ARSENIC PATIENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

DCH has established an Arsenic Treatment Unit in Dhaka, where the arsenic patients receive health support at free of cost. These include treatment, food, medicine, investigation and surgical interventions too. Now 300 serious patients are getting hospital treatments regularly. In addition, 16000 arsenic patients are getting support from the hospital OPD. To provide health support to the arsenic patients DCH has implemented the following programmes.

1. Arsenicosis PatientIdentification and Management in Seven UpazillasSupported by UNICEF

Dhaka community Hospital has implemented a project entitled “Arsenicosis Patient Identification & Management in seven Upazillas” which was funded by UNICEF. The aim of this project wasto reduce the arsenic disease burden in community by implementing a protocol for management (treatment, referral and surveillance) for arsenicosis. The first screening program for the patient of Arsenicosis was performed in Serajdhikhan, Munshiganj. Secondly these project activities were performed in another six upazillas. Eighteenth health workers and forty medical officers were involved in this activity.

Project Area Basis Arsenicosis Patients Overview

 

The main activities of this project were: Identification of patients by house to house screening, Baseline survey on patients households and drinking water sources, develop patient profile with sign-symptoms, biological investigation results, socio-demographic, nutritional status of the affected ones, development of methodology for management protocols, link with Upazilla Health Complex for follow-up of the patients, capacity building for diagnosis of arsenic affected patients, determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community regarding arsenic contamination of under ground water and its impact on families and community health, awareness campaign in communities affected by arsenic during the door to door screening process, rehabilitation of patients with help from the village, union level arsenic mitigation committees and local NGOs with income generating activities, continuous monitoring of management activities.

2. National Arsenic Screening Project-147 Upazilas:

Funded by Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project (BAMWSP) [World Bank funded Government of Bangladesh Project]

DCHhas implemented national screening project in Laksham Upazila of Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water supply project, a govt. project funded by WorldBank.

DCH field worker tested all 43,000 tube well of 558 village of Laksham Upazila and identified 2302 arsenicosis patients by screening 625,320 people of 92300 families of those villages.800 health worker, supervisor and doctors were employed for the project activities. Major activities of the project were;coordinated with different organizations including local government, NGOs, monitoring all field activities and training workshop, awareness building through workshop, orientation, village meeting and house hold visits etc, Arsenic Committee formation at Upazila, Union, Word and Village, Community mobilization, Testing , Making and mapping of all the tube well and other groundwater sources, Patient identification and management, Patients counseling,data analysis and reporting.

3. Arsenic Patient Identification, Management and Development of Treatment Protocol in 15 Upazilas:

Funded by Jointly UNICEF-Bangladesh, United Nation Foundation (UNF)-USA and World Health Organization (WHO) Dhaka

DCH has developed of arsenic management protocol under the Jointly funded by UNICEF-Bangladesh, United Nation Foundation (UNF)-USA and World Health Organization (WHO)-Dhaka. DCH has screened all the family members of 1007 villages to identify the arsenicosis patients. About 1.3 million populations of 210,000 families have been screened. Biological samples (Blood, Urine, Nail and Hair and Skin) of all 669 patients (and 15% control) have been tested and developed patient database.40 trained doctor and 40 trained health workers were involved for these activities.

Major Activities of this project were: preparation of documents including methodology of implementation, quality control and risk identification, coordination and development of identification protocols Community mobilization, Village meeting, Awareness campaigning on arsenic issue, Patient identification, patient management, follow up, biological sample collection al field and testing at laboratory, Develop patient baseline, Counseling to patient, Socio-economic survey of patient families, data analysis

 

 

error: Content is protected !!