Impact of newly constructed primary healthcare centres on antenatal care attendance, facility delivery and all-cause mortality: Quasi-experimental evidence from Taabo health and demographic surveillance system, Côte d’Ivoire
Objectives Access to quality care remains limited, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Although better health outcomes for families living in close proximity to healthcare facilities have been documented in cross-sectional studies, evidence on the extent to which additional health facilities can contribute to improved population health remains scanty. We aimed to estimate the causal […]
Magnitude of sedentary behavior and associated factors among secondary school adolescents in Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia
Background: Sedentary life style is becoming increasingly common in this industrial age due to changes on the way people manufacture, transport and communicate. Sedentary lifestyle is associated with chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer), depression, obesity and premature mortality. The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude and associated factors of sedentary […]
Key learnings from an outcome and embedded process evaluation of a direct to beneficiary mobile health intervention among marginalised women in rural Bihar, India
Introduction Mobile Vaani was implemented as a pilot programme across six blocks of Nalanda district in Bihar state, India to increase knowledge of rural women who were members of self-help groups on proper nutrition for pregnant or lactating mothers and infants, family planning and diarrhoea management. Conveners of self-help group meetings, community mobilisers, introduced women […]
A priori and a posteriori dietary patterns among pregnant women in johannesburg, south africa: The nuped study
Dietary pattern analyses allow assessment of the diet as a whole. Limited studies include both a priori and a posteriori dietary pattern analyses. This study aimed to explore the diet of pregnant women in urban South Africa through both a priori and a posteriori dietary pattern analyses and associated maternal and household factors. Dietary data […]
Maternal but not infant anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody response associates with enhanced transmission and infant morbidity
A significant number of infants acquire HIV-1 through their infected mother’s breast milk, primarily due to limited access to antiretrovirals. Passive immunization with neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) may prevent this transmission. Previous studies, however, have generated conflicting results about the ability of nAbs to halt mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) and their impact on infant outcomes. This study […]
Factors associated with women’s autonomy regarding maternal and child health care utilization in Bale Zone: A community based cross-sectional study
Background: Women’s autonomy in health-care decision is a prerequisite for improvements in maternal and child health. Little is known about women’s autonomy and its influencing factors on maternal and child health care in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess women’s autonomy and identify associated factors in Southeast Ethiopia.Method: A community based cross-sectional study […]
A protocol for an observational cohort study of heat strain and its effect on fetal wellbeing in pregnant farmers in The Gambia
Introduction: Climate change predictions indicate that global temperatures are likely to exceed those seen in the last 200,000 years, rising by around 4°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100 (without effective mitigation of current emission rates). In regions of the world set to experience extreme temperatures, women often work outside in agriculture even during pregnancy. The […]
Placental tumor necrosis factor alpha but not gamma interferon is associated with placental malaria and low birth weight in Malawian women
Malaria in pregnancy predisposes to maternal anemia and low birth weight (LBW). We examined the possible roles of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in these adverse outcomes. We measured cytokine concentrations in placental, peripheral, and cord blood plasma in relation to malaria parasitemia and placental monocyte accumulation in 276 […]
Maternal HIV disclosure to HIV-uninfected children in rural South Africa: A pilot study of a family-based intervention
Background: As access to treatment increases, large numbers of HIV-positive parents are raising HIV-negative children. Maternal HIV disclosure has been shown to have benefits for mothers and children, however, disclosure rates remain low with between 30-45% of mothers reporting HIV disclosure to their children in both observational and intervention studies. Disclosure of HIV status by […]
Social vulnerability, parity and food insecurity in urban South African young women: the healthy life trajectories initiative (HeLTI) study
Social vulnerability indices (SVI) can predict communities’ vulnerability and resilience to public health threats such as drought, food insecurity or infectious diseases. Parity has yet to be investigated as an indicator of social vulnerability in young women. We adapted an SVI score, previously used by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and calculated SVI […]
