The Uganda Newborn Study (UNEST): An effectiveness study on improving newborn health and survival in rural Uganda through a community-based intervention linked to health facilities – study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
Background: Reducing neonatal-related deaths is one of the major bottlenecks to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. Studies in Asia and South America have shown that neonatal mortality can be reduced through community-based interventions, but these have not been adapted to scalable intervention packages for sub-Saharan Africa where the culture, health system and policy environment is […]
Predictors of singleton preterm birth using multinomial regression models accounting for missing data: A birth registry-based cohort study in northern Tanzania
Background Preterm birth is a significant contributor of under-five and newborn deaths globally. Recent estimates indicated that, Tanzania ranks the tenth country with the highest preterm birth rates in the world, and shares 2.2% of the global proportion of all preterm births. Previous studies applied binary regression models to determine predictors of preterm birth by […]
Burden and impact of Plasmodium vivax in pregnancy: A multi-centre prospective observational study
Background: Despite that over 90 million pregnancies are at risk of Plasmodium vivax infection annually, little is known about the epidemiology and impact of the infection in pregnancy. Methodology and principal findings: We undertook a health facility-based prospective observational study in pregnant women from Guatemala (GT), Colombia (CO), Brazil (BR), India (IN) and Papua New […]
Utilization of preconception care and associated factors among reproductive age group women in Debre Birhan town, North Shewa, Ethiopia
Background: Preconception care refers to things women can do before and between pregnancies to increase the chance of having a healthy baby and being a healthy mother. Unfortunately, millions of women in the world do not have access to pre-pregnancy, pregnancy health services and childbirth with suitable quality. Therefore, addressing this significant gap and coming […]
A cost-effectiveness study of caesarean-section deliveries by clinical officers, general practitioners and obstetricians in Burkina Faso
Background: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative training strategies for increasing access to emergency obstetric care in Burkina Faso. Methods: Case extraction forms were used to record data on 2305 caesarean sections performed in 2004 and 2005 in hospitals in six out of the 13 health regions […]
Factors associated with timely antenatal care booking among pregnant women in remote area of bule hora district, Southern Ethiopia
Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is one of the most cost-effective and crucial compo-nents of maternal health care services. In developing countries where access to care, empowerment, and decision making power of women is low, ANC service is vital. The time at which first ANC visit was done has the utmost importance to ensure optimal health […]
Community-based health financing and child stunting in rural Rwanda
Objectives. We analyzed the likelihood of rural children (aged 6-24 months) being stunted according to whether they were enrolled in Mutuelles, a community-based health-financing program providing health insurance to rural populations and granting them access to health care, including nutrition services. Methods. We retrieved health facility data from the District Health System Strengthening Tool and […]
An Analysis of Pregnancy-Related Mortality in the KEMRI/CDC Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Western Kenya
Background:Pregnancy-related (PR) deaths are often a result of direct obstetric complications occurring at childbirth.Methods and Findings:To estimate the burden of and characterize risk factors for PR mortality, we evaluated deaths that occurred between 2003 and 2008 among women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years) using Health and Demographic Surveillance System data in rural western […]
A multilevel analysis of individual and contextual factors associated with the practice of safe disposal of children’s faeces in sub-Saharan Africa
Background Over the years, sanitation programs over the world have focused more on household sanitation, with limited attention towards the disposal of children’s stools. This lack of attention could be due to the misconception that children’s stools are harmless. The current study examined the individual and contextual predictors of safe disposal of children’s faeces among […]
Knowledge of neonatal danger signs and associated factors among husbands of mothers who gave birth in the last 6 months in Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2020: A community-based cross-sectional study
Objective To assess knowledge of neonatal danger signs and their associations among husbands of mothers who gave birth in the last 6 months in Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia, from 1 February to 28 February 2020. Design Community-based cross-sectional study. Setting Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Participants The study was conducted among 633 participants living in Gurage […]
