It does matter where you come from: Mothers’ experiences of childbirth in midwife obstetric units, Tshwane, South Africa

Background: Health professionals are striving to improve respectful care for women, but they fall short in the domains of effective communication, respectful and dignified care and emotional support during labour. This study aimed to determine women’s experiences of childbirth with a view to improving respectful clinical care practices in low-risk, midwife-led obstetric units in the […]

Assessing health system responsiveness in primary health care facilities in Tanzania

Background: Health system performance is one of the important components of the health care delivery; its achievement depends on the quality of services rendered and the health system responsiveness of its beneficiaries. Health system responsiveness is a multi-dimensional concept and is usually measured through several domains. Health system responsiveness (HSR) remains to be a key […]

“As a woman who watches how my family is… I take the difficult decisions”: a qualitative study on integrated family planning and childhood immunisation services in five African countries

Background: Family planning (FP) has the potential to improve maternal and child health outcomes and to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. However, substantial unmet need for modern contraceptive methods (MCMs) persists in this region. Current literature highlights multi-level barriers, including socio-cultural norms that discourage the use of MCMs. This paper explores women’s choices and decision-making […]

Increasing coverage and decreasing inequity in insecticide-treated bed net use among rural Kenyan children

Background: Inexpensive and efficacious interventions that avert childhood deaths in sub-Saharan Africa have failed to reach effective coverage, especially among the poorest rural sectors. One particular example is insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs). In this study, we present repeat observations of ITN coverage among rural Kenyan homesteads exposed at different times to a range of delivery […]

The REFANI-S study protocol: A non-randomised cluster controlled trial to assess the role of an unconditional cash transfer, a non-food item kit, and free piped water in reducing the risk of acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months living in camps for internally displaced persons in the Afgooye corridor, Somalia

Background: The prevalence of acute malnutrition is often high in emergency-affected populations and is associated with elevated mortality risk and long-term health consequences. Increasingly, cash transfer programmes (CTP) are used instead of direct food aid as a nutritional intervention, but there is sparse evidence on their nutritional impact. We aim to understand whether CTP reduces […]

Sexual and reproductive health of CDC plantation camp residents: a focus on unmet need for family planning among women in union

Background: Sexual and reproductive health is crucial to a normal and healthy female life. However, little interest has been placed on this subject particularly in the resource-limited settings of Cameroon. The study assessed the sexual and reproductive health of women in union, resident in the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) plantation camps, Cameroon. Methods: This was […]

Time to initiation of antenatal care and its predictors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: Cox-gamma shared frailty model

Background Timely initiating antenatal care (ANC) is crucial in the countries that have high maternal morbidity and mortality. However, in developing countries including Ethiopia, pregnant mother’s time to initiate antenatal care was not well-studied. Therefore, this study aimed to assess time to first ANC and its predictors among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Methods A community-based […]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on the utilisation of health services in public facilities during the first wave in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Introduction Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) started implementing public health measures across Kinshasa, including strict lockdown measures in the Gombe health zone. Methods Using […]

Women’s Perspectives on Influencers to the Utilisation of Skilled Delivery Care: An Explorative Qualitative Study in North West Ethiopia

Skilled attendance at birth is widely regarded as an effective intervention to reduce maternal and early neonatal morbidity and mortality. However, many women in Ethiopia still deliver without skilled assistance. This study was carried out to identify factors that influenced or motivated women to give birth in a health facility in their previous, current, and […]

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