The cultural narratives around Jinn Possession are deeply intertwined with the societal understanding of mental health in Bangladesh, often blurring the lines between supernatural beliefs and clinical psychiatric diagnosis. This study aims to delineate the community-based differentiation between Jinn Possession and serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorders and major depressive disorders with psychotic symptoms, as perceived by traditional and faith-based healers in Korail slum. We attempted to unravel the nuanced approaches the healers use to distinguish spiritual afflictions from psychiatric conditions and to explore potential collaborations between traditional healing practices and biomedical mental health services as a part of TRANSFORM Research.

Adopting an ethnographic and participatory approach, this study engaged in a comprehensive qualitative exploration involving community engagement meetings, 45 key informant interviews, 8 naturalistic interviews with 56 participants, year-long observations of the community and healing practices, 5 co-designing workshops with 46 participants, and 2 pilot training programmes from 2021 to January 2024. We discussed with the traditional and faith-based healers, community health workers, medicine sellers, person with lived experience and their caregivers. The continuous discussion and observation of the community help us to develop a trusted relation and explore the healing practices in the korail slum. Data collected from interviews and workshops were meticulously transcribed and analysed using NVivo software to uncover underlying patterns and distinctions made by traditional and faith-based healers in diagnosing Jinn Possession versus serious mental disorders.

We found a stepwise diagnostic framework utilized by healers, initially categorising conditions based on the symptom's onset and presentation. Sudden and rapid symptoms onset, especially during specific times of the day, was often attributed to Jinn Possession. Specific symptoms such as sudden onset convulsions, disorganised speech and self-laughing further supported this distinction. Moreover, they used traditional diagnostic tests, including the use of holy water and recitation of the Quran, if the patient improves immediately following these interventions was considered as confirmation of Jinn Possession. We observed a few of the healers refer cases perceived as non-spiritual to biomedical facilities when they confirmed it was not the case of Jinn Possession, indicating a potential for collaborative mental health-care models

This cultural understanding offers a unique perspective on community-based mental health care in Bangladesh, emphasising the importance of integrating traditional and biomedical approaches to foster a more inclusive and culturally sensitive mental health-care ecosystem.

The prevalence of medical illnesses is high among patients with psychiatric disorders. The current study aimed to investigate multi-comorbidity in patients with psychiatric disorders in comparison to the general population. Secondary aims were to investigate factors associated with metabolic syndrome and treatment appropriateness of mental disorders.

The sample included 54,826 subjects (64.73% females; 34.15% males; 1.11% nonbinary gender) from 40 countries (COMET-G study). The analysis was based on the registration of previous history that could serve as a fair approximation for the lifetime prevalence of various medical conditions.

About 24.5% reported a history of somatic and 26.14% of mental disorders. Mental disorders were by far the most prevalent group of medical conditions. Comorbidity of any somatic with any mental disorder was reported by 8.21%. One-third to almost two-thirds of somatic patients were also suffering from a mental disorder depending on the severity and multicomorbidity. Bipolar and psychotic patients and to a lesser extent depressives, manifested an earlier (15–20 years) manifestation of somatic multicomorbidity, severe disability, and probably earlier death. The overwhelming majority of patients with mental disorders were not receiving treatment or were being treated in a way that was not recommended. Antipsychotics and antidepressants were not related to the development of metabolic syndrome.

The finding that one-third to almost two-thirds of somatic patients also suffered from a mental disorder strongly suggests that psychiatry is the field with the most trans-specialty and interdisciplinary value and application points to the importance of teaching psychiatry and mental health in medical schools and also to the need for more technocratically oriented training of psychiatric residents.

In addition to risking their physical well-being, frontline physicians are enduring significant emotional burden both at work and home during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to investigate the levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms and to identify associated factors among Bangladeshi physicians during the COVID-19 outbreak.

A cross-sectional study using an online survey following a convenience sampling technique was conducted between April 21 and May 10, 2020. Outcomes assessed included demographic questions, COVID-19 related questions, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

The survey was completed by 412 Bangladeshi physicians. The findings revealed that, in terms of standardized HADS cut-off points, the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among physicians was 67.72% and 48.5% respectively. Risk factors for higher rates of anxiety or depressive symptoms were: being female, physicians who had experienced COVID-19 like symptoms during the pandemic, those who had not received incentives, those who used self-funded personal protective equipment (PPE), not received adequate training, lacking perceived self-efficacy to manage COVID-19 positive patients, greater perceived stress of being infected, fear of getting assaulted/humiliated, being more connected with social media, having lower income levels to support the family, feeling more agitated, less than 2 h of leisure activity per day and short sleep duration. All these factors were found to be positively associated with anxiety and depression in unadjusted and adjusted statistical models.

This study identifies a real concern about the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among Bangladeshi physicians and identifies several associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the vulnerability of the physicians in this extraordinary period whilst they are putting their own lives at risk to help people infected by COVID-19, health authorities should address the psychological needs of medical staff and formulate effective strategies to support vital frontline health workers.

We assessed the feasibility of implementing psychological counseling services (PCS) for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) integrated within special education settings in urban Bangladesh.

In two special education schools for ASD in Dhaka City, trained female psychologists screened mothers using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). PCS was administered to all the mothers irrespective of a diagnosis of depression. Mothers with a PHQ-9 score >4 who met criteria for a major depressive episode (MDE) based on the DSM-IV Structured Interview Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) were also administered skill-building training through monthly home visits to support ASD care. The level of depression was assessed by the Depression Measurement Scale (DMS), and quality of life (QoL) was measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of EQ5D5L scale before and after PCS.

Among 188 mothers enrolled in the study, 81 (43%) received PCS, and 27.1% (22) had MDE. In the first month, 73 sessions were scheduled and 60 completed (85%). In the last month, 53 sessions were scheduled and 52 completed (98%). The mean DMS score decreased from 79.5 ± 23 to 60 ± 20 (p = 0.004), and DMS scores were significantly higher among mothers with MDE (97.8 ± 12.1 v. 69.9 ± 22.1; p < 0.001) compared to those without MDE (72.7 ± 22.6 v. 56.1 ± 18.1; p = 0.003). The mean VAS score improved from 70.3 ± 14.1 to 80.2 ± 13.3 (p = 0.001) between the first and the last session. Changes in DMS were negatively correlated with changes in VAS scores (β: −0.213, 95% CI 0.370 to −0.056).

Within special education schools for ASD in urban Bangladesh, it was feasible to administer an integrated program of PCS for mothers of children with ASD by trained psychologists who were able to screen and intervene to reduce their level of depression and improve their quality of life.