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Electricity consumption and government policy are two vital elements for economic growth. Thus, this study explores the roles of electricity use and government policy in the economic growth of the selected four South Asian countries over the period from 1980 to 2014. The study includes the government policy variable in the extended Cobb–Douglas production function of the electricity driven growth model, which was absent in earlier studies. The pooled mean group-based panel autoregressive distributed lag (P-ARDL) method is used for empirical investigation, while fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) methods are used for checking the sensitivity of the P-ARDL estimates. Our results reveal that the effects of electricity, government spending, financial development and capital formation have significant positive effects on the economic growth of South Asia. However, exports and imports are found to have detrimental effects. Causality test reveals a unidirectional causality from electricity consumption to economic growth that supports the growth hypothesis. Following the findings, important policy recommendations are made to foster the economic growth in the South Asian countries.

Background Food insecurity indicates the difficulty of constantly obtaining adequate food because of limited economic resources. Food insecurity challenges the desired health outcomes. Although extensive literature has examined the associations between food security and health, low-wage informal sector workers have been less frequently addressed in this topic. The present study has focused on food insecurity among the workers working in the informal sector enterprises who experienced entrenched disadvantage during COVID-19 and examines the relationship between food insecurity and health status as measured by self-reported physical and mental health conditions. Methods This study has utilized cross-sectional data collected from workers working in informal manufacturing and business enterprises in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) with eight items is used to screen for food insecurity, and the Short Form 12v2 (SF12v2) scale with 12 questions, and validated for use with Bengali respondents, is used to measure the health status of the informal workers. A health production function has been constructed where the health status (both physical and mental) of workers is associated with food insecurity and other socio-economic and health care factors. Empirical analyses of the study have included descriptive statistics, mean score comparisons, and multivariate regression analyses to identify the predictive factors of the physical and mental health status of the workers. Results A moderate to severe food insecurity is found to be responsible for the poor health status (both physical and mental) of the selected working group population. Moreover, age over 40 years, having a large family, dissatisfaction with the work place, and the prevalence of occupational health risks are linked to lower physical health, while dissatisfaction with the work place and the incidence of severe diseases contribute to poor mental health status along with food insecurity. Conclusions Extending social and economic protection towards health coverage and basic consumption is suggested as an immediate action to save lives and ensure productivity of the informal workers. Besides, an increase in income and ensuring decent working conditions are also recommended for the health, safety and satisfaction of workers working in informal sector enterprises.

Although several studies have been conducted in Bangladesh regarding sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, none have utilized a large nationwide sample or presented their findings based on nationwide geographical distribution. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the total sleep duration, night-time sleep, and daily naptime and their associated factors as well as geographic information system (GIS) distribution. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 9730 people in April 2020, including questions relating to socio-demographic variables, behavioral and health factors, lockdown, depression, suicidal ideation, night sleep duration, and naptime duration. Descriptive and inferential statistics, both linear and multivariate regression, and spatial distribution were performed using Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Stata, and ArcGIS software. The results indicated that 64.7% reported sleeping 7–9 h a night, while 29.6% slept less than 7 h nightly, and 5.7% slept more than 9 h nightly. 43.7% reported 30–60 min of daily nap duration, whereas 20.9% napped for more than 1 h daily. Significant predictors of total daily sleep duration were being aged 18–25 years, being unemployed, being married, self-isolating 4 days or more, economic hardship, and depression. For nap duration, being aged 18–25 years, retired, a smoker, and a social media user were at relatively higher risk. The GIS distribution showed that regional division areas with high COVID-19 exposure had higher rates of non-normal sleep duration. Sleep duration showed a regional heterogeneity across the regional divisions of the country that exhibited significant associations with a multitude of socioeconomic and health factors.

Recently, suicide among Bangladeshi university students has become a serious problem. However, to date, there have been no studies assessing suicidal behaviors among Bangladeshi students. Therefore, the present study investigated suicidal ideation (SI) and its risk factors among this population. A classroom-based convenience sampling method was utilized to survey 665 students of a university in Bangladesh (67.5% males; aged 21.16 years: SD ± 1.6). In addition to socio-demographic questions, the survey also included the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale, Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale–21. Results showed that the prevalence of suicidal ideation was 2.3% in the past 24 h, 4.8% in the past 15 days, 6.9% in the past month, 14.7% in the past year, and 61.1% in the lifetime. The unadjusted regression model showed that being divorced (or separated) from a partner (OR = 4.486, 95% CI = 1.972–10.207, p  < 0.0001), Facebook addiction (OR = 1.550, 95% CI = 1.006–2.388, p  = 0.047), depression (OR = 1.657, 95% CI = 1.677–4.211, p  < 0.0001), anxiety (OR = 2.649, 95% CI = 1.624–4.320, p  < 0.0001), and stress (OR = 2.626, 95% CI = 1.673–4.122, p  < 0.0001) were the risk factors of past-year SI. Compared with global prevalence rates, the present study reported higher levels of SI prevalence. Therefore, supportive suicide prevention programs are needed to tackle SI and alongside comorbid psychopathology.

The recently developed Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fears of COVID-19. Given the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh, we aimed to translate and validate the FCV-19S in Bangla. The forward-backward translation method was used to translate the English version of the questionnaire into Bangla. The reliability and validity properties of the Bangla FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilizing both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to socio-demographic variables, national lockdown variables, and response to the Bangla Health Patient Questionnaire. The sample comprised 8550 Bangladeshi participants. The Cronbach α value for the Bangla FCV-19S was 0.871 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S was significantly correlated with the nine-item Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-90) ( r  = 0.406, p  < 0.001). FCV-19S scores were significantly associated with higher worries concerning lockdown. Measurement invariance of the FCV-19S showed no differences with respect to age or gender. The Bangla version of FCV-19S is a valid and reliable tool with robust psychometric properties which will be useful for researchers carrying out studies among the Bangla speaking population in assessing the psychological impact of fear from COVID-19 infection during this pandemic.

Background: The study attempted to explore the prevalence and associated factors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Bangladesh amid the COVID-19 pandemic. IPV is a complete violation of women's human rights and a dominant chronic global public health problem. Methods: The target population of the study was Bangladeshi married women, aged between 16 to 49 years, and lived with an intimate partner. Data were collected from Dhaka city with eight other districts of Bangladesh, and among 605 married women response rate was 84.30%. WHO multi-country study tools for screening domestic violence were used to screen emotional, physical, and sexual violence. Results: The study found the prevalence of IPV about 45.29%, where emotionally abused 44.12%, physically 15.29%, sexually 10.59%, and either physically or sexually 19.22%. Adjusted with marital duration, residence, women’s level of education, husband’s age, and monthly family income, multivariate logistic regression results revealed that comparatively older women, employed, non-Muslims and women with educated husband were less likely to experience violence, while arranged marriage, family income reduction amid the pandemic and husbands’ pandemic induced depression or anxiety caused more likely to commit violence. Limitations: Self-reported cross-sectional study has some methodological limitations, and the present study is not free from them. Conclusions: The study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the associated factors of IPV amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help to make preventive policy.