Cervical dilatation over time is a poor predictor of severe adverse birth outcomes: a diagnostic accuracy study
Objective: To assess the accuracy of the World Health Organization (WHO) partograph alert line and other candidate predictors in the identification of women at risk of developing severe adverse birth outcomes. Design: A facility-based, multicentre, prospective cohort study. Setting: Thirteen maternity hospitals located in Nigeria and Uganda. Population: A total of 9995 women with spontaneous […]
Geographic variation and factors associated with under-five mortality in Ethiopia. A spatial and multilevel analysis of Ethiopian mini demographic and health survey 2019
Background The distribution of under-five mortality (U5M) worldwide is uneven and the burden is higher in Sub-Saharan African countries, which account for more than 53% of the global under-five mortality. In Ethiopia, though U5M decreased substantially between 1990 and 2019, it remains excessively high and unevenly distributed. Therefore, this study aimed to assess geographic variation […]
A quality assessment of Health Management Information System (HMIS) data for maternal and child health in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia
Health management information system (HMIS) data are important for guiding the attainment of health targets in low- and middle-income countries. However, the quality of HMIS data is often poor. High-quality information is especially important for populations experiencing high burdens of disease and mortality, such as pregnant women, newborns, and children. The purpose of this study […]
Perinatal depression and its impact on infant outcomes and maternal-nurse SMS communication in a cohort of Kenyan women
Background: Perinatal depression is broadly defined as depressive symptoms during pregnancy or within the 12 months following delivery, affecting approximately 20–25% of pregnant and postpartum women in low- and middle-income countries. The wide accessibility of mobile phones allows mobile health (mHealth) interventions to be considered a solution to identify perinatal depression and provide appropriate referrals […]
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare access and utilisation in South Sudan: a cross-sectional mixed methods study
Background: Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities in fragile and conflict-affected settings may be severe due to reduced access and use of healthcare, as happened during the 2015 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. Achieving a balance between short-term emergency response and addressing long-term health needs is particularly challenging in fragile and conflict-affected settings such […]
Realist evaluation to improve health systems responsiveness to neglected health needs of vulnerable groups in Ghana and Vietnam: Study protocol
Background Socio-economic growth in many low and middle-income countries has resulted in more available, though not equitably accessible, healthcare. Such growth has also increased demands from citizens for their health systems to be more responsive to their needs. This paper shares a protocol for the RESPONSE study which aims to understand, co-produce, implement and evaluate […]
Non-inferiority of low-dose compared to standard high-dose calcium supplementation in pregnancy: study protocol for two randomized, parallel group, non-inferiority trials in India and Tanzania
Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are important causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as preterm birth, the leading cause of death for children under 5 years globally. The World Health Organization currently recommends that pregnant women receive high-dose calcium supplementation (1500–2000 mg elemental calcium) for prevention of preeclampsia in populations with low dietary […]
The effect of an mHealth clinical decision-making support system on neonatal mortality in a low resource setting: A cluster-randomized controlled trial
Background: MHealth interventions promise to bridge gaps in clinical care but documentation of their effectiveness is limited. We evaluated the utilization and effect of an mhealth clinical decision-making support intervention that aimed to improve neonatal mortality in Ghana by providing access to emergency neonatal protocols for frontline health workers. Methods: In the Eastern Region of […]
Mind the gap: What explains the poor-non-poor inequalities in severe wasting among under-five children in low- And middle-income countries? Compositional and structural characteristics
A good understanding of the poor-non-poor gap in childhood development of severe wasting (SW) is a must in tackling the age-long critical challenge to health outcomes of vulnerable children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is a dearth of information about the factors explaining differentials in wealth inequalities in the distribution of SW in […]
Out-of-pocket payments, health care access and utilisation in south-eastern Nigeria: A gender perspective
Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments have severe consequences for health care access and utilisation and are especially catastrophic for the poor. Although women comprise the majority of the poor in Nigeria and globally, the implications of OOP payments for health care access from a gender perspective have received little attention. This study seeks to fill this gap […]
