Effect of continuum-of-care intervention package on improving contacts and quality of maternal and newborn healthcare in Ghana: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Objective To evaluate the effect of a continuum-of-care intervention package on adequate contacts of women and newborn with healthcare providers and their reception of high-quality care. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting 32 subdistricts in 3 rural sites in Ghana. Participants The baseline survey involved 1480 women who delivered before the trial, and the follow-up […]
Scaling up context-tailored clinical guidelines and training to improve childbirth care in urban, low-resource maternity units in Tanzania: A protocol for a stepped-wedged cluster randomized trial with embedded qualitative and economic analyses (The PartoMa Scale-Up Study)
While facility births are increasing in many low-resource settings, quality of care often does not follow suit; maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity remain unacceptably high. Therefore, realistic, context-tailored clinical support is crucially needed to assist birth attendants in resource-constrained realities to provide best possible evidence-based and respectful care. Our pilot study in Zanzibar suggested […]
“our girls need to see a path to the future” – Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health information among adolescent girls, guardians, and initiation counselors in Mulanje district, Malawi
Background: Malawi has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates worldwide; at 141 births/1000 girls it is 3-fold higher than the global average. Adolescent pregnancy contributes to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes, school dropout, and poverty. In preparation for an information, education, and communication (IEC) intervention to reduce unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls, formative research […]
Responding to maternal loss: A phenomenological study of older orphans in youth-headed households in impoverished areas of South Africa
The aim of this study was to explore how older orphans in youth-headed households (YHHs) experience and respond to maternal death and to examine the strategies they employ to care for their younger siblings. We interviewed 18 older orphans who were purposively selected from YHHs located in informal settlements in the City of Tshwane, South […]
School feeding program has resulted in improved dietary diversity, nutritional status and class attendance of school children
Background: School Feeding Program (SFP) is a targeted safety net program designed to provide educational and health benefits to vulnerable children. However, limited evidence exists regarding the effect of the intervention on the nutritional status and school attendance of children. The study is aimed at examining the effects of SFP on dietary diversity, nutritional status […]
Geographical disparities and determinants of adherence to iron folate supplementation among pregnant women in Ethiopia: spatial and multilevel analysis of the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey of 2019
Objective This study aimed to investigate geographic disparities and determinants of adherence to iron and folate supplementation among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Method A secondary data analysis was performed using data from the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019. A total of 2235 pregnant women aged 15-49 years were included in the analysis. ArcGIS […]
Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
Background Uganda is a low-income country with high fertility, adolescent birth, and maternal mortality rates. How Ugandan Ministry of Health antenatal education guidelines have been implemented into standardized health education and how pregnant women utilize health facilities remains unclear. Objective We aimed to determine how women obtain education during pregnancy, what guidelines health educators follow, […]
Multilevel geospatial analysis of factors associated with unskilled birth attendance in Ghana
Background Globally, about 810 women die every day due to pregnancy and its related complications. Although the death of women during pregnancy or childbirth has declined from 342 deaths to 211 deaths per 100, 000 live births between 2000 and 2017, maternal mortality is still higher, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where 86% […]
Geographical Inequalities and Social and Environmental Risk Factors for Under-Five Mortality in Ghana in 2000 and 2010: Bayesian Spatial Analysis of Census Data
Background: Under-five mortality is declining in Ghana and many other countries. Very few studies have measured under-five mortality—and its social and environmental risk factors—at fine spatial resolutions, which is relevant for policy purposes. Our aim was to estimate under-five mortality and its social and environmental risk factors at the district level in Ghana. Methods and […]
Multivariate decomposition of trends, inequalities and predictors of skilled birth attendants utilisation in Nigeria (1990-2018): a cross-sectional analysis of change drivers
Objectives Literature has assessed skilled birth attendants (SBAs) utilisation, but little is known about what contributes to the changes in SBA use. Multivariate decomposition analysis was thus applied in this study to examine; levels, trends, inequalities and drivers of changes in SBA utilisation. Design and setting A cross-sectional analysis of five-waves of NDHS-data (1990, 2003, […]
