Stigma as a barrier to treatment for child acute malnutrition in Marsabit County, Kenya
Acute malnutrition affects millions of children each year, yet global coverage of life-saving treatment through the community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) is estimated to be below 15%. We investigated the potential role of stigma as a barrier to accessing CMAM. We surveyed caregivers bringing children to rural health facilities in Marsabit County, Kenya, divided […]
Out-of-pocket costs and other determinants of access to healthcare for children with febrile illnesses: A case-control study in rural Tanzania
Objectives To study private costs and other determinants of access to healthcare for childhood fevers in rural Tanzania. Methods A case-control study was conducted in Tanzania to establish factors that determine access to a health facility in acute febrile illnesses in children less than 5 years of age. Carers of eligible children were interviewed in […]
Menstrual hygiene management practices and associated health outcomes among school-going adolescents in rural Gambia
Inadequate menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices have been associated with adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to describe MHM practices among schoolgirls from rural Gambia and assess risk factors associated with urogenital infections and depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent schoolgirls in thirteen schools in rural Gambia. A questionnaire was used to […]
Urban-rural difference in satisfaction with primary healthcare services in Ghana
Background: Understanding regional variation in patient satisfaction about healthcare systems (PHCs) on the quality of services provided is instrumental to improving quality and developing a patient-centered healthcare system by making it more responsive especially to the cultural aspects of health demands of a population. Reaching to the innovative National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, […]
Infant and child health status ahead of implementation of an integrated intervention to improve nutrition and survival: A cross-sectional baseline assessment
Background: Burundi has one of the poorest child health outcomes in the world. With an acute malnutrition rate of 5% and a chronic malnutrition rate of 56%, under five death is 78 per 1000 live births and 47 children for every 1000 children will live until their first birthday. In response to this grim statistics, […]
A qualitative inquiry into pregnant women’s perceptions of respectful maternity care during childbirth in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria
Women’s perceptions of respectful maternity care (RMC) are critical to its definition and measurement globally. We evaluated these in relation to globally defined RMC norms. We conducted a descriptive study involving eight focus group discussions with 50 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at one primary and one secondary health facility each in the North-west and […]
Qualitative accounts of school-aged children’s diets during the covid-19 pandemic in rural, central, kenya
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to food security in many countries, including Kenya. However, the impact of this on food provision to children at an individual level is unknown. This small study aimed to provide a qualitative snapshot of the diets of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. During completion of 24-h food recalls, with […]
Factors associated with COVID-19 infections and mortality in Africa: A cross-sectional study using publicly available data
Introduction The current COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat. This elicits questions on the level of preparedness and capacity of health systems to respond to emergencies relative to other parts of the world. Methods This cross-sectional study uses publicly available core health data for 53 African countries to determine risk factors for cumulative COVID-19 deaths […]
Examining the influence of family physician supply on district health system performance in South Africa: An ecological analysis of key health indicators
Background: The supply of appropriate health workers is a key building block in the World Health Organization’s model of effective health systems. Primary care teams are stronger if they contain doctors with postgraduate training in family medicine. The contribution of such family physicians to the performance of primary care systems has not been evaluated in […]
Nutritional and socio-economic factors associated with Plasmodium falciparum infection in children from Equatorial Guinea: Results from a nationally representative survey
Background. Malaria has traditionally been a major endemic disease in Equatorial Guinea. Although parasitaemia prevalence on the insular region has been substantially reduced by vector control in the past few years, the prevalence in the mainland remains over 50% in children younger than five years. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk […]
