Socioeconomic inequalities in maternal health care utilization in Ghana
BACKGROUND: Improving maternal and child health remains a public health priority in Ghana. Despite efforts made towards universal coverage, there are still challenges with access to and utilization of maternal health care. This study examined socioeconomic inequalities in maternal health care utilization related to pregnancy and identified factors that account for these inequalities. METHODS: We […]
Empirical analysis of socio-economic determinants of maternal health services utilisation in Burundi
Background: Timely and appropriate health care during pregnancy and childbirth are the pillars of better maternal health outcomes. However, factors such as poverty and low education levels, long distances to a health facility, and high costs of health services may present barriers to timely access and utilisation of maternal health services. Despite antenatal care (ANC), […]
Estimated impact of maternal vaccination on global paediatric influenza-related in-hospital mortality: A retrospective case series
Background: Influenza virus infection is an important cause of under-five mortality. Maternal vaccination protects children younger than 3 months of age from influenza infection. However, it is unknown to what extent paediatric influenza-related mortality may be prevented by a maternal vaccine since global age-stratified mortality data are lacking. Methods: We invited clinicians and researchers to […]
Global initiatives for improving hospital care for children: State of the art and future prospects
Deficiencies in the quality of health care are major limiting factors to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for child and maternal health. Quality of patient care in hospitals is firmly on the agendas of Western countries but has been slower to gain traction in developing countries, despite evidence that there is substantial scope […]
comparison between caucasian and West african children for assessing earlier malnutrition
One in two children died of malnutrition in Mali and many are malnourished. The use of mobile technologies could allow these challenges and resolve the difficulties associated with interventions for child survival and maternal health, especially in areas of difficult access, and compensate the inadequacy of infrastructure. In a first step, the purpose of this […]
The RADAR coverage tool: developing a toolkit for rigorous household surveys for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health & nutrition indicators
Population-based intervention coverage data are used to inform the design of projects, programs, and policies and to evaluate their impact. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), household surveys are the primary source of coverage data. Many coverage surveys are implemented by organizations with limited experience or resources in population-based data collection. We developed a streamlined […]
Introduction of misoprostol for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage at the community level in Senegal
Objective: To demonstrate that training ensures correct administration of oral misoprostol by auxiliary midwives for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) among women giving birth at the community level in Senegal. Methods: A 6-day training program for auxiliary midwives and supervisors, including 1 day of PPH prevention training and a practicum of 10 deliveries at health […]
Nourishing networks: A social-ecological analysis of a network intervention for improving household nutrition in Western Kenya
Rationale A growing body of research emphasizes the need to engage social networks in maternal and child nutrition interventions. However, an understanding of how interventions functionally engage not only mothers but fathers, grandparents, friends, and other social network members remains limited. Objective This study uses an adaptation of a social-ecological model to analyze the multiple […]
Health care financing in Nigeria: Prospects and challenges
Fifty years after independence, Nigeria is still struggling with the provision of basic health services for its teeming population, now estimated at over 150million. The health care sector is still a labour-intensive handicraft industry, in spite of advances in technology, and health care provision has now become more complicated than in the past. Infant and […]
Optimal Configuration of Hybrid Energy System for Rural Electrification of Community Healthcare Facilities
The unavailability of a constant power supply has been a major problem in remote communities in Africa as it impedes the proper operation of healthcare facilities in these locations. This has deprived inhabitants of free access to good healthcare services, thereby resulting in an increase in maternal and child mortality rates in rural communities in […]
