New paradigm old thinking: The case for emergency obstetric care in the prevention of maternal mortality in Nigeria
Background: The continuing burden of maternal mortality, especially in developing countries has prompted a shift in paradigm from the traditional risk assessment approach to the provision of access to emergency obstetric care services for all women who are pregnant. This study assessed the knowledge of maternity unit operatives at the primary and secondary levels of […]
Prevalence and determinants of anemia among children in zanzibar, tanzania: Analysis of cross-sectional population representative surveys
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and its determinants among children aged 6–59 months in Zanzibar, Tanzania, from 2005 to 2015. We used secondary data from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys from three different periods: 2005, 2010, and 2015. A sample of 3502 child-mother pairs from three survey […]
Local problems; Local solutions: An innovative approach to investigating and addressing causes of maternal deaths in Zambia’s Copperbelt
Background: Maternal mortality in developing countries is high and international targets for reduction are unlikely to be met. Zambia’s maternal mortality ratio was 591 per 100,000 live births according to survey data (2007) while routinely collected data captured only about 10% of these deaths. In one district in Zambia medical staff reviewed deaths occurring in […]
Geographic access to emergency obstetric services: A model incorporating patient bypassing using data from Mozambique
Introduction Targeted approaches to further reduce maternal mortality require thorough understanding of the geographic barriers that women face when seeking care. Common measures of geographic access do not account for the time needed to reach services, despite substantial evidence that links proximity with greater use of facility services. Further, methods for measuring access often ignore […]
The epidemiology of undernutrition and its determinants in children under five years in Ghana
Background Understanding the burden and contextual risk factors is critical for developing appropriate interventions to control undernutrition. Methods This study used data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to estimate the prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting. Single multiple logistic regressions were used to identify the factors associated with underweight, wasting and stunting. […]
Setting research priorities to reduce global mortality from preterm birth and low birth weight by 2015
Aim This paper aims to identify health research priorities that could improve the rate of progress in reducing global neonatal mortality from preterm birth and low birth weight (PB/LBW), as set out in the UN’s Millennium Development Goal 4. Methods We applied the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology for setting priorities in […]
Prediction of pre-eclampsia at St. Mary’s hospital lacor, a low-resource setting in northern Uganda, a prospective cohort study
Background: Pre-eclampsia is the second leading cause of maternal death in Uganda. However, mothers report to the hospitals late due to health care challenges. Therefore, we developed and validated the prediction models for prenatal screening for pre-eclampsia. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study at St. Mary’s hospital lacor in Gulu city. We included 1,004 […]
Effect of an innovative community based health program on maternal health service utilization in north and south central Ethiopia: A community based cross sectional study
Among Millennium Development Goals, achieving the fifth goal (MDG-5) of reducing maternal mortality poses the greatest challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world with unacceptably low maternal health service utilization. The Government of Ethiopia introduced an innovative community-based intervention as a national strategy under the Health […]
Assessing factors associated with poor maternal mental health among mothers of children born small and sick at 24–47 months in rural Rwanda
Background: Global investments in neonatal survival have resulted in a growing number of children with morbidities surviving and requiring ongoing care. Little is known about the caregivers of these children in low- and middle-income countries, including maternal mental health which can further negatively impact child health and development outcomes. We aimed to assess the prevalence […]
Decomposing the gap in missed opportunities for vaccination between poor and non-poor in sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicountry Analyses
Understanding the gaps in missed opportunities for vaccination (MOV) in sub-Saharan Africa would inform interventions for improving immunisation coverage to achieving universal childhood immunisation. We aimed to conduct a multicountry analyses to decompose the gap in MOV between poor and non-poor in SSA. We used cross-sectional data from 35 Demographic and Health Surveys in SSA […]
