Maternal mental health in primary care in five low- and middle-income countries: A situational analysis
Background: The integration of maternal mental health into primary health care has been advocated to reduce the mental health treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study reports findings of a cross-country situation analysis on maternal mental health and services available in five LMICs, to inform the development of integrated maternal mental health […]
A Qualitative study of language barriers between South African health care providers and cross-border migrants
Background: Communication with health care providers represents an essential part of access to health care for the over 230 million cross-border migrants around the world. In this article, we explore the complexity of health communication from the perspective of cross-border migrants seeking antenatal care in Cape Town, South Africa in order to highlight the importance […]
Piecing Together the Maternal Death Puzzle through Narratives: The Three Delays Model Revisited
Background: In Malawi maternal mortality continues to be a major public health challenge. Going beyond the numbers to form a more complete view of why women die is critical to improving access to and quality of emergency obstetric care. The objective of the current study was to identify the socio-cultural and facility-based factors that contributed […]
Community health workers impact on maternal and child health outcomes in rural South Africa – a non-randomized two-group comparison study
Background: Home visits by paraprofessional community health workers (CHWs) has been shown to improve maternal and child health outcomes in research studies in many countries. Yet, when these are scaled or replicated, efficacy disappears. An effective CHW home visiting program in peri-urban Cape Town found maternal and child health benefits over the 5 years point […]
Distance is “a big problem”: a geographic analysis of reported and modelled proximity to maternal health services in Ghana
Background: Geographic barriers to healthcare are associated with adverse maternal health outcomes. Modelling travel times using georeferenced data is becoming common in quantifying physical access. Multiple Demographic and Health Surveys ask women about distance-related problems accessing healthcare, but responses have not been evaluated against modelled travel times. This cross-sectional study aims to compare reported and […]
Early life risk factors of motor, cognitive and language development: A pooled analysis of studies from low/middle-income countries
Objective To determine the magnitude of relationships of early life factors with child development in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Design Meta-analyses of standardised mean differences (SMDs) estimated from published and unpublished data. Data sources We searched Medline, bibliographies of key articles and reviews, and grey literature to identify studies from LMICs that collected data on early […]
Can Sierra Leone maintain the equitable delivery of their Free Health Care Initiative? the case for more contextualised interventions: Results of a cross-sectional survey
Background: In 2010, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone launched their Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI) for pregnant and lactating mothers and children under-5. Despite an increase in the update of services, the inequitable distribution of health services and health facilities remain important factors underlying the poor performance of health systems to […]
Spatial variation of child stunting and maternal malnutrition after controlling for known risk factors in a drought-prone rural community in Southern Ethiopia
Background: Globally, understanding spatial analysis of malnutrition is increasingly recognized. However, our knowledge on spatial clustering of malnutrition after controlling for known risk factors of malnutrition such as wealth status, food insecurity, altitude and maternal characteristics is limited from Ethiopia. Previous studies from southern Ethiopia have shown seasonal patterns of malnutrition, yet they did not […]
Too afraid to go: Fears of dignity violations as reasons for non-use of maternal health services in South Sudan
Background: South Sudan has one of the worst health and maternal health situations in the world. Across South Sudan, while maternal health services at the primary care level are not well developed, even where they exist, many women do not use them. Developing location specific understanding of what hinders women from using services is key […]
Characteristics of pica behavior among mothers around lake victoria, Kenya: A cross-sectional study
Background: Pica, the craving and purposeful consumption of nonfoods, is poorly understood. We described the prevalence of pica among women on Mfangano Island, Kenya, and examined sociodemographic and health correlates. Methods: Our cross-sectional study included 299 pregnant or postpartum women in 2012. We used a 24-h recall to assess pica, defined as consumption of earth […]
