ALIMUS—We are feeding! Study protocol of a multi-center, cluster-randomized controlled trial on the effects of a home garden and nutrition counseling intervention to reduce child undernutrition in rural Burkina Faso and Kenya

Background: Climate change heavily affects child nutritional status in sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural and dietary diversification are promising tools to balance agricultural yield losses and nutrient deficits in crops. However, rigorous impact evaluation of such adaptation strategies is lacking. This project will determine the potential of an integrated home gardening and nutrition counseling program as one […]

Experiences of infertile women pursuing treatment in Kenya: a qualitative study

Background: The infertility treatment process is associated with various psychological, physical, social, moral, and financial challenges, especially for women. The women are likely to report low marital satisfaction and emotional distress due to fertility treatment demands. This study explored how infertile women described their treatment experience and how they coped with treatment demands as they […]

Medical, behavioural and social preconception and interconception risk factors among pregnancy planning and recently pregnant Canadian women

Objectives The objective of this study is to describe the clustering of medical, behavioural and social preconception and interconception health risk factors and determine demographic factors associated with these risk clusters among Canadian women. Design Cross-sectional data were collected via an online questionnaire assessing a range of preconception risk factors. Prevalence of each risk factor […]

What does high and low have to do with it? Performance classification to identify health system factors associated with effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV delivery in Mozambique

Introduction: Efforts to implement and take to scale highly efficacious, low-cost interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (pMTCT) have been a cornerstone of reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa for over a decade. Yet efforts to increase access and utilization of these services remain far from optimal. This study developed and applied an approach to […]

Screening for diabetes and hypertension in a rural low income setting in western Kenya utilizing home-based and community-based strategies

Background: The burdens of hypertension and diabetes are increasing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is important to identify patients with these conditions early in the disease process. The goal of this study, therefore, is to compare community- versus home-based screening for hypertension and diabetes in Kenya.Methods: This was a feasibility study conducted by […]

The impact of unconditional cash transfers on morbidity and health-seeking behaviour in Africa: evidence from Ghana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Unconditional cash transfers have demonstrated widespread, positive impacts on consumption, food security, productive activities and schooling. However, the evidence to date on cash transfers and health-seeking behaviours and morbidity is not only mixed, but the evidence base is biased towards conditional programmes from Latin America and is more limited in the context of Africa. Given […]

“practice so that the skill does not disappear”: Mixed methods evaluation of simulator-based learning for midwives in Uganda

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage and neonatal asphyxia are leading causes of maternal and neonatal mortality, respectively, that occur relatively rarely in low-volume health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Rare occurrence of cases may limit the readiness and skills that individual birth attendants have to address complications. Evidence suggests that simulator-based training and practice sessions can help birth […]

How women are treated during facility-based childbirth in four countries: a cross-sectional study with labour observations and community-based surveys

Background: Women across the world are mistreated during childbirth. We aimed to develop and implement evidence-informed, validated tools to measure mistreatment during childbirth, and report results from a cross-sectional study in four low-income and middle-income countries. Methods: We prospectively recruited women aged at least 15 years in twelve health facilities (three per country) in Ghana, […]

Pulse oximetry adoption and oxygen orders at paediatric admission over 7 years in Kenya: A multihospital retrospective cohort study

Objectives To characterise adoption and explore specific clinical and patient factors that might influence pulse oximetry and oxygen use in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) over time; to highlight useful considerations for entities working on programmes to improve access to pulse oximetry and oxygen. Design A multihospital retrospective cohort study. Settings All admissions (n=132 737) […]

Women’s autonomy and men’s involvement in child care and feeding as predictors of infant and young child anthropometric indices in coffee farming households of Jimma Zone, South West of Ethiopia

Background Most of child mortality and under nutrition in developing world were attributed to suboptimal childcare and feeding, which needs detailed investigation beyond the proximal factors. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing associations of women’s autonomy and men’s involvement with child anthropometric indices in cash crop livelihood areas of South West Ethiopia. […]