Effectiveness of upgraded maternity waiting homes and local leader training on improving institutional births: a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Jimma, Ethiopia
Background: Maternity waiting homes (MWHs), residential spaces for pregnant women close to obstetric care facilities, are being used to tackle physical barriers to access. However, their effectiveness has not been rigorously assessed. The objective of this cluster randomized trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of functional MWHs combined with community mobilization by trained local leaders […]
Health care providers’ perceptions of barriers to perinatal mental healthcare in South Africa
Background: Perinatal mental disorders are a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and postpartum, and are highly treatable when identified early. However, many women, especially in low and middle-income countries, lack access to routine identification and treatment of mental illness in public health settings. The prevalence of perinatal depression and anxiety disorders, common […]
Evaluating the effect of maternal mHealth text messages on uptake of maternal and child health care services in South Africa: a multicentre cohort intervention study
Background: There are high expectations that mobile health (mHealth) strategies will increase uptake of health care services, especially in resource strained settings. Our study aimed to evaluate effects of an mHealth intervention on uptake of maternal health services. Methods: This was an intervention cohort study conducted at six public antenatal and postnatal care clinics in […]
Multiple anthropometric and nutritional deficiencies in young children in Ethiopia: a multi-level analysis based on a nationally representative data
Background: In Ethiopia, child undernutrition and anemia are major public health concerns, resulting in increased childhood morbidity and mortality. Despite progress made to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition (especially stunting) from 50% in 2000 to 38% in 2016, little is known about the magnitude and risk factors for concurrent nutritional deficiencies in Ethiopia. Methods: Analysis […]
Determinants of stunting among children aged 6 to 59 months in pastoral community, Afar region, North East Ethiopia: Unmatched case control study
Background: Stunting is defined as a child with a height for-age Z-score less than minus two standard deviations. Globally, 162 million less than 5 years were stunted. In Ethiopia, Nationally the prevalence of stunting among under five children was 38.4% and in Afar it is above the national average (41.1%). This study was aimed to […]
Complete vaccination service utilization inequalities among children aged 12-23 months in Ethiopia: A multivariate decomposition analyses
Background: Although World Health Organization works to make vaccination service available to everyone everywhere by 2030, majority of the world’s children have been unvaccinated and unprotected from vaccine-preventable diseases. In fact, evidences on factors contributing to changes in vaccination coverage across residential areas, wealth categories and over time have not been adequate. Therefore, this study […]
Seasonal variation in the prevalence of acute undernutrition among children under five years of age in east rural Ethiopia: A longitudinal study
Background: Malnutrition is a deficiency state of both macro and micronutrients (under – nutrition) and their over consumption (over- nutrition) causing measurable adverse effects on human body structure and function, resulting in specific physical and clinical outcomes. Little has been known about the seasonal variation in the magnitude of acute child under-nutrition and its determinants […]
Preventive Health Service Coverage Among Infants and Children at Six Maternal-Child Health Clinics in Western Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Assessment
Objectives: Despite the substantial reduction of child mortality in recent decades, Kenya still strives to provide universal healthcare access and to meet other international benchmarks for child health. This study aimed to describe child health service coverage among children visiting six maternal and child health (MCH) clinics in western Kenya. Methods: In a cross-sectional study […]
Scoping review of maternal and newborn health interventions and programmes in Nigeria
Objective To systematically scope and map research regarding interventions, programmes or strategies to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH) in Nigeria. Design Scoping review. Data sources and eligibility criteria Systematic searches were conducted from 1 June to 22 July 2020 in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, together with a search of the grey literature. Publications presenting interventions […]
Reduced transplacental transfer of antimalarial antibodies in Kenyan HIV-exposed uninfected infants
Background. Altered neonatal immune responses may contribute to the increased morbidity observed in HIV-exposed but uninfected (HEU) infants compared with HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) infants. We sought to examine the effects of prenatal HIV and malaria exposure on maternal and neonatal plasma cytokine profiles and transplacental antibody transfer. Methods. Forty-nine HIV+ and 50 HIV- women and […]
