When women deliver at home without a skilled birth attendant: A qualitative study on the role of health care systems in the increasing home births among rural women in southwestern uganda
Background: Uganda’s maternal mortality remains unacceptably high, with thousands of women and newborns still dying of preventable deaths from pregnancy and childbirth-related complica-tions. Globally, Antenatal care (ANC) attendance has been associated with improved rates of skilled births. However, despite the fact that over 95% of women in Uganda attend at least one ANC, over 30% […]
Inequalities in prevalence of birth by caesarean section in Ghana from 1998-2014
Background: Caesarean section (CS) is an intervention to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality, for complicated pregnancy and labour. We analysed trends in the prevalence of birth by CS in Ghana from 1998 to 2014. Methods: Using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) software, data from the 1998-2014 Ghana Demographic and Health […]
Transboundary nomadic population movement: A potential for import-export of poliovirus
Background: Nomadic populations have a considerably higher risk of contracting a number of diseases but, despite the magnitude of the public health risks involved, they are mostly underserved with few health policies or plans to target them. Nomadic population movements are shown to be a niche for the transmission of diseases, including poliomyelitis. The nomadic […]
Factors associated with diarrheal morbidity among under-five children in Jigjiga town, Somali Regional State, eastern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Background: The prevalence of underfive diarrhea in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia is one of the highest in the country. This study attempted to examine the multiple factors associated with underfive diarrhea and how they might influence its prevalence in Jigjiga, Somali regional state, Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 15 […]
Barriers to healthcare access and healthcare seeking for childhood illnesses among childbearing women in Burundi
Introduction Poor health seeking behaviour continues to be major challenge in accessing healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa despite the availability of effective treatment for most childhood illnesses. The current study investigated the barriers to healthcare access and health seeking for childhood illnesses in Burundi. Methods The study utilized data from the 2016-17 Burundi Demographic and Health […]
Why do women deliver at home? Multilevel modeling of Ethiopian national demographic and health survey data
Background: Despite of the existing intensive efforts to improve maternal health in Ethiopia, the proportion of birth delivered at home remains high and is still the top priority among the national health threats. Objective: The study aimed to examine effects of individual women and community-level factors of women’s decision on place of delivery in Ethiopia. […]
Child stunting and associated risk factors in selected food-insecure areas in Rwanda: an analytical cross-sectional study
Introduction: stunting rates among the under-five children are generally high in Rwanda. They are unexpectedly lower than the national average stunting rate in some districts where poverty rates are the highest in the country. This study aimed to ascertain the key factors that protect children from stunting in these poorest areas, where stunting rates are […]
Health system governance following devolution: Comparing experiences of decentralisation in Kenya and Indonesia
Introduction Devolution reforms in Indonesia and Kenya have brought extensive changes to governance structures and mechanisms for financing and delivering healthcare. Community health approaches can contribute towards attaining many of devolution’s objectives, including community participation, responsiveness, accountability and improved equity. We set out to examine governance in two countries at different stages in the devolution […]
Not water, sanitation and hygiene practice, but timing of stunting is associated with recovery from stunting at 24 months: Results from a multi-country birth cohort study
Objectives: To measure the role of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices on recovery from stunting and assess the role of timing of stunting on the reversal of this phenomenon Design: Data from the MAL-ED multi-country birth cohort study was used for the current analysis. Generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the probability […]
Individual and contextual factors associated with low childhood immunisation coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel analysis
Background: In 2010, more than six million children in sub-Saharan Africa did not receive the full series of three doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine by one year of age. An evidence-based approach to addressing this burden of un-immunised children requires accurate knowledge of the underlying factors. We therefore developed and tested a model of childhood […]
