Protocol for a feasibility randomised control trial for continuous glucose monitoring in patients with type 1 diabetes at first-level hospitals in rural Malawi
Introduction The majority of people living with type 1 diabetes (PLWT1D) struggle to access high-quality care in low-income countries (LICs), and lack access to technologies, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), that are considered standard of care in high resource settings. To our knowledge, there are no studies in the literature describing the feasibility or effectiveness […]
Women’s empowerment, intrahousehold influences, and health system design on modern contraceptive use in rural Mali: a multilevel analysis of cross-sectional survey data
Background: Persistent challenges in meeting reproductive health and family planning goals underscore the value in determining what factors can be leveraged to facilitate modern contraceptive use, especially in poor access settings. In Mali, where only 15% of reproductive-aged women use modern contraception, understanding how women’s realities and health system design influence contraceptive use helps to […]
Suicide attempts and behavioral correlates among a nationally representative sample of school-attending adolescents in the Republic of Malawi
Background: Suicide is among the top causes of adolescent mortality worldwide. While correlates of suicidal behavior are better understood and delineated in upper-income countries, epidemiologic knowledge of suicidal behavior in low-income countries remains scant, particularly in the African continent. The present study sought to add to the epidemiologic literature on suicidal behavior in Africa by […]
Maternal Time Use Drives Suboptimal Complementary Feeding Practices in the El Niño-Affected Eastern Ethiopia Community
Ethiopia is affected by recurrent drought and food-insecurity crises, including El Niño. El Niño started in mid-2014, worsened in 2015, and continued in 2016, leading to a widespread food-insecurity emergency resulting in a surge in the rate of acute malnutrition in infants due to suboptimal feeding practices. This study explored how El Niño influenced complementary […]
Risk factors for delay in age-appropriate vaccinations among Gambian children
Background: Vaccination has been shown to reduce mortality and morbidity due to vaccine-preventable diseases. However, these diseases are still responsible for majority of childhood deaths worldwide especially in the developing countries. This may be due to low vaccine coverage or delay in receipt of age-appropriate vaccines. We studied the timeliness of routine vaccinations among children […]
Dirty and 40 days in the wilderness: Eliciting childbirth and postnatal cultural practices and beliefs in Nepal
Background: Pregnancy and childbirth are socio-cultural events that carry varying meanings across different societies and cultures. These are often translated into social expectations of what a particular society expects women to do (or not to do) during pregnancy, birth and/or the postnatal period. This paper reports a study exploring beliefs around childbirth in Nepal, a […]
The Mentor-Mothers program in the Nigeria Department of Defense: policies, processes, and implementation
Background: Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and is one of the countries with the highest rates of new pediatric infections in sub-Saharan Africa. The country faces several challenges in the provision of healthcare services and coverage of Prevention of Mother to child transmission of HIV. In the Nigeria’s Department of […]
Pathways of care for HIV infected children in Beira, Mozambique: Pre-post intervention study to assess impact of task shifting
Background: In 2013, Mozambique implemented task-shifting (TS) from clinical officers to maternal and child nurses to improve care for HIV positive children < 5 years old. A retrospective, pre-post intervention study was designed to evaluate effectiveness of a new pathway of care in a sample of Beira District Local Health Facilities (LHFs), the primary, local, […]
Assessment of non-financial incentives for volunteer community health workers – the case of Wukro district, Tigray, Ethiopia
Background: Volunteer community health workers (VCHW) are health care providers who are trained but do not have any professional certification. They are intended to fill the gap for unmet curative, preventative, and health promotion health needs of communities. This study aims to investigate the non-financial incentives for VCHWs and factors affecting their motivation.Methods: A cross-sectional […]
Essential newborn care practices in Zambia
Neonatal mortality remains high in Zambia and is declining slower than infant and under five mortality. Improved adoption of essential newborn care (ENC) could help mitigate this situation. To determine the adoption of ENC practices in Zambia, cross-sectional data was used to assess ENC practices including baby kept warm, umbilical cord care and breastfeeding. Chi-square […]
