MINA - New Dynamics of Ageing

MINA – Migration, Nutrition
and Ageing Across the
Lifecourse in Bangladeshi
Families: A Transnational
Perspective
Professor Janice L. Thompson
janice.thompson@bristol.ac.uk

Aims of Project MINA
• Gain a better understanding of
the impact of migration on
Bangladeshi women’s nutritional
status, food practices and beliefs,
and experiences and perceptions
of ageing.
• Explore ways to reduce health
inequalities and promote healthy
ageing among Bangladeshi
women and families in the UK.

Work Packages and Outputs
WP1: Community Engagement and Conceptual Development
WP2: Nutritional Status
and Physical Function
WP3: Food
Ethnobotany and
Food Environments
WP4: Migration, Nutrition
and Ageing – Health
Beliefs, Health Behaviours
and Health Status
Outputs:
‣Trained Bangladeshi Researchers
‣Increased capacity to promote healthy ageing and reduce health inequalities
‣Dissemination of research findings
‣Multi-media products, website, and photo exhibit
‣Educational materials for health and social care practitioners

MINA Research Team
• Professor Janice L. Thompson - Bristol
• Professor Joy Merrell - Swansea
• Professor Barry Bogin –
Loughborough
• Professor Michael Heinrich –
University London School of
Pharmacy
• Dr Vanja Garaj – Brunel
• Professor Petra Meier – Sheffield
• Professor Christina Victor – Brunel
(Collaborator)
• Professor Katy Gardner – Sussex
(Collaborator)
• Professor Leroy White – Bristol
(Collaborator)
• Jasmin Chowdhury
• Diane Harper
• Dr. Bablin Molik
• Hannah Jennings
• Julia Basher
• Rajma Begum
• Fateha Ahmed
• Shaheena Omar
• Rehana Begum Miah
• Shelina Hurt
• Farida Khatun-Miah
• Sofina Khatun
• Runa Begum
• Jusna Begum
• Nabila Ahmed

Descriptive Characteristics
Cardiff
Mothers (n=40)
Bangladesh
Mothers (22)
Cardiff Daughters Bangladesh
(37) ++ Daughters (22)
Age (yr) 55.5 (8.1) 51.9 (8.8) 27.6 (5.3)* 22.8 (5.1)
Height (cm) 147.7 (6.2) 148.8 (5.7) 153.2 (5.8) 152.7 (6.0)
Weight (kg) 66.0 (13.4)* 53.5 (15.2) 65.0 (14.5)* 50.8 (10.6)
Waist (cm) 97.9 (9.6)* 82.5 (14.0) 82.4 (12.9)* 72.4 (8.3)
BMI (kg/m 2 ) 30.1 (5.2)* 24.1 (6.4) 27.6 (5.7)* 21.8 (4.4)
BMI category
Underweight
Desirable
Overweight
Obese
0%
5.0%
5.0%
90.0%
9.1%
40.9%
13.6%
36.4%
0%
25.0%
7.5%
57.5%
18.2%
45.5%
9.1%
27.3%
Cardiff Mothers - Mean age at migration = 30 years
++
20 daughters born in UK and 17 born in Bangladesh; mean age at migration = 8 years
*Significantly different p ≤ .003
BMI category: Underweight

Descriptive Characteristics (continued)
Physical
function score
Cardiff
Mothers
Bangladesh
Mothers
Cardiff
Daughters
Bangladesh
Daughters
6.2 (3.0)* 9.4 (1.9) 10.8 (1.1) 11.2 (0.8)
Children (#) 5.6 (1.8) 4.9 (1.6) 2.6 (0.9) 2.7 (1.5)
Age when
married (yr)
Meals per day
(#)
16.3 (2.7) 16.5 (3.3) 18.7 (2.3) 18.4 (3.8)
2.8 (0.5) 2.9 (0.3) 2.5 (0.8)* 3.1 (.04)
*Significantly different p ≤ .001
Physical function score – out of total 12;

Main Finding #1 – Health Promotion
• Need health promotion and public health campaigns
that emphasise PREVENTION
• Bi-lingual written materials (English-Bengali side-byside)
• Word of mouth and oral Sylheti are the preferred
modes of communication (even in those highly fluent in
English)
• Health professionals key information source after
disease diagnosis
• Family members are a main source of health-related,
cooking, food/plant and nutrition information and
influence

Main Finding #2 – Planning and
Provision of Services
• Family structures and migration patterns
changing
• Daughters increasingly likely to care for ageing
parents in the UK than eldest son/daughter-inlaw
• Men now commonly migrating from Bangladesh
to marry women living in UK
• Many older adults may not have adult children or
extended families who can care for them in old
age due to global migration

Main Finding #3 – Importance of
Active Ageing
• Physical function alarmingly low in UK older women
• Constant food preparation, avoidance of waste and
only counting “meals” promoting excessively high
energy intakes
• Social connections most important motivator to get
“out and about” – physical activity not main objective
or attraction
• Equity of access to leisure facilities a key issue
• On-going effort within community to shift cultural
norms and acceptability of accessing day centres and
promoting physical activity for women (particularly
older women)

Dissemination and Knowledge Transfer
Events – Cardiff 15 November 2011
• The Cardiff Story – 11 AM to 2.30 PM (targeting
participants, community stakeholders, research
and community partners)
• Senadd, The National Assembly for Wales – 5.30
to 7.00 PM (Assembly members, community
leaders, practitioners focusing on health and
social care)
• Includes photo exhibit to run from 15 Nov
through 15 December

Reaching a Wider Audience
• All materials for events available and printed in English, Welsh, and
Bengali
• Mixed methods approach to combine quantitative, qualitative and
photo ethnographic data to tell “stories”
• Developing prototypes for placemat/banner linking food portions to
prayer times
• Developing plant/recipe booklet focusing on traditional plants and
herbs promoting health and cross-generational sharing
• Developing web-based health promotion sources for health
professionals tailored to the diet and food practices of the
community
• Utility of website limited to younger generations or those literate in
English/computer use (oral Sylheti most preferred mode of
communication)

Thank you to all
participants in UK and
Bangladesh, and to many
who assisted with
recruitment and data
collection
Original Photos by Dr. V. Garaj and Professor J. Thompson
Additional photos from various sources on Google Images