Barriers and facilitators of maternal health care services use among pastoralist women in Ethiopia: Systems thinking perspective
We explored the barriers and facilitators of maternal health care service use among women in the pastoralist region of Ethiopia. We used a mixed methods design—focus group discussions, key informant interviews, review of the literature and Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation Research (PEER) methods followed by a household survey among randomly chosen pastoralist women of reproductive age […]
Individual and Contextual Determinants of Adequate Maternal Health Care Services in Kenya
This study aimed to examine individual and community level factors associated with adequate use of maternal antenatal health services in Kenya. Individual and community level factors associated with adequate use of maternal health care (MHC) services were obtained from the 2008–09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data set. Multilevel partial-proportional odds logit models were fitted […]
Fertility Responses to Schooling Costs: Evidence from Uganda’s Universal Primary Education Policy
There is some evidence that access to schooling reduces fertility along the intensive margin in developing countries, but the transmission channels are not well understood; most education interventions impact financial costs, access, and school quality. We isolate the specific effect of child school fees on maternal fertility by studying a 1997 schooling reform in Uganda, […]
The knowledge of emergency contraception and dispensing practices of patent medicine vendors in South West Nigeria
Patent Medicine Vendors (PMVs) can play a critical role in increasing access to emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) in developing countries, but few studies have examined their knowledge and dispensing practices. Using cluster sampling, the authors selected and interviewed 97 PMVs (60.8 per cent female) in Oyo and Ogun States of Nigeria to assess their knowledge, […]
Complicating causality: patient and professional perspectives on obstetric fistula in Nigeria
Obstetric fistula, a preventable maternal morbidity characterised by chronic bladder and/or bowel incontinence, is widespread in Nigeria. This qualitative, multi-site study examined the competing narratives on obstetric fistula causality in Nigeria. Research methods were participant observation and in-depth interviews with 86 fistula patients and 43 healthcare professionals. The study found that both patient and professional […]
Continuum of maternal and newborn health in Sierra Leone: a 2019 national survey
Introduction: Globally, Sierra Leone has some of the worst maternal and child health indicators. The situation is worsened by a dearth of evidence about the level of continuum of care, an evidence-based intervention aimed at reducing maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Hence this study aimed to assess the level of and factors associated with […]
Identifying implementation bottlenecks for maternal and newborn health interventions in rural districts of the United Republic of Tanzania
Objective To estimate effective coverage of maternal and newborn health interventions and to identify bottlenecks in their implementation in rural districts of the United Republic of Tanzania. Methods Cross-sectional data from households and health facilities in Tandahimba and Newala districts were used in the analysis. We adapted Tanahashi’s model to estimate intervention coverage in conditional […]
High incidence of neonatal danger signs and its implications for postnatal care in Ghana: A cross-sectional study
Background: Reducing neonatal mortality is a major public health priority in sub-Saharan Africa. Numerous studies have examined the determinants of neonatal mortality, but few have explored neonatal danger signs which potentially cause morbidity. This study assessed danger signs observed in neonates at birth, determined the correlations of multiple danger signs and complications between neonates and […]
Early detection of maternal deaths in Senegal through household-based death notification integrating verbal and social autopsy: A community-level case study
Background: Reliable detection of maternal deaths is an essential prerequisite for successful diagnosis of barriers to care and formulation of relevant targeted interventions. In a community-level case study, the use of household-level surveillance in Senegal unveiled an apparent increase in maternal deaths, which triggered a rapid-cycle collaborative response to implement a multipronged set of quick-win […]
Experiences of a multiple intervention trial to increase maternity care access in rural Tanzania: Focus group findings with women, nurses and community health workers
Objectives: In order to improve maternal health and women’s access to maternity care services in Rorya District, Mara, Northern Tanzania, we introduced several interventions across the district from 2018 to 2019. The interventions were workshops with nurses to encourage respectful care of women and transportation subsidies for women to reach the health facilities for delivery. […]
