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 […]
Trends and predictors of modern contraceptive use among married women: Analysis of 2000–2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys
Objectives: Accessing family planning is a key investment in reducing the broader costs of health care and can reduce a significant proportion of maternal, infant, and childhood deaths. In Ethiopia, use of modern contraceptive methods is still low but it is steadily increasing. Identifying the contributing factors to the changes in contraceptive use among women […]
The causal effect of childhood measles vaccination on educational attainment: A mother fixed-effects study in rural South Africa
Background: Because measles vaccination prevents acute measles disease and morbidities secondary to measles, such as undernutrition, blindness, and brain damage, the vaccination may also lead to higher educational attainment. However, there has been little evidence to support this hypothesis at the population level. In this study, we estimate the causal effect of childhood measles vaccination […]
Determinants of diarrhoeal diseases and height-for-age Z-scores in children under five years of age in rural central Tanzania
Introduction. Childhood diarrhoeal diseases and stunting are major health problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Poor water supply, sanitation services and hygiene, frequently encountered in resource-poor settings, contribute to childhood diarrhoea and stunting. Methods. Data on demographic characteristics, hygiene practices, sanitation and human-animal interactions (predictors) and child height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) (outcome) were collected once, […]
Stunting in infancy is associated with decreased risk of high body mass index for age at 8 and 12 years of age
Background: Effects of early-life stunting on adiposity development later in childhood are not well understood, specifically with respect to age in the onset of overweight and obesity. Objectives: We analyzed associations of infant stunting with prevalence of, incidence of, and reversion from high body mass index-for-age z score (BMIZ) later in life. We then estimated […]
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 […]
Impact of a health system strengthening intervention on maternal and child health outputs and outcomes in rural Rwanda 2005-2010
Introduction Although Rwanda’s health system underwent major reforms and improvements after the 1994 Genocide, the health system and population health in the southeast lagged behind other areas. In 2005, Partners In Health and the Rwandan Ministry of Health began a health system strengthening intervention in this region. We evaluate potential impacts of the intervention on […]
Determinants of periodontal health in pregnant women and association with infants’ anthropometric status: a prospective cohort study from Eastern Uganda
Background: Preterm-low birth weight delivery is a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality in sub Saharan Africa and has been linked to poor periodontal health during pregnancy. This study investigated predisposing and enabling factors as determinants of oral health indicators in pregnancy as well as the association between periodontal problems at 7 months gestational […]
Early infant feeding practices in three African countries: The PROMISE-EBF trial promoting exclusive breastfeeding by peer counsellors
Background: Immediate and exclusive initiation of breastfeeding after delivery has been associated with better neonatal survival and child health and are recommended by the WHO. We report its impact on early infant feeding practices from the PROMISE-EBF trial. Methods: PROMISE-EBF was a cluster randomised behaviour change intervention trial of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) promotion by peer […]
The Impact of Undernutrition on Cognition in Children with Severe Malaria and Community Children: A Prospective 2-Year Cohort Study
Background: The frequency of recovery from undernutrition after an episode of severe malaria, and the relationship between undernutrition during severe malaria and clinical and cognitive outcomes are not well characterized. Methods: We evaluated undernutrition and cognition in children in Kampala, Uganda 18 months to 5 years of age with cerebral malaria (CM), severe malarial anemia […]
