Debashish Biswas

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Candidate at The University of Western Australia

Brick kilns in Bangladesh use inefficient coal burning technology that generates substantial air pollution. We investigated the incentives of stakeholders in brick manufacturing in Bangladesh to help inform strategies to reduce this pollution. A team of Bangladeshi anthropologists conducted in-depth interviews with brick buyers, kiln owners, and De...

Background Diarrhea prevalence increases from around the time that complementary foods are introduced. Improving caregiver’s hand hygiene during food preparation could reduce complementary food contamination and enteric pathogen transmission. Washing hands with soap is more common when water and soap are together at a convenient location. We conduc...

Schoolchildren are commonly linked to influenza transmission. Handwashing with soap has been shown to decrease infections; however, improving handwashing practices using soap and water is difficult in low-resource settings. In these settings, alternative hygiene options, such as hand sanitizer, could improve handwashing promotion to reduce influenz...

Treatment of life-threatening diarrheal illness in rural areas of Bangladesh relies on the training and accessibility of informal healthcare providers such as village doctors (VDs). We found that VDs located closer to main roads were more likely to be government-trained, but just as likely to administer intravenous fluids.

Rural Bangladesh faces challenges of limited health care resources and a shortage of health care professionals. Informal providers, particularly village doctors, fill this void by being a first point of care and a bridge to the formal health care system. This study explores formally trained physicians’ perspectives on village doctors’ role in the h...

Village doctors in Bangladesh expressed broad interest in clinical decision support tools for pediatric diarrheal disease management and described their willingness to alter their antibiotic dispensing practices if guided by one. Future research should evaluate the tool’s impact on appropriate antibiotic use and patient outcomes.

Background: Informally trained health care providers, such as village doctors in Bangladesh, are crucial in providing health care services to the rural poor in low- and middle-income countries. Despite being one of the primary vendors of antibiotics in rural Bangladesh, village doctors often have limited knowledge about appropriate antibiotic use,...

We present results from a randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh that introduced operational practices to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in 276 "zigzag" brick kilns. 65% of intervention kilns adopted the improved practices. Treatment assignment reduced energy use by 10.3% (p-value<0.001) and decreased CO2 and PM2.5 emissions by 1...

Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health crisis. Effective antimicrobial stewardship requires an understanding of the factors and context that contribute to inappropriate use of antimicrobials. The goal of this qualitative systematic review was to synthesize themes across levels of the social ecological framework that drive inappropriate...

Background The influx of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) has left the Southwest coastal district of Cox’s Bazar with one of the greatest contemporary humanitarian crises, stressing the existing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) resources and services. This study aimed to assess the existing capacity of local institutions involved i...

Diarrheal diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide and a significant contributor to antimicrobial resistance. In the absence of laboratory diagnostics to establish diarrhea etiology, electronic clinical decision support tools can help physicians make informed treatment decisions for children with diarrhea. In Bang...

Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health crisis. Effective antimicrobial stewardship requires an understanding of the factors and context that contribute to inappropriate use of antimicrobials. The goal of this qualitative systematic review was to synthesize themes across levels of the social ecological framework that drive inappropriate...

Coal-fired brick kilns have spread rapidly in Bangladesh, where they are one of the largest sources of air pollution. The adverse health impacts of air pollution have been widely documented, yet there is little empirical evidence on the externalities of this important industry. We conducted a field study in Bangladesh to quantify the contribution o...

Significance Monitoring compliance with environmental regulations is a global challenge. It is particularly difficult for governments in low-income countries, where informal industry is responsible for a large amount of pollution, because the governments lack the ability to locate and monitor large numbers of dispersed polluters. This study demonst...

In 2020, we evaluated a WASH in School program, implemented between 2017 and 2019 by WaterAid Bangladesh among 300 schools in Rangpur, Gaibandha and Satkhira districts in Bangladesh. The evaluation aimed to estimate potential health and school attendance impact to inform intervention scale up. No baseline data were collected so we enrolled students...

Water chlorination is widely used in emergency responses to reduce diarrheal diseases, although communities with no prior exposure to chlorinated drinking water can have low acceptability. To better inform water treatment interventions, the study explored acceptability, barriers, and motivating-factors of a piped water chlorination program, and hou...

Introduction Diarrheal disease is one of the most common causes of hospital admission globally. The barriers that influence guideline-adherent care at resourcelimited hospitals are poorly defined, especially during diarrheal disease outbreaks. The objective of this study was to characterize challenges faced in diarrheal disease management in resour...

Background Acute diarrhoeal disease management often requires rehydration alone without antibiotics. However, non-indicated antibiotics are frequently ordered and this is an important driver of antimicrobial resistance. The mHealth Diarrhoea Management (mHDM) trial aimed to establish whether electronic decision support improves rehydration and anti...

Soil degradation is an important threat to sustainable agriculture. In Bangladesh, brick production contributes to soil loss as the country relies on clay-rich soil for brick making. An in-depth understanding of why farmers sell soil and the corresponding impacts on agricultural productivity is critical for developing and implementing new policies...

School children are important vectors for transmitting influenza. High infection rates among children and overcrowding at schools in many low-income countries make children more susceptible to exposure and spread of influenza viruses at school. Common measures to prevent transmission include non-pharmaceutical interventions such as handwashing and...

Introduction: Diarrhea, an important cause of child death, increases from around the time that complementary foods are introduced. Consumption of contaminated food may contribute to diarrhea and growth faltering. Caregiver's hand hygiene during food preparation can prevent food contamination and reduce diarrhea transmission. Washing hands with soap...

Page 1. Evidence linking hand washing to improved child feeding outcome Leanne Unicomb, Head Water Sanitation and Hygiene Research Group, icddr,b Fosiul Nizame, Debashish Biswas, Probir Ghosh, Stephen Luby leanne@icddrb.org Page 2. Presentation overview • Background, study questions • Part 1: Baseline study • Methods • Summary findings • Pilot inte...