TY - JOUR
KW - Age Distribution
KW - Adult
KW - Adolescent
KW - Female
KW - Educational Status
KW - Communicable Diseases
KW - Bangladesh
KW - Aged
KW - Focus Groups
KW - Hinduism
KW - Humans
KW - Interpersonal Relations
KW - Islam
KW - leprosy
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Rural Population
KW - Sex Distribution
KW - Social Behavior
KW - Tuberculosis
KW - Urban Population
KW - Young Adult
AU - Feenstra SG
AU - Nahar Q
AU - Pahan D
AU - Oskam L
AU - Richardus JH
AB - In South Asia, the burden of infectious diseases is high. Socioeconomically and culturally-defined social interaction patterns are considered to be an important determinant in the spread of diseases that are transmitted through person-to-person contact. Understanding of the contact patterns in this region can be helpful to develop more effective control measures. Focus group discussions were used in exploring social contact patterns in northwest Bangladesh. The patterns were assessed for perceived relevance to the spread of airborne infectious diseases, with special focus on diseases, like leprosy and tuberculosis, in which the role of social determinants is well-recognized. Highly-relevant social contact patterns inside the home and the neighbourhood, across age and sex groups, were reported in all group discussions. Outside the home, women and girls reported relevant contacts limited to the close neighbourhood while men mentioned high relevant contacts beyond. This implies that, in theory, infectious diseases can easily be transmitted across age and sex groups in and around the home. Adult men might play a role in the transmission of airborne infectious diseases from outside this confined area since only this group reported highly-relevant social contacts beyond the home. This concept needs further exploration but control programmes in the South Asian region could benefit from considering differences in social contact patterns by gender for risk assessments and planning of preventive interventions.
BT - Journal of health, population, and nutrition
C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24592583?dopt=Abstract
DA - 2013 Dec
IS - 4
J2 - J Health Popul Nutr
LA - eng
N2 - In South Asia, the burden of infectious diseases is high. Socioeconomically and culturally-defined social interaction patterns are considered to be an important determinant in the spread of diseases that are transmitted through person-to-person contact. Understanding of the contact patterns in this region can be helpful to develop more effective control measures. Focus group discussions were used in exploring social contact patterns in northwest Bangladesh. The patterns were assessed for perceived relevance to the spread of airborne infectious diseases, with special focus on diseases, like leprosy and tuberculosis, in which the role of social determinants is well-recognized. Highly-relevant social contact patterns inside the home and the neighbourhood, across age and sex groups, were reported in all group discussions. Outside the home, women and girls reported relevant contacts limited to the close neighbourhood while men mentioned high relevant contacts beyond. This implies that, in theory, infectious diseases can easily be transmitted across age and sex groups in and around the home. Adult men might play a role in the transmission of airborne infectious diseases from outside this confined area since only this group reported highly-relevant social contacts beyond the home. This concept needs further exploration but control programmes in the South Asian region could benefit from considering differences in social contact patterns by gender for risk assessments and planning of preventive interventions.
PY - 2013
SP - 424
EP - 34
T2 - Journal of health, population, and nutrition
TI - A qualitative exploration of social contact patterns relevant to airborne infectious diseases in northwest Bangladesh.
UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905636/pdf/jhpn0031-0424.pdf
VL - 31
SN - 1606-0997
ER -