Population Council Research that makes a difference

American Public Health Association
137th Annual Meeting & Exposition
7–11 November 2009

Abstract

Current situation of nurses and paramedics in Bangladesh (Abstract no. 205699)
Manirul Khan, Md. Moshiur Rahman, Nizam Uddin Bhuiyan, and Priyakamon Khan

It is evident that most health care service clients in Bangladesh visit nurses or paramedics, who play a critical role in the provision and delivery of effective health care services. Government health infrastructure in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh is generally adequate. However, most public-health facilities in rural areas are underutilized due to a lack of service providers, including doctors, paramedics, and nurses at the respective health facilities. The current study sought to examine the skills of service providers, how they cope with the present situation, and how they manage health care services for clients. In addition, the study explored key policies and capacities of nurse training institutes to produce new paramedics required to take up currently required positions. A total 132 in-depth interviews were conducted with service providers, and 48 were conducted with program managers to gain an understanding of their perceived barriers to providing high-quality services. The findings showed that a large number of clients received health care from service providers each day, but the service quality was poorly assured due to lack of skills or time. Similar evidence was adduced from in-depth interviews with program managers, who mainly emphasized the scarcity of manpower at health care facilities as being responsible for the poor quality of the services provided. In addition, there was little on-the-job skills development to assist in improving the capacity of service providers. Likewise, the nursing institutes revealed that there was inadequate space to support production of the required number of nurses and paramedics to address the current emergency situation.

Learning objectives
Compare the present role of nurses and paramedics in Bangladesh. Describe at least two problems that health care providers experience in Bangladesh while striving to provide quality services.

• Tue, 10 Nov, schedule
• APHA 2009 conference Web site (offsite link)

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