Neeloy Ashraful Alam

The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health · School of Public Health

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counselling and testing plays a significant role in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. HIV counselling and testing during pregnancy is an essential gateway for HIV prevention, timely treatment, and care services. Lack of proper counselling could jeopardise the quality of services. This paper ai...

Background: Text messages are a feasible delivery channel for breastfeeding promotion, but only a few articles have examined their effectiveness. Objective: To evaluate the impact of mobile phone text messages on breastfeeding practices. Design: We implemented a 2-arm, parallel, individually randomized controlled trial with 353 pregnant partic...

Many agricultural and home gardening interventions aim to improve the nutritional status of women and children in low- and middle-income countries by focusing on women as the recipients of the intervention and make assumptions that women will be empowered as a result. This paper examines the potential impact of an intervention study that combined h...

Low birth weight (LBW) is a global public health problem with the highest prevalence in South Asia. It is strongly associated with maternal undernutrition. In South Asia, intra-household food distribution is inequitable, with lower dietary adequacy in women. Evidence that nutrition education improves diet during pregnancy and reduces LBW is weak. W...

Child health promotion has used peer-led interventions for decades, but their effectiveness for childhood obesity is unknown. This review assesses the effectiveness of peer-led interventions on child and adolescent obesity using a range of adiposity outcomes. We included studies that used a peer-led approach for delivering behavior change communica...

A key element of empowerment is the ability to participate in household decision-making, and when women are engaged in decision-making, this leads to greater well-being for all. This study presents the qualitative results of the baseline process evaluation from the Shonjibon Cash and Counselling Trial. We conducted forty-one in-depth interviews wit...

Background Globally, household air pollution (HAP) is a leading environmental cause of morbidity and mortality. Our trial aims to assess the impact of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking to reduce household air pollution exposure on child health outcomes, compared to usual cooking practices in Bangladesh. The primary aim is to evaluate if red...

Background Low birth weight (LBW) is a global public health problem with the highest prevalence in South Asia. It is strongly associated with maternal under nutrition. In South Asia, intra household food distribution is inequitable with lower dietary adequacy in women, regardless of pregnancy. Evidence that nutrition education improves diet during...

Suboptimal infant young child feeding practices are frequently reported globally, including in Indonesia. This analysis examined the impact of a package of behaviour change interventions on breastfeeding practices in Malang and Sidoarjo Districts, East Java Province, Indonesia. The BADUTA study (which in the Indonesian Language is an acronym for BA...

Background Household air pollution is a leading health risk for global morbidity and mortality and a major health risk in South Asia. However, there are no prospective investigations of the impact of household air pollution on perinatal morbidity and mortality. Our trial aims to assess the impact of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking to redu...

This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of peer-led education intervention on physical activity, sedentary behaviours, and dietary behaviours among adolescents in HCM city, Vietnam. Among students in the intervention arm after a 9-month follow-up, total energy intake was reduced by 304 kcal/day, fat by 13 g/day, carbohydrate by 39 g/da...

Background Over the last two decades, Indonesia has experienced remarkable economic growth. However, the percentage of infants and young children meeting the minimum dietary diversity (MDD) criteria has stagnated. Despite the growing body of evidence of the association between MDD and socioeconomic factors, there is little information about socioec...

Breastfeeding has been associated with improved growth, development, and health outcomes for infants and children. However, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Indonesia is suboptimal (37%). There is limited contextualised understanding of mothers’ perceptions of breastfeeding and the factors behind exclusive breastfeeding practices. The aim of thi...

Background : Globally, household air pollution (HAP) is a leading environmental cause of morbidity and mortality. Our trial aims to assess the impact of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking to reduce household air pollution exposure on child health outcomes, compared to usual cooking practices in Bangladesh. The primary aim is to evaluate if r...

The use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking is a strategy to reduce household air pollution (HAP) exposure and improve health. We conducted this feasibility study to evaluate personal exposure measurement methods to representatively assess reductions in HAP exposure. We enrolled 30 pregnant women to wear a MicroPEM for 24 h to assess their...

Objective To examine minimum dietary diversity trends and determinants among children aged 6-23 months. Design Secondary analysis of the Indonesia Demographic and Health Surveys (IDHS) between 2007 and 2017. The primary outcome was minimum dietary diversity, the consumption of at least five out of eight food groups (MDD-8). We included a total of...

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is a gateway to HIV treatment, care and preventive services for pregnant women attending antenatal clinics. Despite this, uptake of HIV testing is not optimal among pregnant women in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and it could negatively impact the effectiveness of prevention of...

Background Household air pollution is a leading health risk for global morbidity and mortality and a major health risk in South Asia. However, there are no prospective investigations of the impact of household air pollution on perinatal morbidity and mortality. Our trial aims to assess the impact of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking to redu...

Background: Delay in breastfeeding initiation beyond 1 hour of birth increases the risk of neonatal deaths and illnesses. Despite ample evidence highlighting its importance, wealth-related inequalities exist in delayed breastfeeding initiation rates in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our goal was to examine the magnitude and trend of...

This study aimed to explore bereaved parents’ and healthcare providers experiences of care after stillbirth. Qualitative in-depth interviews with 55 women, men, female elders, healthcare providers and key informants in Kabul province, Afghanistan between October and November 2017. Inadequate and insensitive communication and practices by healthcare...

Less than seventeen percent pregnant women in rural India had full antenatal check-ups. Early uptake to maternal and child healthcare services is strongly associated with cultural beliefs and practices around pregnancy and childbirth. This study aims to assess the cultural elements that influence women's behaviours of disclosure of their pregnancy...

BACKGROUND The rapid, widespread growth of mobile technologies, in low-and-middle-income countries, can offer groundbreaking ways to disseminate public health interventions. However, gender-based inequalities present a challenge for women to access mobile technology. Research has shown that mHealth interventions can impact gender relations in posit...

Background: The rapid and widespread growth of mobile technologies in low- and middle-income countries can offer groundbreaking ways of disseminating public health interventions. However, gender-based inequalities present a challenge for women in accessing mobile technology. Research has shown that mobile health (mHealth) interventions can affect...

Background: The aim of this study is to assess if peer counseling of women improves breastfeeding, complementary feeding practices, and child growth, and thus reduces the prevalence of undernutrition in children up to 4 years of age. Objective: Lack of exclusive breastfeeding and inappropriate complementary feeding are critical factors in reduci...

BACKGROUND Lack of exclusive breastfeeding and inappropriate complementary feeding are critical factors in reducing child undernutrition, morbidity and mortality. There are reported trials of peer counselling to improve breastfeeding; however, they did not examine the efficacy of peer counselling to improve complementary feeding or the long-term im...

Background: Timely initiation of breastfeeding is the first step towards achieving recommended breastfeeding behaviours. Delayed breastfeeding initiation harms neonatal health and survival, including infection associated neonatal mortality. Eighty percent of neonatal deaths occur in the low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), where delayed breast...

Introduction There is growing interest in assessing the impact of health interventions, particularly when women are the focus of the intervention, on women’s empowerment. Globally, research has shown that interventions targeting nutrition, health and economic development can affect women’s empowerment. Evidence suggests that women’s empowerment is...

Background To describe the patterns of consumption of multiple sugary sweetened beverages (including modern and traditional) among adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City and to identify a possible relationship between this consumption and overweight and obesity and with other main factors. Method A secondary analysis from a cross-sectional study of 11 to...

Introduction Pakistan has made slow progress towards reducing the newborn mortality burden; as a result, it has the highest burden of newborn mortality worldwide. This article presents an analysis of the current policies, plans, and strategies aimed at reducing the burden of newborn death in Pakistan for the purpose of identifying current policy ga...

Objective Our objective was to explore the socio-cultural factors that influence women's early and adequate utilisation of antenatal care (ANC) in rural Bangladesh. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in two rural settings of Bangladesh, including 32 in-depth interviews with pregnant or recently delivered women, husbands whose wives were pre...

Background: Infection is the second most leading cause of neonatal deaths in Pakistan. Lactoferrin is a naturally occurring protein found in human milk which can prevent neonatal infections and improve the survival of high-risk, low birth weight newborns. Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) has been recognized as a safe nutrient with no adverse effects. The a...

Background Irrespective of the place and mode of delivery, ‘delayed’ initiation of breastfeeding beyond the first hour of birth can negatively influence maternal and newborn health outcomes. In Bangladesh, 49% of newborns initiate breastfeeding after the first hour. The rate is higher among deliveries at a health facility (62%). This study investig...

Abstract Background Despite the increasing rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia, there is still a need for supportive interventions. The breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers is a key factor positively associated with optimum breastfeeding practices. Our analysis aims to assess the determinants of low breastfeeding self-efficacy amongst a...

The need for a multisectoral approach to tackle stunting has gained attention in recent years. Baduta project aims to address undernutrition among children during their first 1000 days of life using integrated nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. We undertook this cohort study to evaluate the Baduta project’s effectiveness on g...

Background Undernutrition is strongly associated with poverty - levels of undernutrition are higher in poor countries than in better-off countries. Social protection especially cash transfer is increasingly recognized as an important strategy to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition. A critical method to improve nutrition kn...

Background: Irrespective of the place and mode of delivery, 'delayed' initiation of breastfeeding beyond the first hour of birth can negatively influence maternal and newborn health outcomes. In Bangladesh, 49% of newborns initiate breastfeeding after the first hour. The rate is higher among deliveries at a health facility (62%). Objective: This st...

Objective: Understanding the sociocultural context and local practices during pregnancy and birth is imperative to identify factors related to perinatal mortality in countries where its burden is high. This study aims to explore the pregnancy and birth related cultural practices and the perceptions of women with a recent perinatal death in Sindh p...

Background Despite the increasing rate of exclusive breastfeeding practice in Indonesia, supportive interventions are still required. Breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers is a key factor positively associated with optimum breastfeeding practices. Our analysis aims to assess the determinants of low breastfeeding self-efficacy amongst a sample of w...

Background Despite the increasing rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia, there is still a need for supportive interventions. Breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers is a key factor positively associated with optimum breastfeeding practices. Our analysis aims to assess the determinants of low breastfeeding self-efficacy amongst a sample of wom...

Background Despite the increasing rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia, there is still a need for supportive interventions. The breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers is a key factor positively associated with optimum breastfeeding practices. Our analysis aims to assess the determinants of low breastfeeding self-efficacy amongst a sample o...

The use of clean fuel such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) is globally recommended for household cooking to reduce exposure to household air pollution and its adverse health consequences. Adoption of LPG in resource-poor settings such as South Asia is low and driven by many factors. In Bangladesh, more than 90% of the rural population relies on bioma...

Background Sepsis is a common and severe complication in premature neonates, particularly those born with low birth weights (<2500 g). Neonatal sepsis is steadily emerging as a leading cause of neonatal mortality in Pakistan. Lactoferrin is a natural product with broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties and glycoprotein that is actively involved in...

Social, cultural, environmental and economic factors closely regulate the selection, allocation and consumption of maternal diets. We developed a nutrition behaviour change intervention to promote a balanced diet in pregnancy through practical demonstration in rural Bangladesh and tested the impact with a cluster randomised controlled trial. This p...

Social, cultural, environmental and economic factors closely regulate the selection, allocation and consumption of maternal diets. We developed a nutrition behaviour change intervention to promote a balanced diet in pregnancy through practical demonstration in rural Bangladesh and tested the impact with a cluster randomised controlled trial. This p...

Undernutrition is a major public health problem for under 5 years of age children in India. Approximately 41% and 21% of under 5 years of age children are stunted and wasted respectively. Despite the known importance of age appropriate infant and young child feeding practices for child nutrition, the rates of these practices remain poor in India. T...

Combining agriculture with behaviour change communication and other nutrition-sensitive interventions could improve feeding practices to reduce maternal and child undernutrition. Such integrated intervention requires rigorous design and an appropriate implementation strategy to generate an impact. We assessed feasibility and acceptability of an int...

Objectives To assess the strategies that worked to motivate the women and families to adhere to a nutrition behavior change intervention trial that aimed to promote balanced diet in pregnancy in rural Bangladesh. Methods We designed this process evaluation as part of a cluster randomized controlled trial. We conducted in-depth interviews with preg...

Understanding key healthcare system challenges experienced by women during pregnancy and birth is crucial to scale up available interventions and reduce perinatal mortality. A community perspective about preferences and experience of care during this period can be used to improve community-based programs to reduce perinatal mortality. Using a quali...

CITATIONS 0 6 authors, including: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Determinants of Stillbirths in Bahrain during The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Abstract Understanding key healthcare system challenges experienced by women during pregnancy and birth is crucial to scale up...

Background Evidence shows inadequate dietary diversity among women in resource poor settings in developing countries. We explored women’s perceived attributes related to food choices to understand their eating habits during pregnancy and lactation, in rural Bangladesh. Methods We conducted a qualitative study in two villages in Jamalpur District i...

BACKGROUND Over the past decade in Indonesia, the prevalence of stunting has remained close to 37% of under-five children. The Baduta Program is a multi-component package of interventions developed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), which aims to improve maternal and infant nutrition in Indonesia. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact...

Background: Over the past decade, the prevalence of stunting has been close to 37% in children aged <5 years in Indonesia. The Baduta program, a multicomponent package of interventions developed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, aims to improve maternal and infant nutrition in Indonesia. Objective: This study aims to assess the impa...

Background: The underlying pathways leading to stillbirth in low- and middle-income countries are not well understood. Context-specific understanding of how and why stillbirths occur is needed to prioritise interventions and identify barriers to their effective implementation and uptake. Aim: To explore the contribution of contextual, individual...

Abstract: Our aim was to develop a protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial to assess the impact of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cooking compared to usual cooking on perinatal mortality in pregnant women in rural Bangladesh. We, therefore, aimed to assess the feasibility of the planned trial and the barriers/facilitators of distributing LPG...

Background Globally, low birthweight (LBW) infants (<2.5 kilograms) contribute up to 80% of neonatal mortality. In Bangladesh, approximately 62% of all births occur at home and therefore, weighing newborns immediately after birth is not feasible. Thus, estimates of birthweight in Bangladesh are mostly obtained based on maternal perception of the ne...

Background: Childhood development is highly influenced by feeding practices at infancy and young age of the children. Unfortunately, according to the National Nutrition Survey (2011), the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Pakistan was 21% at four months, and 13% at six months of age with 51.3% of mothers initiating semisolid foods to their c...

The burden of household air pollution on perinatal mortality has not been accurately defined. Our overall aim was to develop a protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) to assess the impact of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cooking compared to usual cooking on perinatal mortality in pregnant women in rural Bangladesh (ACTRN1261800121422...

Background: In Bangladesh, neonatal sepsis is the cause of 24% of neonatal deaths, over 65% of which occur in the early-newborn stage (0-6 days). Only 50% of newborns in Bangladesh initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth. The mechanism by which early initiation of breastfeeding reduces neonatal deaths is unclear, although the most likely pa...

BACKGROUND In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, recent studies found a rapid increase in overweight and obesity in adolescents. There is a need for effective health promotion interventions to support healthy diets and encourage a physically active lifestyle. This study will help fill an evidence gap about effective interventions to prevent excess w...

Background: In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, recent studies found a rapid increase in overweight and obesity in adolescents. There is a need for effective health promotion interventions to support healthy diets and encourage a physically active lifestyle. This study will help fill an evidence gap on effective interventions to prevent excess weight ga...

Short maternal stature is identified as a strong predictor of offspring undernutrition in low and middle-income countries. However, there is limited information to confirm an intergenerational link between maternal and under-five undernutrition in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the association between short maternal stature and o...

Background: Childhood development is highly influenced by feeding practices at infancy and young age of the children. Unfortunately, according to the National Nutrition Survey (2011), the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Pakistan was 21% at four months, and 13% at six months of age with 51.3% of mothers initiating semisolid foods to their c...

Quality concerns exist with stillbirth data from low- and middle-income countries including under-reporting and misclassification which affect the reliability of burden estimates. This is particularly problematic for household survey data. Disclosure and reporting of stillbirths are affected by the socio-cultural context in which they occur and soc...

Reduction of childhood stunting is difficult to achieve by interventions that focus only on improving nutrition during infancy. Comprehensive interventions that extend through the continuum of care from pregnancy to infancy are needed. Mobile phones are now successfully being used for behaviour change communication to improve health. We present the...

Objectives: Low birthweight (LBW) is strongly associated with neonatal mortality. Evidence that nutrition education improves diet during pregnancy and reduces LBW is still weak. We investigated the effect of a nutrition education intervention for pregnant women in improving birthweight of infants. Our primary hypothesis was that women who receive...