Does a pay-for-performance health service model improve overall and rural–urban inequity in vaccination rates? A difference-in-differences analysis from the Gambia
Objective: To assess whether the implementation of a results-based financing (RBF) project in The Gambia resulted in (1) improved national vaccination coverage (2) higher coverage in intervention than non-intervention areas, and (3) improvement in rural–urban coverage inequality. Methods: The study used a difference-in-differences design, based on repeated cross-sectional data from The Gambian Demographic and Health […]
Improving access to child health services at the community level in Zambia: A country case study on progress in child survival, 2000-2013
Reductions in under-five mortality in Africa have not been sufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goal #4 (MDG#4) of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Nevertheless, 12 African countries have met MDG#4. We undertook a four country study to examine barriers and facilitators of child survival prior to 2015, seeking to better understand variability […]
Vulnerability and agency across treatment-seeking journeys for acutely ill children: How family members navigate complex healthcare before, during and after hospitalisation in a rural Kenyan setting
Background: Child mortality rates during hospitalisation for acute illness and after discharge are unacceptably high in many under-resourced settings. Childhood vulnerability to recurrent illness, and death, is linked to their families’ situations and ability to make choices and act (their agency). We examined vulnerability and agency across treatment-seeking journeys for acutely ill children and considered […]
Does public service motivation matter in Moroccan public hospitals? A multiple embedded case study
Background: The motivation of health workers is a key concern of policy makers, practitioners and researchers. Public Service Motivation (PSM), defined as the altruistic desire to serve the common interest, to serve others and to help patients and their families regardless of financial or external rewards, has been shown to be key to the performance […]
Appropriateness and affordability of prescriptions to diabetic patients attending a tertiary hospital in Eastern Uganda: A retrospective cross-sectional study
Background Irrational prescription of drugs can lead to high cost of treatment thus limiting access to essential medicines. We assessed the affordability and appropriateness of prescriptions written for diabetic patients in Eastern Uganda. Methods We collected secondary data from the health management information system registers of patients who attended the outpatient medical clinic at Mbale […]
Predictors of inappropriate complementary feeding practice among children aged 6 to 23 months in Wonago District, South Ethiopia, 2017; Case control study
Background: Inappropriate complementary feeding practice could result in child illness, sub-optimal growth and development. Evidence shows a huge burden of inappropriate complementary feeding practice from global to national level. But studies regarding predictors of inappropriate complementary feeding practices were scarce especially in the study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine predictors […]
Nutritional Status of Postpartum Mothers and Associated Risk Factors in Shey-Bench District, Bench-Sheko Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Malnutrition affects millions of people in developing countries and contributes to poor health outcomes and nutritional status among women in the postpartum period. Lactation increases high nutritional demands and marks a significant life transition that can impact diet quality and subsequently predispose woman to high risk of overweight and undernutrition. Although, studies have been […]
Collective reflections on the first cycle of a collaborative learning platform to strengthen rural primary healthcare in Mpumalanga, South Africa
Background: Frontline managers and health service providers are constrained in many contexts from responding to community priorities due to organizational cultures focused on centrally defined outputs and targets. This paper presents an evaluation of the Verbal Autopsy with Participatory Action Research (VAPAR) programme—a collaborative learning platform embedded in the local health system in Mpumalanga, South […]
Readiness of rural health facilities to provide immediate postpartum care in Uganda
Background: Nearly 60% of maternal and 45% of newborn deaths occur within 24 h after delivery. Immediate postpartum monitoring could avert death from preventable causes including postpartum hemorrhage, and eclampsia among mothers, and birth asphyxia, hypothermia, and sepsis for babies. We aimed at assessing facility readiness for the provision of postpartum care within the immediate […]
Time trends, geographical, socio-economic, and gender disparities in neonatal mortality in Burundi: evidence from the demographic and health surveys, 2010–2016
Background: Programmatic and research agendas surrounding neonatal mortality are important to help countries attain the child health related 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). In Burundi, the Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) is 25 per 1000 live births. However, high quality evidence on the over time evolution of inequality in NMR is lacking. This study aims to […]
