Inequalities in adherence to the continuum of maternal and child health service utilization in Ethiopia: multilevel analysis
Background: Despite progress made to improve access to child health services, mothers’ consistent utilization of these services has been constrained by several factors. This study is aimed at assessing the inequalities in key child health service utilization and assess the role of antenatal care (ANC) on subsequent service use. Method: The analysis of the present […]
Seasonality of antenatal care attendance, maternal dietary intake, and fetal growth in the VHEMBE birth cohort, South Africa
Background Seasonality of food availability, physical activity, and infections commonly occurs within rural communities in low and middle-income countries with distinct rainy seasons. To better understand the implications of these regularly occurring environmental stressors for maternal and child health, this study examined seasonal variation in nutrition and health care access of pregnant women and infants […]
On measuring and decomposing inequality of opportunity in access to health services among Tunisian children: A new approach for public policy
Background: The early years in children’s life are the key to physical, cognitive-language, and, socio-emotional skills development. So, it is of paramount importance in this period to be interested in different indicators that would influence the child’s health. Methods: This paper measures inequality of opportunities among Tunisian children concerning access to nutritional and healthy services […]
The impact of i-PUSH on maternal and child health care utilization, health outcomes, and financial protection: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial based on financial and health diaries data
Background: Universal Health Coverage ensures access to quality health services for all, with no financial hardship when accessing the needed services. Nevertheless, access to quality health services is marred by substantial resource shortages creating service delivery gaps in low-and middle-income countries, including Kenya. The Innovative Partnership for Universal Sustainable Healthcare (i-PUSH) program, developed by AMREF […]
The NSPCC UK Minding the Baby® (MTB) home-visiting programme, supporting young mothers (aged 14-25) in the first 2 years of their baby’s life: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Background: Young mothers living in low-income urban settings often are exposed to significant and chronic environmental difficulties including poverty, social isolation and poor education and typically also have to cope with personal histories of abuse and depression. Minding the Baby® (MTB) is an interdisciplinary home-visiting programme developed to support first-time young mothers, which integrates primary […]
The effect of supervision on community health workers’ effectiveness with households in rural South Africa: A cluster randomized controlled trial
Background Community health workers (CHWs) can supplement professional medical providers, especially in rural settings where resources are particularly scarce. Yet, outcomes of studies evaluating CHWs effectiveness have been highly variable and lack impact when scaled nationally. This study examines if child and maternal outcomes are better when existing government CHWs, who are perinatal home visitors, […]
Mixed effects analysis of factors associated with barriers to accessing healthcare among women in sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from demographic and health surveys
Background Access to healthcare is one of the key global concerns as treasured in the Sustainable Development Goals. This study, therefore, sought to assess the individual and contextual factors associated with barriers to accessing healthcare among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Materials and methods Data for this study were obtained from the latest Demographic and […]
Improving measures of access to legal abortion: A validation study triangulating multiple data sources to assess a global indicator
Background Global mechanisms have been established to monitor and facilitate state accountability regarding the legal status of abortion. However, there is little evidence describing whether these mechanisms capture accurate data. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the “legal status of abortion”is a valid proxy measure for access to safe abortion, pursuant to the global goals of […]
The 4MOTHERS trial of the impact of a mobile money-based intervention on maternal and neonatal health outcomes in Madagascar: study protocol of a cluster-randomized hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial
Background: Mobile money—a service enabling users to receive, store, and send electronic money using mobile phones—has been widely adopted across low- and middle-income economies to pay for a variety of services, including healthcare. However, evidence on its effects on healthcare access and health outcomes are scarce and the possible implications of using mobile money for […]
The effect of an integrated multisector model for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and improving child survival in rural sub-Saharan Africa: A non-randomised controlled assessment
Background: Simultaneously addressing multiple Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has the potential to complement essential health interventions to accelerate gains in child survival. The Millennium Villages project is an integrated multisector approach to rural development operating across diverse sub-Saharan African sites. Our aim was to assess the effects of the project on MDG-related outcomes including child […]
