Perceptions and experiences of frontline health managers and providers on accountability in a South African health district
Objective: Public primary health care and district health systems play important roles in expanding healthcare access and promoting equity. This study explored and described accountability for this mandate as perceived and experienced by frontline health managers and providers involved in delivering maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services in a rural South African health district. […]
Improving access to skilled attendance at delivery: A policy brief for Uganda
Objective: This study describes the process of production, findings for a policy brief on Increasing Access to Skilled Birth Attendance, and subsequent use of the report by policy makers and others from the health sector in Uganda. Methods: The methods used to prepare the policy brief use the SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health policy making. […]
Determinants of early postnatal care attendance: analysis of the 2016 Uganda demographic and health survey
Background: The first 2 days after childbirth present the highest risk of dying for a mother. Providing postnatal care within the first 2 days after childbirth can help avert maternal mortality because it allows early detection of problems that could result in adverse maternal health outcomes. Unfortunately, knowledge of the uptake of early postnatal care […]
Healthcare workers’ behaviors and personal determinants associated with providing adequate sexual and reproductive healthcare services in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Background: Healthcare workers may affect the utilization of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) services, and quality of care thereof, for example by their behaviours or attitudes they hold. This can become a hindrance to accessing and utilizing SRH services, particularly by young people, and thus a better understanding of these behaviours and associated factors is […]
Factors associated with stunting among children under 5 years in five south asian countries (2014–2018): Analysis of demographic health surveys
South Asia continues to be the global hub for child undernutrition with 35% of children still stunted in 2017. This paper aimed to identify factors associated with stunting among children aged 0–23 months, 24–59 months, and 0–59 months in South Asia. A weighted sample of 564,518 children aged 0–59 months from the most recent Demographic […]
The effect of a decision-support mHealth application on maternal and neonatal outcomes in two district hospitals in Rwanda: pre – post intervention study
Background: Globally, mobile health (mHealth) applications are known for their potential to improve healthcare providers’ access to relevant and reliable health information. Besides, electronic decision support tools, such as the Safe Delivery mHealth Application (SDA), may help to reduce clinical errors and to ensure quality care at the point of service delivery. The current study […]
Evaluation of a maternal health care project in South West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia: Before-and-after comparison
Background: Despite recent achievements in health targets, Ethiopia still faces challenges in health service delivery. Between 2012 and 2015, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Doctors with Africa CUAMM, implemented a multifaceted project aimed at improving access to maternal and child health services in three districts in Ethiopia. This paper evaluates the performance of this project, based […]
Migration and first-year maternal mortality among HIV-positive postpartum women: A population-based longitudinal study in rural South Africa
Background In South Africa, within-country migration is common. Mobility affects many of the factors in the pathway for entry to or retention in care among people living with HIV. We characterized the patterns of migration (i.e., change in residency) among peripartum women from rural South Africa and their association with first-year postpartum mortality. Methods and […]
Exclusive breastfeeding rates and associated factors in 13 “economic community of West African states” (ECOWAS) countries
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has important protective effects on child survival and also increases the growth and development of infants. This paper examined EBF rates and associated factors in 13 “Economic Community of West African States” (ECOWAS) countries. A weighted sample of 19,735 infants from the recent Demographic and Health Survey dataset in ECOWAS countries for […]
A qualitative study of health system barriers to accessibility and utilization of maternal and newborn healthcare services in Ghana after user-fee abolition
Background: To reduce financial barriers to access, and improve access to and use of skilled maternal and newborn healthcare services, the government of Ghana, in 2003, implemented a new maternal healthcare policy that provided free maternity care services in all public and mission healthcare facilities. Although supervised delivery in Ghana has increased from 47% in […]
