Village health workers as health diplomats: negotiating health and study participation in a malaria elimination trial in The Gambia
Background: Although many success stories exist of Village Health Workers (VHWs) improving primary health care, critiques remain about the medicalisation of their roles in disease-specific interventions. VHWs are placed at the bottom of the health system hierarchy as cheap and low-skilled volunteers, irrespective of their highly valued social and political status within communities. In this […]
A modified Delphi consensus on generic indicators for a low- and middle-income country’s quality nursing care measurement
Aim: This study aimed to develop generic quality nursing care indicators for a low- and middle-income country’s quality nursing care measurement through a modified Delphi consensus. Design: A three-round modified Delphi process guided the items’ development and acceptance consensus. Methods: Twenty-four academic and clinical nursing experts from different parts of Nigeria participated in the Delphi […]
Time for change is now: Experiences of participants in a community-based approach for iron and folic acid supplementation in a rural county in Kenya, a qualitative study
Background Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (IFAS) is recommended by World Health Organization as part of antenatal care to prevent anaemia in pregnancy. In 2010, Kenya adopted this recommendation and the current policy is to provide one combined IFAS tablet for daily use throughout pregnancy, free of charge, in all public health facilities. However, adherence […]
Time and cost associated with utilization of services at mobile health clinics among pregnant women
Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is provided for free in Tanzania in all public health facilities. Yet surveys suggested that long distances to the facilities limit women from accessing these services. Mobile health clinics (MHC) were introduced to address this problem; however, little is known about the client cost and time associated with utilizing ANC at […]
Where is information quality lost at clinical level? A mixed-method study on information systems and data quality in three urban Kenyan ANC clinics
Background: Well-working health information systems are considered vital with the quality of health data ranked of highest importance for decision making at patient care and policy levels. In particular, health facilities play an important role, since they are not only the entry point for the national health information system but also use health data (and […]
The characteristics of compassionate care during childbirth according to midwives: A qualitative descriptive inquiry
Background: Although compassion is considered to be of prime importance in nursing and midwifery, there is no clear understanding of what compassionate care in childbirth entails, and how midwives perceive compassionate care is largely unknown. This study accordingly seeks to describe the characteristics, of compassionate care during childbirth as perceived by midwives. Methods: A qualitative […]
I haven’t heard much about other methods’: Quality of care and person-centredness in a programme to promote the postpartum intrauterine device in Tanzania
Background Programmes promoting the postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUD) have proliferated throughout South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, with proponents touting this long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) method’s high efficacy and potential to meet contraceptive unmet need. While critiques of LARC-first programming abound in the Global North, there have been few studies of the impact […]
Counseling at all contacts for postpartum contraceptive use: Can paper-based tools help community health workers improve continuity of care? A qualitative study from Ethiopia
Background: Globally, there has been a resurgence of interest in postpartum family planning (PPFP) to advance reproductive health outcomes. Few programs have systematically utilized all contacts a woman and her baby have with the health system, from pregnancy through the first year postpartum, to promote PPFP. Nested into a larger study covering two districts, this […]
Sustainability of market-based community distribution of Sprinkles in Western Kenya
To evaluate the sustainability of market-based community distribution of micronutrient powders (Sprinkles®, Hexagon Nutrition, Mumbai, India.) among pre-school children in Kenya, we conducted in August 2010 a follow-up survey, 18 months after study-related marketing and household monitoring ended. We surveyed 849 children aged 6-35 months randomly selected from 60 study villages. Nutritional biomarkers were measured […]
Prevalence and Stigma of Postpartum Common Mental Disorders in the Gurage Region of Ethiopia: A Mixed-Methods Observational Cohort Study
Objectives: Mental disorders are vastly underdiagnosed in low-income countries that disproportionately affect women. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of common mental disorders in newly postpartum women, and stigma associated with mental health reporting in an Ethiopian community using a validated World Health Organization survey. Methods: The Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) for psychological distress was […]
