Author:
ProCite
RefWorks
Reference Manager
BibTeX
Zotero
EndNote
-
1.
Kabir A, Karim MN, Billah B, 2023. The capacity of primary healthcare facilities in Bangladesh to prevent and control non-communicable diseases. BMC Prim Care 24: 60.
-
2.
Gautham M, Spicer N, Chatterjee S, Goodman C, 2021. What are the challenges for antibiotic stewardship at the community level? An analysis of the drivers of antibiotic provision by informal healthcare providers in rural India. Soc Sci Med 275: 113813.
-
3.
Hodgins S, Pullum T, Dougherty L, 2013. Understanding where parents take their sick children and why it matters: A multi-country analysis. Glob Health Sci Pract 1: 328–356.
-
4.
Larson CP, Saha UR, Islam R, Roy N, 2006. Childhood diarrhoea management practices in Bangladesh: Private sector dominance and continued inequities in care. Int J Epidemiol 35: 1430–1439.
-
5.
Sujon H et al., 2023. Beyond the regulatory radar: Knowledge and practices of rural medical practitioners in Bangladesh. BMC Health Serv Res 23: 1322.
-
6.
Anand G, Chhajed D, Shah S, Atkins S, Diwan V, 2019. Do qualifications matter? A qualitative study of how villagers decide their health care providers in a developing economy. PloS One 14: e0220316.
-
7.
Mahmood SS, Iqbal M, Hanifi SMA, Wahed T, Bhuiya A, 2010. Are “village doctors” in Bangladesh a curse or a blessing? BMC Int Health Hum Rights 10: 18.
-
8.
Nessa A, Ameen MA, Ullah S, Kwak KS, 2008. Applicability of Telemedicine in Bangladesh: Current Status and Future Prospects. 2008 Third International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology. November 11–13, 2008: Busan, South Korea.
-
9.
Ahmed SM, Hossain MA, Rajachowdhury AM, Bhuiya AU, 2011. The health workforce crisis in Bangladesh: Shortage, inappropriate skill-mix and inequitable distribution. Hum Resour Health 9: 3.
-
10.
Nayak PR et al., 2022. Informal providers—Ground realities in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations: Toward better cancer primary care: A narrative review. JCO Glob Oncol 8: e2200260.
-
11.
Sudhinaraset M, Ingram M, Lofthouse HK, Montagu D, 2013. What is the role of informal healthcare providers in developing countries? A systematic review. PLoS One 8: e54978.
-
12.
Local Health Bulletin – 2024. Available at: https://old.dghs.gov.bd/index.php/en/publications/health-bulletin/dghs-health-bulletin. Accessed November 6, 2024.
-
13.
Population and Housing Census, . Available at: https://bbs.gov.bd/site/page/47856ad0-7e1c-4aab-bd78-892733bc06eb/Population-and-Housing-Census. Accessed November 6, 2024.
-
14.
Hanson OR et al., 2024. Identification, mapping, and self-reported practice patterns of village doctors in Sitakunda subdistrict, Bangladesh. J Glob Health 14: 04185.
-
15.
Jones A, Ahmed SM, Platts-Mills JA, Kotloff KL, Levine AC, Nelson EJ, Pavia AT, Khan AI, Leung DT, 2024. Etiology of severely dehydrating diarrheal illness in infants and young children residing in low- and middle-income countries. Open Forum Infect Dis 11: ofae619.
-
16.
Ahmed SM, Hossain MA, 2007. Knowledge and practice of unqualified and semi-qualified allopathic providers in rural Bangladesh: Implications for the HRH problem. Health Policy Amst Policy 84: 332–343.
-
17.
Guest G, MacQueen KM, Namey EE, 2012. Applied Thematic Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
-
18.
Corbin J, Strauss A, 2008. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
-
19.
Khandakar MSA, 2014. Rural health care system and patients’ satisfaction towards medical care in Bangladesh: An empirical study. Dhaka Univ J Bus Stud 35: 83–102.
-
20.
Xiong S et al., 2022. Factors associated with the uptake of national essential public health service package for hypertension and type-2 diabetes management in China’s primary health care system: A mixed-methods study. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 31: 100664.
-
21.
Wang Q, Kong Y, Sun J, Zhang Y, Yuan L, Wang J, 2019. What are the challenges faced by village doctors in provision of basic public health services in Shandong, China? A qualitative study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16: 2519.
-
22.
Choudhury A, Asan O, Choudhury MM, 2021. Mobile health technology to improve maternal health awareness in tribal populations: Mobile for mothers. J Am Med Inform Assoc 28: 2467–2474.
-
23.
Gong E et al., 2021. The implementation of a primary care-based integrated mobile health intervention for stroke management in rural China: Mixed-methods process evaluation. Front Public Health 9: 774907.
-
24.
Gilliam NJ, Settle D, Duncan L, Dixon BE, 2023. Health worker registries: Managing the health care workforce. Dixon BE, ed. Health Information Exchange. 2nd ed. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 329–341.
-
25.
Cella E, Giovanetti M, Benedetti F, Scarpa F, Johnston C, Borsetti A, Ceccarelli G, Azarian T, Zella D, Ciccozzi M, 2023. Joining forces against antibiotic resistance: The One Health solution. Pathogens 12: 1074.
-
26.
de Nies L, Kobras CM, Stracy M, 2023. Antibiotic-induced collateral damage to the microbiota and associated infections. Nat Rev Microbiol 21: 789–804.
-
27.
Majumder MAA, Rahman S, Cohall D, Bharatha A, Singh K, Haque M, Gittens-St Hilaire M, 2020. Antimicrobial stewardship: Fighting antimicrobial resistance and protecting global public health. Infect Drug Resist 13: 4713–4738.
-
28.
Murray JL et al., 2024. Drivers of inappropriate use of antimicrobials in South Asia: A systematic review of qualitative literature. PLOS Glob Public Health 4: e0002507.
-
29.
Madimenos FC, Gildner TE, Eick GN, Sugiyama LS, Snodgrass JJ, 2022. Bringing the lab bench to the field: Point-of-care testing for enhancing health research and stakeholder engagement in rural/remote, indigenous, and resource-limited contexts. Am J Hum Biol Off Biol 34: e23808.
-
30.
Xiong S et al., 2023. Primary health care system responses to non-communicable disease prevention and control: A scoping review of national policies in mainland China since the 2009 health reform. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 31: 100390.
| Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1304 | 1304 | 856 |
| Full Text Views | 29 | 29 | 11 |
| PDF Downloads | 25 | 25 | 9 |
Physicians’ Perspectives Regarding Informal Health Practitioners in Bangladesh
Zahid Hasan Khan
Zahid Hasan Khan
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Zahid Hasan Khan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Zahid Hasan Khan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Olivia R. Hanson
Olivia R. Hanson
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah;
Search for other papers by Olivia R. Hanson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Olivia R. Hanson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Mohammad Ashraful Amin
Mohammad Ashraful Amin
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Mohammad Ashraful Amin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Mohammad Ashraful Amin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Ishtiakul I. Khan
Ishtiakul I. Khan
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Ishtiakul I. Khan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Ishtiakul I. Khan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Debashish Biswas
Debashish Biswas
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Debashish Biswas in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Debashish Biswas in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Md. Taufiqul Islam
Md. Taufiqul Islam
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Md. Taufiqul Islam in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Md. Taufiqul Islam in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Eric J. Nelson
Eric J. Nelson
Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Search for other papers by Eric J. Nelson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Eric J. Nelson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Aparna Mangadu
Aparna Mangadu
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah;
Search for other papers by Aparna Mangadu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Aparna Mangadu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Firdausi Qadri
Firdausi Qadri
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Firdausi Qadri in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Firdausi Qadri in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Melissa H. Watt
Melissa H. Watt
Department of Population Health Sciences, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Search for other papers by Melissa H. Watt in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Melissa H. Watt in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Daniel T. Leung
daniel.leung@utah.edu
Daniel T. Leung
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah;
Search for other papers by Daniel T. Leung in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Daniel T. Leung in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Ashraful Islam Khan
Ashraful Islam Khan
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Search for other papers by Ashraful Islam Khan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Ashraful Islam Khan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
ABSTRACT.
Rural Bangladesh faces challenges of limited health care resources and a shortage of health care professionals. Informal providers, particularly village doctors, fill this void by being a first point of care and a bridge to the formal health care system. This study explores formally trained physicians’ perspectives on village doctors’ role in the health care system. This qualitative study was conducted in southeast Bangladesh and included 12 individual in-depth interviews with physicians. Data were analyzed using applied thematic analysis, focusing on both the contributions and shortcomings of village doctors. Three themes emerged for positive contributions of village doctors: 1) provision of essential services and resources in isolated areas, 2) enhanced accessibility and familiarity with the community, and 3) active involvement in public health education. Five themes emerged related to the shortcomings and negative impacts of village doctors: 1) insufficient education and training, 2) use of inappropriate treatments, 3) inappropriate referrals, 4) misuse and overuse of antibiotics, and 5) prioritization of financial gain. This study sheds light on the complex interplay between formal and informal health care providers, emphasizing both the contributions and shortcomings of village doctors in rural health care settings.
- Supplemental Materials (PDF 524.87 KB)
Author Notes
Financial support: This work was supported by the
Disclosures: The authors state no conflicts of interest. This study was approved by the ethics review boards of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh and the University of Utah. All study participants provided oral informed consent, and no financial incentives were provided for their participation.
Data availability: Given the nature of the qualitative data, the research team has decided not to release the data on a public repository. Please contact the corresponding author with any inquiries.
Current contact information: Zahid Hasan Khan, Mohammad Ashraful Amin, Ishtiakul I. Khan, Debashish Biswas, Md. Taufiqul Islam, Firdausi Qadri, and Ashraful Islam Khan, International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, E-mails: zahid.hasan@icddrb.org, ashraful.amin@icddrb.org, ishtiakul.khan@icddrb.org, debashish@icddrb.org, taufiqulislam@icddrb.org, fqadri@icddrb.org, and ashrafk@icddrb.org. Olivia R. Hanson, Aparna Mangadu, and Daniel T. Leung, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, E-mails: olivia.hanson@hsc.utah.edu, aparna.mangadu@utah.edu, and daniel.leung@utah.edu. Eric J. Nelson, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mail: eric.nelson@ufl.edu. Melissa H. Watt, Department of Population Health Sciences, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, E-mail: melissa.watt@hsc.utah.edu.
ProCite
RefWorks
Reference Manager
BibTeX
Zotero
EndNote
-
1.
Kabir A, Karim MN, Billah B, 2023. The capacity of primary healthcare facilities in Bangladesh to prevent and control non-communicable diseases. BMC Prim Care 24: 60.
-
2.
Gautham M, Spicer N, Chatterjee S, Goodman C, 2021. What are the challenges for antibiotic stewardship at the community level? An analysis of the drivers of antibiotic provision by informal healthcare providers in rural India. Soc Sci Med 275: 113813.
-
3.
Hodgins S, Pullum T, Dougherty L, 2013. Understanding where parents take their sick children and why it matters: A multi-country analysis. Glob Health Sci Pract 1: 328–356.
-
4.
Larson CP, Saha UR, Islam R, Roy N, 2006. Childhood diarrhoea management practices in Bangladesh: Private sector dominance and continued inequities in care. Int J Epidemiol 35: 1430–1439.
-
5.
Sujon H et al., 2023. Beyond the regulatory radar: Knowledge and practices of rural medical practitioners in Bangladesh. BMC Health Serv Res 23: 1322.
-
6.
Anand G, Chhajed D, Shah S, Atkins S, Diwan V, 2019. Do qualifications matter? A qualitative study of how villagers decide their health care providers in a developing economy. PloS One 14: e0220316.
-
7.
Mahmood SS, Iqbal M, Hanifi SMA, Wahed T, Bhuiya A, 2010. Are “village doctors” in Bangladesh a curse or a blessing? BMC Int Health Hum Rights 10: 18.
-
8.
Nessa A, Ameen MA, Ullah S, Kwak KS, 2008. Applicability of Telemedicine in Bangladesh: Current Status and Future Prospects. 2008 Third International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology. November 11–13, 2008: Busan, South Korea.
-
9.
Ahmed SM, Hossain MA, Rajachowdhury AM, Bhuiya AU, 2011. The health workforce crisis in Bangladesh: Shortage, inappropriate skill-mix and inequitable distribution. Hum Resour Health 9: 3.
-
10.
Nayak PR et al., 2022. Informal providers—Ground realities in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations: Toward better cancer primary care: A narrative review. JCO Glob Oncol 8: e2200260.
-
11.
Sudhinaraset M, Ingram M, Lofthouse HK, Montagu D, 2013. What is the role of informal healthcare providers in developing countries? A systematic review. PLoS One 8: e54978.
-
12.
Local Health Bulletin – 2024. Available at: https://old.dghs.gov.bd/index.php/en/publications/health-bulletin/dghs-health-bulletin. Accessed November 6, 2024.
-
13.
Population and Housing Census, . Available at: https://bbs.gov.bd/site/page/47856ad0-7e1c-4aab-bd78-892733bc06eb/Population-and-Housing-Census. Accessed November 6, 2024.
-
14.
Hanson OR et al., 2024. Identification, mapping, and self-reported practice patterns of village doctors in Sitakunda subdistrict, Bangladesh. J Glob Health 14: 04185.
-
15.
Jones A, Ahmed SM, Platts-Mills JA, Kotloff KL, Levine AC, Nelson EJ, Pavia AT, Khan AI, Leung DT, 2024. Etiology of severely dehydrating diarrheal illness in infants and young children residing in low- and middle-income countries. Open Forum Infect Dis 11: ofae619.
-
16.
Ahmed SM, Hossain MA, 2007. Knowledge and practice of unqualified and semi-qualified allopathic providers in rural Bangladesh: Implications for the HRH problem. Health Policy Amst Policy 84: 332–343.
-
17.
Guest G, MacQueen KM, Namey EE, 2012. Applied Thematic Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
-
18.
Corbin J, Strauss A, 2008. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
-
19.
Khandakar MSA, 2014. Rural health care system and patients’ satisfaction towards medical care in Bangladesh: An empirical study. Dhaka Univ J Bus Stud 35: 83–102.
-
20.
Xiong S et al., 2022. Factors associated with the uptake of national essential public health service package for hypertension and type-2 diabetes management in China’s primary health care system: A mixed-methods study. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 31: 100664.
-
21.
Wang Q, Kong Y, Sun J, Zhang Y, Yuan L, Wang J, 2019. What are the challenges faced by village doctors in provision of basic public health services in Shandong, China? A qualitative study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16: 2519.
-
22.
Choudhury A, Asan O, Choudhury MM, 2021. Mobile health technology to improve maternal health awareness in tribal populations: Mobile for mothers. J Am Med Inform Assoc 28: 2467–2474.
-
23.
Gong E et al., 2021. The implementation of a primary care-based integrated mobile health intervention for stroke management in rural China: Mixed-methods process evaluation. Front Public Health 9: 774907.
-
24.
Gilliam NJ, Settle D, Duncan L, Dixon BE, 2023. Health worker registries: Managing the health care workforce. Dixon BE, ed. Health Information Exchange. 2nd ed. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 329–341.
-
25.
Cella E, Giovanetti M, Benedetti F, Scarpa F, Johnston C, Borsetti A, Ceccarelli G, Azarian T, Zella D, Ciccozzi M, 2023. Joining forces against antibiotic resistance: The One Health solution. Pathogens 12: 1074.
-
26.
de Nies L, Kobras CM, Stracy M, 2023. Antibiotic-induced collateral damage to the microbiota and associated infections. Nat Rev Microbiol 21: 789–804.
-
27.
Majumder MAA, Rahman S, Cohall D, Bharatha A, Singh K, Haque M, Gittens-St Hilaire M, 2020. Antimicrobial stewardship: Fighting antimicrobial resistance and protecting global public health. Infect Drug Resist 13: 4713–4738.
-
28.
Murray JL et al., 2024. Drivers of inappropriate use of antimicrobials in South Asia: A systematic review of qualitative literature. PLOS Glob Public Health 4: e0002507.
-
29.
Madimenos FC, Gildner TE, Eick GN, Sugiyama LS, Snodgrass JJ, 2022. Bringing the lab bench to the field: Point-of-care testing for enhancing health research and stakeholder engagement in rural/remote, indigenous, and resource-limited contexts. Am J Hum Biol Off Biol 34: e23808.
-
30.
Xiong S et al., 2023. Primary health care system responses to non-communicable disease prevention and control: A scoping review of national policies in mainland China since the 2009 health reform. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 31: 100390.
| Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1304 | 1304 | 856 |
| Full Text Views | 29 | 29 | 11 |
| PDF Downloads | 25 | 25 | 9 |