Operational and structural factors influencing enrolment in community-based health insurance schemes: An observational study using 12 waves of nationwide panel data from Senegal
Community-based health insurance (CBHI) has been implemented in many low-and middle-income countries to increase financial risk protection in populations without access to formal health insurance. While the design of such social programmes is fundamental to ensuring equitable access to care, little is known about the operational and structural factors influencing enrolment in CBHI schemes. In […]
Cluster-randomized study of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in infants (IPTi) in southern Tanzania: Evaluation of impact on survival
Background: Intermittent Preventive Treatment for malaria control in infants (IPTi) consists of the administration of a treatment dose of an anti-malarial drug, usually sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine, at scheduled intervals, regardless of the presence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. A pooled analysis of individually randomized trials reported that IPTi reduced clinical episodes by 30%. This study evaluated the effect […]
The Impact of Undernutrition on Cognition in Children with Severe Malaria and Community Children: A Prospective 2-Year Cohort Study
Background: The frequency of recovery from undernutrition after an episode of severe malaria, and the relationship between undernutrition during severe malaria and clinical and cognitive outcomes are not well characterized. Methods: We evaluated undernutrition and cognition in children in Kampala, Uganda 18 months to 5 years of age with cerebral malaria (CM), severe malarial anemia […]
Basal Blood Morphology, Serum Biochemistry, and the Liver and Muscle Structure of Weaned Wistar Rats Prenatally Exposed to Fumonisins
Cereals are often contaminated with fumonisins, which are the toxic byproducts of mold. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of maternal exposure to fumonisins on the development and the liver function of the offspring at weaning. Two doses of fumonisins (60 and 90 mg/kg b.w.) were tested. The changes in the […]
Population Health Metrics Research Consortium gold standard verbal autopsy validation study: Design, implementation, and development of analysis datasets
Background: Verbal autopsy methods are critically important for evaluating the leading causes of death in populations without adequate vital registration systems. With a myriad of analytical and data collection approaches, it is essential to create a high quality validation dataset from different populations to evaluate comparative method performance and make recommendations for future verbal autopsy […]
Challenges and opportunities of optimal breastfeeding in the context of HIV option B+ guidelines
Background: In 2013, the World Health Organization released a new set of guidelines widely known as Option B+. Prior to that there were guidelines released in 2010. Option B+ recommends lifelong antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The study aimed at investigating challenges and opportunities in implementing Infant […]
Investigating factors that influence the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in an urban general hospital in Ghana: a cross-sectional study
Background: In Ghana, only 52% of mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies and the rate of increase has been steadily slow across all geographical areas of Ghana. The purpose of this study was to determine the various factors that influence exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among mothers who visited the child welfare clinic at the Tema General Hospital, […]
Diagnosis and management of surgical disease at Ethiopian health centres: cross-sectional survey of resources and barriers to care
Objectives The aim of this study was to characterise the resources and challenges for surgical care and referrals at health centres (HCs) in South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. Setting Eight primary HCs in South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. Participants Eight health officers and nurses staffing eight HCs completed a survey. Design The study was a survey-based, cross-sectional […]
Plasmodium falciparum mutant haplotype infection during pregnancy associated with reduced birthweight, Tanzania
Intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is a key strategy in the control of pregnancy-associated malaria. However, this strategy is compromised by widespread drug resistance from single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthetase genes. During September 2008-October 2010, we monitored a cohort of 924 pregnant women in an area […]
Prevalence and Correlates of Viral Load Suppression and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Drug Resistance Among Children and Adolescents in South Rift Valley and Kisumu, Kenya
BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents living with HIV (CALHIV) face unique challenges, including poorer treatment outcomes, risk for drug-resistance mutations (HIVDRMs), and limited drug formulations. We estimated viral suppression (VS) prevalence and evaluated predictors of VS and HIVDRMs in Kenya. METHODS: From 2018-2020, CALHIV 1-19 years on antiretroviral therapy (ART) >6 months were enrolled in this […]
