banerjee

Vaishnav

Rao

et al. 2020

Indian J Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Besides, climate, genetic make-up, age structure, BCG vaccination might account for differences in the pandemic's spread [32,33]. Each government of these countries has taken different measures, such as complete lockdown, social distancing, advising to use mask and hand-wash, testing as much as possible, supplying PPE (personal protective equipment) for the health workers, nurses and doctors, and other control strategies, which have direct and indirect impacts on the epidemiology of COVID-19 [34][35][36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Onset, Transmission, Impact, and Management of COVID-19 Epidemic at Early Stage in SAARC Countries

Shohan¹,

Alam²,

Rakhi³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak had devastating consequences globally with 20,675,770 affected and 749,061 dead. Despite different measures to restrict transmission, the death toll continues to rise. The SAARC group of countries comprising eight nations-Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where 23.75% of the world population reside, implemented containment measures at different stages of the outbreak with varying consequences. In this review, we examined the onset and transmission of the virus in each country at an early stage and critically appraised their response with respect to their medical facilities for diagnosis and management. We found that countries that succeeded to contain the spread of COVID-19 were able to do so by prioritizing non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. early and stricter lockdowns). Currently, the epicentre of COVID-19 appears to be shifting to India (the largest SAARC nation), the death toll is likely to steeply increase if effective and aggressive measures are not taken urgently. The authors believe that authorities of each of the SAARC countries should act decisively and cooperatively as a matter of urgency increasing the regional collaboration in an eloquent and durative way.

show abstract

“…The frequency of positively detected COVID-19 cases was projected to be lesser in various low-income countries where the ratio of older people was on the lower side [3]. The infection rate in younger age groups encompassing more than eighty percent of the total population has been the maximum across SAARC nations [4].…”

Section: A C C E P T E D a R T I C L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

The obstacles to combat against COVID-19 pandemic and the remedies: Bangladesh scenario

Pervin¹,

Parvin²,

Babu³

et al. 2021

J Public Health Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Bangladesh has been going through the austerity of the unique COVID-19 for more than a year like several other nations in the world in spite of concerted efforts taken by the government along with other concerned authorities who have advocated compulsory guidelines involving social distancing procedures accompanied by lockdown to have control over the pandemic. In this paper, the barriers faced by the government to protect people from the COVID-19 pandemic have been investigated. Also, the number of daily infected people against the number of daily tests has been underlined to comprehend the overall pandemic picture in Bangladesh. Design and Methods: A descriptive study has been carried out to investigate the obstacles to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic for this country. The intensity of the outbreaks of the pandemic in this country is stated from March 8, 2020, to February 12, 2021. Secondary data have been employed from different sources to serve the goals of the study. Results: The poor management in the health sector of Bangladesh has been an issue of major concern during the early stage of COVID-19 which incorporates deficiency of medical equipment, lack of facilities for testing COVID-19, poor patient management, and uncertainty in the medication system. Finally, some recommendations have been proposed for the concerned organizations to tackle the current pandemic and as well in the future. Conclusions: To control this COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to find the difficulties and discover the remedies which have been done in this paper for the Bangladesh perspective.

show abstract

Are SAARC countries prepared to combat COVID-19 to save young, working-age population?

Cited by 17 publications

References 14 publications

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health and well-being in South-Asian (World Psychiatric Association zone 16) countries: A systematic and advocacy review from the Indian Psychiatric Society

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health and well-being in South-Asian (World Psychiatric Association zone 16) countries: A systematic and advocacy review from the Indian Psychiatric Society

Onset, Transmission, Impact, and Management of COVID-19 Epidemic at Early Stage in SAARC Countries

The obstacles to combat against COVID-19 pandemic and the remedies: Bangladesh scenario

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About