Understanding barriers to implementing referral procedures in the rural and semi-urban district hospitals in Tanzania: Experiences of healthcare providers working in maternity units
Introduction Maternal and perinatal deaths occurring in low and middle income countries could be prevented with timely access to maternal and new-born care. In order to increase access to maternal and child health services, a well-functioning referral system that allows for continuity of care across different tiers of healthcare is required. A reliable healthcare system, […]
From planning to practice: Building the national network for the surveillance of severe maternal morbidity
Background: Improving maternal health is one of the Millennium Development Goals for 2015. Recently some progress has been achieved in reducing mortality. On the other hand, in developed regions, maternal death is a relatively rare event compared to the number of cases of morbidity; hence studying maternal morbidity has become more relevant. Electronic surveillance systems […]
Infant feeding counselling for HIV-infected and uninfected women: Appropriateness of choice and practice
Objective: To examine infant feeding intentions of HIV-infected and uninfected women and the appropriateness of their choices according to their home resources; and to determine their adherence to their intentions in the first postnatal week. Methods: Feeding intentions of pregnant women were compared against four resources that facilitate replacement feeding: clean water, adequate fuel, access […]
Economic violence to women and girls: Is it receiving the necessary attention?
Most studies on gender-based violence (GBV) have focused on its physical, sexual, and psychological manifestations. This paper seeks to draw attention to the types of economic violence experienced by women, and describes its consequences on health and development. Economic violence experienced included limited access to funds and credit; controlling access to health care, employment, education, […]
A One Health framework for integrated service delivery in Turkana County, Kenya
Pastoralists in sub-Saharan Africa have limited access to public services due to their mobile lifestyle, economic and political marginalization, and the limited health infrastructure that is common to arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) where they primarily reside. This often results in poor health outcomes, including increased rates of maternal, neonatal, and under-5 mortality. One Health […]
Higher Educational Attainment Associated with Optimal Antenatal Care Visits among Childbearing Women in Zambia
Objective: Attendance of at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits over the period of pregnancy has been accepted by World Health Organization to comprise the optimal and adequate standard of ANC because of its positive association with good maternal and neonatal outcomes during the prenatal period. Despite free ANC being provided, many pregnant women have […]
Are Ethiopian women getting the recommended maternal health services? The analysis of Ethiopian mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019
Background and Aims: Health services during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period play a pivotal role in the survival of both the mother and the baby. We, therefore, analyzed maternal health service utilization and the related drivers among women of childbearing age in Ethiopia. Methods: We used secondary data from the 2019 Ethiopian mini Demographic […]
Continuum of maternity care among rural women in Ethiopia: does place and frequency of antenatal care visit matter?
Introduction: The ministry of health (MOH) of Ethiopia recommends 4 or more focused antenatal care (ANC) visits at health centre (HC) or at a higher level of health facility (HF). In Ethiopia, few studies investigated time dimension of maternal health continuum of care but lack data regarding place dimension and its effect on continuum of […]
Determinants of Campylobacter infection and association with growth and enteric inflammation in children under 2 years of age in low-resource settings
Campylobacter species infections have been associated with malnutrition and intestinal inflammation among children in low-resource settings. However, it remains unclear whether that association is specific to Campylobacter jejuni/coli. The aim of this study was to assess the association between both all Campylobacter species infections and Campylobacter jejuni/coli infections on growth and enteric inflammation in children […]
The impact of maternal health insurance coverage and adequate healthcare services utilisation on the risk of under-five mortality in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study
Background: Despite the progress in reducing under-five mortality (U-5 M) in recent years, these deaths remain considerably high in Nigeria. This could be attributed to poor health policies including inequality of health insurance coverage and access to adequate healthcare services utilisations which has remained inimical to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Therefore, this study examined […]
