Geographical accessibility in assessing bypassing behaviour for inpatient neonatal care, Bungoma County-Kenya
Background: Neonatal mortality rate in Kenya continues to be unacceptably high. In reducing newborn deaths, inequality in access to care and quality care have been identified as current barriers. Contributing to these barriers are the bypassing behaviour and geographical access which leads to delay in seeking newborn care. This study (i) measured geographical accessibility of […]
Evolution in caesarean section practices in North Kivu: Impact of caregiver training
Introduction A caesarean section is a major obstetric procedure that can save the life of mother and child. Its purpose is to protect the mother’s health from the complications of childbirth and to protect the baby’s health. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there are major inequalities in access to caesarean sections and significant variations in practices […]
Prevalence and associated factors of delayed first antenatal care booking among reproductive age women in Ethiopia; a multilevel analysis of EDHS 2016 data
Background Early or timely initiation of antenatal care and regular visits based on the schedule have a tremendous effect on both maternal and fetal health. Despite the paramount benefits of early initiation of ANC within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, women still do not have adequate and equal access to high-quality early antenatal care. […]
Longitudinal patterns of the relation between anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder among postpartum women with and without maternal morbidities in Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-lagged autoregressive structural equation modelling
Background: The postpartum period is a time where mothers can undergo significant changes that increase vulnerability for depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. However, the direct and indirect factors of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and their direction of relationships following childbirth is not well investigated in Ethiopia. The aim of this […]
Who benefits from increased service utilisation? Examining the distributional effects of payment for performance in Tanzania
Background: Payment for performance (P4P) strategies, which provide financial incentives to health workers and/or facilities for reaching pre-defined performance targets, can improve healthcare utilisation and quality. P4P may also reduce inequalities in healthcare use and access by enhancing universal access to care, for example, through reducing the financial barriers to accessing care. However, P4P may […]
Economic consequences of caesarean section delivery: evidence from a household survey in Tanzania
Background: Caesarean section (C-section) delivery is an important indicator of access to life-saving essential obstetric care. Yet, there is limited understanding of the costs of utilising C-section delivery care in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, we estimated the direct and indirect patient cost of accessing C-section in Tanzania. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data of 2012 was used, which […]
Narratives on why pregnant women delay seeking maternal health care during delivery and obstetric complications in rural Ghana
Background: Despite the many maternal healthcare policy programmes in Ghana such as free the antenatal care (ANC) and the fee-exemption policy under the National Health Insurance Scheme, among others, the country has yet to make substantial improvements in addressing low skilled care utilisation in pregnancy and delivery. From previous studies, maternal mortality has been linked […]
Healthcare without borders: A cross-sectional study of immigrant and nonimmigrant children admitted to a large public sector hospital in the Gauteng Province of South Africa
Background Human migration is a worldwide phenomenon that receives considerable attention from the media and healthcare authorities alike. A significant proportion of children seen at public sector health facilities in South Africa (SA) are immigrants, and gaps have previously been noted in their healthcare provision. The objective of the study was to describe the characteristics […]
‘It needs a complete overhaul…’ district manager perspectives on the capacity of the health system to support the delivery of emergency obstetric care in an urban South African district
Background: A high maternal mortality ratio persists in South Africa despite developments in emergency obstetric care (EmOC), a known effective intervention against direct causes of maternal deaths. Strengthening the health systems is one of the focus areas identified by the National Committee for Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in South Africa. District managers as immediate […]
Maternal depression is associated with child undernutrition: A cross-sectional study in Ethiopia
Child undernutrition is widespread in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and is associated with health and economic losses. Undernutrition is estimated to contribute to 3.1 million deaths per year in children less than 5 years of age. A complex causal and contextual factors contributing to child undernutrition have been assessed, but maternal depression, which could […]
