Global, regional, and national estimates of levels of preterm birth in 2014: a systematic review and modelling analysis
Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years worldwide. Although preterm survival rates have increased in high-income countries, preterm newborns still die because of a lack of adequate newborn care in many low-income and middle-income countries. We estimated global, regional, and national rates of preterm birth in 2014, […]
Prevalence and determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus in Africa based on the updated international diagnostic criteria: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a major public health problem and threat to maternal and child health in Africa. No prior review has been conducted in Africa using the updated GDM diagnostic criteria. Therefore, this review aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and determinants of GDM in Africa by using current international diagnostic criteria. […]
Key factors influencing motivation among health extension workers and health care professionals in four regions of Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Background Although Ethiopia has improved access to health care in recent years, quality of care remains low. Health worker motivation is an important determinant of performance and affects quality of care. Low health care workers motivation can be associated with poor health care quality and client experience, non-attendance, and poor clinical outcome. Objective this study […]
Kangaroo mother care: EN-BIRTH multi-country validation study
Background: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) reduces mortality among stable neonates ≤2000 g. Lack of data tracking coverage and quality of KMC in both surveys and routine information systems impedes scale-up. This paper evaluates KMC measurement as part of the Every Newborn Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study. Methods: The EN-BIRTH observational mixed-methods study […]
A qualitative exploration of community ownership of a maternity waiting home model in rural zambia
Context: Ownership is an important construct of sustainability for community-based health programming, though it is often not clearly defined or measured. We implemented and evaluated a community-driven maternity waiting home (MWH) model in rural Zambia. We engaged stakeholders at all levels and provided intensive mentorship to an MWH governance committee comprised of community-selected members. We […]
Association of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection and Underlying Risk Factors for Death among Young Infants Who Died at University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka Zambia
Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections and child mortality. While RSV disease burden is highest in low- and middle-income countries, most knowledge about risk factors for fatal RSV disease comes from high-income settings. Methods: Among infants aged 4 days to
Community health workers trained to conduct verbal autopsies provide better mortality measures than existing surveillance: Results from a cross-sectional study in rural western Uganda
Background: In much of sub-Saharan Africa, health facilities serve as the primary source of routine vital statistics. These passive surveillance systems, however, are plagued by infrequent and unreliable reporting and do not capture events that occur outside of the formal health sector. Verbal autopsies (VA) have been utilized to estimate the burden and causes of […]
Socio-cultural and economic barriers, and facilitators influencing men’s involvement in antenatal care including HIV testing: a qualitative study from urban Blantyre, Malawi
Background: Male partner involvement in antenatal care (ANC) is associated with positive maternal and neonatal outcomes. However, only a handful of men attend ANC with their partners. This study aimed to understand the underlying barriers and facilitators influencing men’s ANC attendance including HIV testing in Blantyre, Malawi. Methods: Data were collected during a formative qualitative […]
Which incentive package will retain regionalized health personnel in Burkina Faso: A discrete choice experiment
Background: The lack of motivation of health workers to practice in rural areas remains a crucial problem for decision-makers, as it deprives the majority of access to health care. To solve the problem, many countries have implemented health worker retention strategies. However, the development of such strategies requires an understanding of the preferences of health […]
Knowledge translation in Uganda: A qualitative study of Ugandan midwives’ and managers’ perceived relevance of the sub-elements of the context cornerstone in the PARIHS framework
Background: A large proportion of the annual 3.3 million neonatal deaths could be averted if there was a high uptake of basic evidence-based practices. In order to overcome this ‘know-do’ gap, there is an urgent need for in-depth understanding of knowledge translation (KT). A major factor to consider in the successful translation of knowledge into […]
