The impact of strike action by Ghana registered nurses and midwives on the access to and utilization of healthcare services

Background As the largest professional group, nurses and midwives play instrumental roles in healthcare delivery, supporting the smooth administration and operation of the health system. Consequently, the withdrawal of nursing and midwifery services via strike action has direct and indirect detrimental effects on access to healthcare. Objective The current study examined the impact of strike […]

Barriers and facilitators to health care seeking behaviours in pregnancy in rural communities of southern Mozambique

Background: In countries, such as Mozambique, where maternal mortality remains high, the greatest contribution of mortality comes from the poor and vulnerable communities, who frequently reside in remote and rural areas with limited access to health care services. This study aimed to understand women’s health care seeking practices during pregnancy, taking into account the underlying […]

What mechanisms drive uptake of family planning when integrated with childhood immunisation in Ethiopia? A realist evaluation

Background: Maternal and child health are key priorities among the Sustainable Development Goals, which include a particular focus on reducing morbidity and mortality among women of reproductive age, newborns, and children under the age of five. Two components of maternal and child health are family planning (FP) and immunisation. Providing these services through an integrated […]

Effects of responsive caregiving and learning opportunities during pre-school ages on the association of early adversities and adolescent human capital: an analysis of birth cohorts in two middle-income countries

Background: Millions of children globally are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential because of early adversities. We hypothesised that responsive caregiving and learning opportunities, components of nurturing care, at pre-school ages might mitigate the effects of adversities. Methods: We analysed longitudinal birth cohort data from Brazil (1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort, n=632) and South […]

Is it home delivery or health facility? Community perceptions on place of childbirth in rural Northwest Tanzania using a qualitative approach

Background: In low and middle-income countries, pregnancy and delivery complications may deprive women and their newborns of life or the realization of their full potential. Provision of quality obstetric emergency and childbirth care can reduce maternal and newborn deaths. Underutilization of maternal and childbirth services remains a public health concern in Tanzania. The aim of […]

Trends of Inequalities in Early Initiation of Breastfeeding in Ethiopia: Evidence from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys, 2000-2016

Background. Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) is a costless practice with numerous neonates’ survival benefits. Thus, any disparity results in an unacceptably high neonatal death rate but socioeconomic disparities on EIBF have not been well explored in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing the socioeconomic inequalities of EIBF in Ethiopia from 2000 to […]

Multilevel analysis of predictors of multiple indicators of childhood vaccination in Nigeria

Background Substantial inequalities exist in childhood vaccination coverage levels. To increase vaccine uptake, factors that predict vaccination coverage in children should be identified and addressed. Methods Using data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey and geospatial data sets, we fitted Bayesian multilevel binomial and multinomial logistic regression models to analyse independent predictors of […]

Home childbirth among young mothers aged 15-24 years in Nigeria: A national population-based cross-sectional study

Objective To estimate the prevalence and identify factors associated with home childbirth (delivery) among young mothers aged 15-24 years in Nigeria. Design A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). Setting Nigeria. Participants A total of 7543 young mothers aged 15-24 years. Outcome measure Place of delivery. Results […]

Does the implementation of UHC reforms foster greater equality in health spending? Evidence from a benefit incidence analysis in Burkina Faso

Introduction Burkina Faso is one among many countries in sub-Saharan Africa having invested in Universal Health Coverage (UHC) policies, with a number of studies have evaluated their impacts and equity impacts. Still, no evidence exists on how the distributional incidence of health spending has changed in relation to their implementation. Our study assesses changes in […]

Service delivery reform for maternal and newborn health in Kakamega County, Kenya: study protocol for a prospective impact evaluation and implementation science study

Background: Maternal and neonatal mortality remain elevated in low and middle income countries, and progress is slower than needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Existing strategies appear to be insufficient. One proposed alternative strategy, Service Delivery Redesign for Maternal and Neonatal Health (SDR), centers on strengthening higher level health facilities to provide rapid, definitive care […]