Ghana’s national health insurance scheme and maternal and child health: A mixed methods study
Background: Ghana is attracting global attention for efforts to provide health insurance to all citizens through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). With the program’s strong emphasis on maternal and child health, an expectation of the program is that members will have increased use of relevant services. Methods: This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data […]
Working lives of maternity healthcare workers in Malawi: an ethnography to identify ways to improve care
BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality in East Africa is high with a maternal mortality rate of 428 per 100,000 live births. Malawi, whilst comparing favourably to East Africa as a whole, continues to have a high maternal mortality rate (349 per 100,000 live births) despite it being reduced by 53% since 2000. To make further improvements in […]
Can she make it? Transportation barriers to accessing maternal and child health care services in rural Ghana
Background: The Ghana Community based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) strategy targets to bring health services to the doorsteps of clients in a manner that improves maternal and child health outcomes. In this strategy, referral is an important component but it is threatened in a rural context where transportation service is a problem. Few studies […]
Determinants of depressive symptoms among postpartum mothers: a cross-sectional study in Ethiopia
Objective This study aims to assess the determinants of depressive symptoms among postpartum mothers. Design A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting Ten randomly selected rural kebeles of Meket district of Ethiopia. Participants A random sample of 232 mothers with infants 5-10 months was included in this study. Data analysis Forward multivariable logistic regression analysis. […]
Determinants of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality in a war-affected country: Analysis of the 2010 Household Health Survey in South Sudan
Background: Under-five children born in a fragile and war-affected setting of South Sudan are faced with a high risk of death as reflecting in high under-five mortality. In South Sudan health inequities and inequitable condition of daily living play a significant role in childhood mortality. This study examines factors associated with under-five mortality in South […]
Factors associated with concurrent wasting and stunting among children 6–59 months in Karamoja, Uganda
Children with concurrent wasting and stunting (WaSt) and children with severe wasting have a similar risk of death. Existing evidence shows that wasting and stunting share similar causal pathways, but evidence on correlates of WaSt remains limited. Research on correlates of WaSt is needed to inform prevention strategies. We investigated the factors associated with WaSt […]
Design of an impact evaluation using a mixed methods model – An explanatory assessment of the effects of results-based financing mechanisms on maternal healthcare services in Malawi
Background: In this article we present a study design to evaluate the causal impact of providing supply-side performance-based financing incentives in combination with a demand-side cash transfer component on equitable access to and quality of maternal and neonatal healthcare services. This intervention is introduced to selected emergency obstetric care facilities and catchment area populations in […]
Household food insecurity is associated with both body mass index and middle upper-arm circumference of mothers in northwest Ethiopia: A comparative study
Background: Food insecurity and associated malnutrition result in serious health problems in developing countries. This study determined levels of maternal undernutrition and its association with food insecurity in northwest Ethiopia. Materials and methods: This was a community-based comparative cross-sectional study conducted May 24–July 20, 2013. Multistage random sampling was used to select 4,110 samples. Availability […]
Determinants of completing recommended antenatal care utilization in sub-Saharan from 2006 to 2018: evidence from 36 countries using Demographic and Health Surveys
Background: Every day in 2017, approximately 810 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, with 99% of these maternal deaths occurring in low and lower-middle-income countries. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alone accounts for roughly 66%. If pregnant women gained recommended ANC (Antenatal Care), these maternal deaths could be prevented. Still, many women lack […]
Gender discrimination as a barrier to high-quality maternal and newborn health care in Nigeria: findings from a cross-sectional quality of care assessment
BACKGROUND: Poor reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health outcomes in Nigeria can be attributed to several factors, not limited to low health service coverage, a lack of quality care, and gender inequity. Providers’ gender-discriminatory attitudes, and men’s limited positive involvement correlate with poor utilization and quality of services. We conducted a study at the […]
