COMPLETION REPORT
A role for social norm and health-based messages to manage non-communicable diseases in
Bangladesh: Lessons learned from Japan
Dr. Mst. Papia Sultana(+3)
Professor
Department of Statistics
University of Rajshah

Title: A role for social norm and health-based messages to manage non-communicable diseases in
Bangladesh: lessons learned from Japan
Abstract
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have arisen as the prominent cause of human mortality andmorbidity in the low and middle-income countries. NCDs cause 36 million deaths every year,including 29 million in low and middle income countries and 59% of total deaths in Bangladesh. NCDs
cause two thirds of premature deaths in adulthood results of health behaviors at the school age andadolescence. Therefore, prevention of risky behaviors among the adolescence/school children throughschool is one of the key directions of health promotion activities for significant contribution to
improving health and behaviors of the children and adolescents and, by this to reduce burden of NCDs
in the future. The main objective of this project is to improve general health and address NCDs
prevention through health promotion and healthy lifestyle in Bangladesh by educating school children,
their parents and school teachers. The design of the study was cross sectional with a set of questionnaireand some medical investigation from 106 school students and 94 parents and teachers of the students.
Descriptive analysis were used to identify general health promotion and healthy lifestyle status of therespondents and factor influencing NCDs. The findings revealed that, about 62% respondents didn’t
engage with any kind of sports/fitness activities and around 35% students didn’t consume milk in aweek but 50% of them intake fast food and soft drink for 3 days/week. About 31% female students
were underweight and about 7% obese, where more than 79% adults’ female participants wereoverweight/obese and more than 60% had diabetes and high blood pressure. Around 18%, 59%, 32%,
and 20% students had knowledge on high salt intake may cause Diabetics, Hypertension, Heart
Disease, and Stroke respectively but the rest didn’t know about the matter. In total 70% students didn’t
get any knowledge on smoking health hazards from the school. Unhealthy diet, lack of physicalactivities and less knowledge on NCDs, etc. such kind of long-term negative effects increase the risks
for NCDs in later life. For many adolescents and school age children school health services are thefirst and the most accessible point to improve health services and reduce NCDs related health hazards.
So need to provide health based messages rigorously especially among the young adolescencegroup/school children.

Publication of the Results of Research Project:
Verbal Presentation (Date, Venue, Name of Conference, Title of Presentation, Presenter, etc.)
Abstract has been submitted for the oral presentation in Second International Conference on Applied
Statistics (ICAS) which will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh during Dec 27-29, 2019 organized by The Instituteof Statistical Research and Training (ISRT) (https://www.isrt.ac.bd/), Dhaka University. Presenter- Papia
Sultana.

Thesis (Name of Journal and its Date, Title and Author of Thesis, etc.)
A paper has been prepared for publication in a journal. Target Journal is Journal of Biometrics and Biostatistics
or Journal of Biostatistics and Biometric Applications..
Book (Publisher and Date of the Book, Title and Author of the Book, etc.)
NA.