Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on provision of sexual and reproductive health services in primary health facilities in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study
Background: Nigeria, like many other countries, has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. While efforts have been devoted to curtailing the disease, a major concern has been its potential effects on the delivery and utilization of reproductive health care services in the country. The objective of the study was to investigate the extent to […]
Readiness of health facilities to provide safe childbirth in Liberia: a cross-sectional analysis of population surveys, facility censuses and facility birth records
Background: The provision of quality obstetric care in health facilities is central to reducing maternal mortality, but simply increasing childbirth in facilities not enough, with evidence that many facilities in sub-Saharan Africa do not fulfil even basic requirements for safe childbirth care. There is ongoing debate on whether to recommend a policy of birth in […]
MOSAIC (MOthers’ AdvocateS In the Community) for pregnant women and mothers of children under 5 with experience of intimate partner violence: A pilot randomized trial study protocol
Background Pregnancy and motherhood increase the risk for long-term exposure to physical, psychological and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV; sexual or physical violence by current or former partners). Pregnant women and mothers with children under 5 who have experienced IPV exhibit poor physical and mental health and obstetric outcomes. Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) […]
Maternal health care visits as predictors of contraceptive use among childbearing women in a medically underserved state in Nigeria
Background: Health care visits during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth may be crucial in expanding the uptake of contraceptive care in resource-poor settings. However, little is known about how health care visits influence the uptake of modern contraception in Nigeria. The focus of this paper was to examine how health care visits influence the use […]
Mapping geographical inequalities in childhood diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17: Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
Background Across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), one in ten deaths in children younger than 5 years is attributable to diarrhoea. The substantial between-country variation in both diarrhoea incidence and mortality is attributable to interventions that protect children, prevent infection, and treat disease. Identifying subnational regions with the highest burden and mapping associated risk factors […]
Association of maternal characteristics with child feeding indicators and nutritional status of children under-two years in Rural Ghana
Background: Optimal nutrition during the first two years of a child’s life is critical for the reduction of morbidity and mortality. In Ghana, majority of children miss out on optimal nutrition and only few (13%) of children receive a Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD). Several studies have investigated the influence of community-level factors on infants and […]
Costs associated with implementation of computer-assisted clinical decision support system for antenatal and delivery care: Case study of Kassena-Nankana district of northern Ghana
Objective: This study analyzed cost of implementing computer-assisted Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) in selected health care centres in Ghana. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in the Kassena-Nankana district (KND). CDSS was deployed in selected health centres in KND as an intervention to manage patients attending antenatal clinics and the labour ward. […]
Community health worker knowledge and management of pre-eclampsia in southern Mozambique
Background: Mozambique has drastically improved an array of health indicators in recent years, including maternal mortality rates which decreased 63 % from 1990-2013 but the rates still high. Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia constitute the third major cause of maternal death in the country. Women in rural areas, with limited access to health facilities are at greatest […]
Cost-effectiveness of broadly neutralizing antibody prophylaxis for HIV-exposed infants in sub-Saharan African settings
Introduction: Infant HIV prophylaxis with broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies (bNAbs) could provide long-acting protection against vertical transmission. We sought to estimate the potential clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of hypothetical bNAb prophylaxis programmes for children known to be HIV exposed at birth in three sub-Saharan African settings. Methods: We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using the CEPAC-Pediatric […]
Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on stunting and anaemia among HIV-exposed children in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised controlled trial
Background: Children exposed to HIV have a high prevalence of stunting and anaemia. We aimed to test the effect of improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) on child linear growth and haemoglobin concentrations. Methods: We did a cluster randomised 2 × 2 factorial trial in two districts […]
