Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35658943›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2022

Health professionals' perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and SGBV services in Rohingya refugee communities in Bangladesh.

Shahanoor Akter Chowdhury, Thomas McHale, Lindsey Green, Ranit Mishori, Chloe Pan, Isabel Fredricks

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  4. Article
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  6. Review
  7. Gender-based violence and its health risks on women in Yaoundé, Cameroon.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Shahanoor Akter ChowdhuryPhysicians for Human Rights, PC Culture Housing Society, House #44, Road #11, Block-Kha, Adabor, Mohammadpur, 1207, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Thomas McHalePhysicians for Human Rights, 434 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 503, Boston, MB, 02118, USA.
Lindsey GreenPhysicians for Human Rights, 434 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 503, Boston, MB, 02118, USA. Lgreen@phr.org.
Ranit MishoriPhysicians for Human Rights, Georgetown University School of Medicine, 3900 Reservoir Road, NW, DC, 20007, Washington, USA.
Chloe PanPhysicians for Human Rights, 434 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 503, Boston, MB, 02118, USA.
Isabel FredricksPhysicians for Human Rights, 434 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 503, Boston, MB, 02118, USA.
Physicians for Human Rights · USGeorgetown University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has acutely affected Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Reported increases in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) were attributed in part to pandemic-related public health measures. In addition, the Government of Bangladesh's restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have impacted the provision of comprehensive care for survivors of sexual violence. This study sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected SGBV and the provision of services for Rohingya survivors in Bangladesh.

methodsInterviews were conducted with 13 professionals who provided or managed health care or related services for Rohingya refugees after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

resultsAt the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations observed an increase in the incidences of SGBV. However, health care workers noted that the overall number of survivors formally reporting or accessing services decreased. The pandemic produced multiple challenges that affected health workers' ability to provide essential care and services to Rohingya survivors, including access to the camps, initial designation of SGBV-related services as non-essential, communications and telehealth, difficulty maintaining confidentiality, and donor pressure. Some emerging best practices were also reported, including engaging Rohingya volunteers to continue services and adapting programming modalities and content to the COVID-19 context.

conclusionsComprehensive SGBV services being deemed non-essential by the Government of Bangladesh was a key barrier to providing services to Rohingya survivors. Government restrictions adversely affected the ability of service providers to ensure that comprehensive SGBV care and services were available and accessible. The Government of Bangladesh has not been alone in struggling to balance the needs of displaced populations with the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its response can provide lessons to others overseeing the provision of services during epidemics and pandemics in other humanitarian settings. The designation of comprehensive services for survivors of SGBV as essential is vital and should be done early in establishing disease prevention and mitigation strategies.

Indexed as

COVID-19Gender-Based ViolenceRefugeesBangladeshHumansPandemicsConflict-affected populationsCOVID-19Health systemsHumanitarian settingsRefugee healthSexual and gender-based violenceSexual violence services

Identifiers

PMID35658943
PMCPMC9166216
OpenAlexW4281942946

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.