Individual-, household-, and community-level factors associated with eight or more antenatal care contacts in Nigeria: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey

Introduction Antenatal care (ANC) is a vital mechanism for women to obtain close attention during pregnancy and prevent death-related issues. Moreover, it improves the involvement of women in the continuum of health care and to survive high-risk pregnancies. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of and identify the associated factors of eight or […]

Effects of women’s groups practising participatory learning and action on preventive and care-seeking behaviours to reduce neonatal mortality: A meta-analysis of cluster-randomised trials

Background: The World Health Organization recommends participatory learning and action (PLA) in women’s groups to improve maternal and newborn health, particularly in rural settings with low access to health services. There have been calls to understand the pathways through which this community intervention may affect neonatal mortality. We examined the effect of women’s groups on […]

Mind the gap: what explains the rural-nonrural inequality in diarrhoea among under-five children in low and medium-income countries? A decomposition analysis

Background: Diarrhoea poses serious health problems among under-five children (U5C) in Low-and Medium-Income Countries (LMIC) with a higher prevalence in rural areas. A gap exists in knowledge on factors driving rural-non-rural inequalities in diarrhoea development among U5C in LMIC. This study investigates the magnitude of rural-non-rural inequalities in diarrhoea and the roles of individual-level and […]

Assessing delivery practices of mothers over time and over space in Uganda, 2003-2012

Background: It is well known that safe delivery in a health facility reduces the risks of maternal and infant mortality resulting from perinatal complications. What is less understood are the factors associated with safe delivery practices. We investigate factors influencing health facility delivery practices while adjusting for multiple other factors simultaneously, spatial heterogeneity, and trends […]

Tracking progress in anthropometric failure among under-five children in Ethiopia: a geospatial and multilevel analysis

Background: Undernutrition is a major public health concern among under-five children in many developing countries. This work evaluated the overall prevalence of under-nutrition by using a composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF), which helps in the detection of children with multiple anthropometric failures. This research also includes the Spatio-temporal distribution of childhood anthropometric failures across […]

Uptake of intermittent preventive treatment and pregnancy outcomes: Health facilities and community surveys in Chókwè district, southern Mozambique

Background: Malaria in pregnancy leads to serious adverse effects on the mother and the child and accounts for 75,000-200,000 infant deaths every year. Currently, the World Health Organization recommends intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) at each scheduled antenatal care (ANC) visit. This study aimed to assess IPTp-SP coverage in […]

Eliciting women’s preferences for place of child birth at a peri-urban setting in Nairobi, Kenya: A discrete choice experiment

Objective Maternal and newborn mortality rates are high in peri-urban areas in cities in Kenya, yet little is known about what drives women’s decisions on where to deliver. This study aimed at understanding women’s preferences on place of childbirth and how sociodemographic factors shape these preferences. Methods This study used a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) […]

Household and maternal risk factors for malaria in pregnancy in a highly endemic area of Uganda: A prospective cohort study

Background: Malaria in pregnancy is a major public health challenge, but its risk factors remain poorly understood in some settings. This study assessed the association between household and maternal characteristics and malaria among pregnant women in a high transmission area of Uganda. Methods: A nested prospective study was conducted between 6th September 2016 and 5th […]

Prevalence and predictors of uterine rupture among Ethiopian women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Uterine rupture has a significant public health importance, contributing to 13% of maternal mortality and 74%-92% of perinatal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 36% of maternal mortality in Ethiopia. The prevalence and predictors of uterine rupture were highly variable and inconclusive across studies in the country. Therefore, this systematic review and metaanalysis aimed to […]

Inpatient point-of-care HIV early infant diagnosis in Mozambique to improve case identification and linkage to antiretroviral therapy

Introduction: Novel approaches to case identification and linkage to antiretroviral therapy (ART) are needed to close gaps in early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV. Point-of-care (POC) EID is a recent innovation that eliminates the long turnaround times of conventional EID that limit patient management in the inpatient setting. The initial deployment of POC EID in […]