Factors associated with dietary diversity and length-for-age z-score in rural Ethiopian children aged 6–23 months: A novel approach to the analysis of baseline data from the Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia evaluation
Infants and young children need diets high in nutrient density and diversity to meet the requirements of rapid growth and development. Our aim was to evaluate sociodemographic, agricultural diversity, and women’s empowerment factors associated with child dietary diversity and length-for-age z-score (LAZ) in children 6–23 months using data collected as part of the Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction […]
Burden and risk factors for relapse following successful treatment of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition in young children: Secondary analysis from a randomised trial in Niger
This study aimed to quantify the burden of relapse following successful treatment for uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and to identify associated risk factors in rural Niger. We used data from 1490 children aged 6−59 months discharged as recovered from an outpatient nutritional programme for SAM and followed for up to 12 weeks after admission. […]
Are stage-based health information messages effective and good value for money in improving maternal newborn and child health outcomes in India? Protocol for an individually randomized controlled trial
Background: Evidence is limited on the effectiveness of mobile health programs which provide stage-based health information messages to pregnant and postpartum women. Kilkari is an outbound service that delivers weekly, stage-based audio messages about pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare directly to families in 13 states across India on their mobile phones. In this protocol we outline […]
Acceptability and feasibility of community-based provision of urine pregnancy tests to support linkages to reproductive health services in Western Kenya: a qualitative analysis
Background: The majority of women living in rural Kenya access antenatal care (ANC) late in pregnancy, and approximately 20% have an unmet need for family planning (FP). This study aimed to determine whether training community health volunteers (CHVs) to deliver urine pregnancy testing (UPT), post-test counselling, and referral to care was an acceptable and feasible […]
Achieving equity in HIV-treatment outcomes: can social protection improve adolescent ART-adherence in South Africa?
Low ART-adherence amongst adolescents is associated with morbidity, mortality and onward HIV transmission. Reviews find no effective adolescent adherence-promoting interventions. Social protection has demonstrated benefits for adolescents, and could potentially improve ART-adherence. This study examines associations of 10 social protection provisions with adherence in a large community-based sample of HIV-positive adolescents. All 10–19-year-olds ever ART-initiated […]
Different gut microbial profiles in sub-saharan african and south asian women of childbearing age are primarily associated with dietary intakes
Background: To compare and characterize the gut microbiota in women of childbearing age from sub-Saharan Africa (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) and South Asia (India), in relation to dietary intakes. Methods: Women of childbearing age were recruited from rural DRC and India as part of the Women First (WF) preconception maternal nutrition trial. […]
User fee exemptions and excessive household spending for normal delivery in Burkina Faso: The need for careful implementation
Background: In 2006, the Parliament of Burkina Faso passed a policy to reduce the direct costs of obstetric services and neonatal care in the countrys health centres, aiming to lower the countrys high national maternal mortality and morbidity rates. Implementation was via a partial exemption covering 80% of the costs. In 2008 the German NGO […]
Parity and institutional delivery in rural Tanzania: A multilevel analysis and policy implications
Objectives We assess the extent to which the use of healthcare facilities for childbirth varies by parity, conditional on socio-economic, psychological and health characteristics. We also assess differences in the determinants of institutionalized delivery for first-time mothers and multiparous, and explore village-level variations in observed relationships.Methods Survey data from a three-stage cross-sectional cluster sample of […]
If Times Change, Should We Throw Away The Hearthstone? Exploring (Dis) Continuities In Autonomy And Decision-Making In The Lives Of Ghanaian Women
This paper attempts to investigate continuities and discontinuities between traditional and modern representations of womanhood and female gender roles focusing primarily on family and work settings. Using approaches informed by Sociology, Cultural Psychology, and African Studies, the paper explores traditional views of womanhood encapsulated in (and also transmitted intergenerationally) through proverbs. This customary perspective is […]
The “universal” in UHC and Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: Policy and implementation challenges and dilemmas of a lower middle income country
Background: Despite universal population coverage and equity being a stated policy goal of its NHIS, over a decade since passage of the first law in 2003, Ghana continues to struggle with how to attain it. The predominantly (about 70 %) tax funded NHIS currently has active enrolment hovering around 40 % of the population. This […]
