Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42552899›Full record

ArticlePsychophysiology2026

A Protocol to Acquire Infant Heart Rate Variability in the Rohingya Camps and Surrounding Communities in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Elisa Ugarte, Paul D Hastings, Eamam Hossain, Md Shakil Ahamed, A K Rahim, Mahbub Elahi, Md Sajjadur Rahman, Fahmida Tofail, Alice J Wuermli

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Psychophysiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07758283 (Understanding the Role of Play and Playful Learning for Resilience in Humanitarian Contexts), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT07758283 active not recruitingnot on this map

Understanding the Role of Play and Playful Learning for Resilience in Humanitarian Contexts: A 36-Month Follow-up For A Landmark Longitudinal Prenatal and Early Years Cohorts Study With Rohingya and Host Communities in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

TypeobservationalSponsorNew York UniversityRan2026 to 2027Enrolled2,200ConditionsChild Development, Early Child Development, Mental Health, PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

9 authors.

Elisa UgarteGlobal TIES for Children, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
Paul D HastingsDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Eamam HossainIcddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Md Shakil AhamedIcddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A K RahimGlobal TIES for Children, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
Mahbub ElahiIcddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Md Sajjadur RahmanIcddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Fahmida TofailIcddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Alice J WuermliGlobal TIES for Children, New York University, New York, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6054-741X

Funding

LEGO Foundation S0464/A19-0170LEGO Foundation S4992/A24-0545-001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Regulation of autonomic arousal during infancy is critical for the development of self-regulation, socioemotional development and cognitive functioning. High frequency heart rate variability (HRV), a key indicator of parasympathetic nervous system function, supports physiological regulation and emerging behaviors that foster social engagement during this critical developmental period. However, research on HRV has largely been confined to controlled settings with highly resourced populations, limiting its applicability to culturally and contextually diverse populations. This study presents a protocol for collecting HRV data from 1-month-old infants in remote and low-resource field contexts, specifically, the Rohingya camps and surrounding host communities in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. We present a three-step process to address challenges inherent to working in such contexts while ensuring ecological validity and cultural sensitivity, navigating logistical challenges, and optimizing data quality. Data quality metrics in 148 infants showed high usability, with 86% of data being usable when infants were held by their mothers (joint condition), and 80% when they were alone (solo condition). Aligning with theoretical expectations, higher respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA, extracted from HRV) was negatively correlated with behavioral arousal (e.g., more alert, exhibiting motor activity) in both conditions. RSA also remained stable across 30-s segments within each baseline condition, indicating no systematic change in mean RSA levels across time. This study demonstrates a scalable, ethical approach to collecting HRV data in remote field settings, providing a foundation for exploring how early autonomic development intersects with proximal processes such as caregiving across diverse cultural contexts. This protocol aims to advance equity and inclusivity in developmental psychophysiology while maintaining rigorous scientific standards.

Indexed as

Child DevelopmentHeart RateRespiratory Sinus ArrhythmiaBangladeshElectrocardiographyFemaleHumansInfantMale

Identifiers

PMID42552899
PMCPMC13439163

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Registered trials

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.