Kangaroo mother care: EN-BIRTH multi-country validation study
Background: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) reduces mortality among stable neonates ≤2000 g. Lack of data tracking coverage and quality of KMC in both surveys and routine information systems impedes scale-up. This paper evaluates KMC measurement as part of the Every Newborn Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study. Methods: The EN-BIRTH observational mixed-methods study […]
Community food beliefs during pregnancy in rural kebeles of Ofla Woreda, Northern Ethiopia: an explorative qualitative study
Background: Dietary related misconceptions during pregnancy affect the heath of mothers and their growing babies. Misconceptions vary from place to place and from community to community. Understanding of a given community’s food perceptions during pregnancy helps policy makers able to design cultural appropriate interventions. In Ethiopia, however, evidences on food beliefs and perceptions during pregnancy […]
A qualitative exploration of community ownership of a maternity waiting home model in rural zambia
Context: Ownership is an important construct of sustainability for community-based health programming, though it is often not clearly defined or measured. We implemented and evaluated a community-driven maternity waiting home (MWH) model in rural Zambia. We engaged stakeholders at all levels and provided intensive mentorship to an MWH governance committee comprised of community-selected members. We […]
Association of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection and Underlying Risk Factors for Death among Young Infants Who Died at University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka Zambia
Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections and child mortality. While RSV disease burden is highest in low- and middle-income countries, most knowledge about risk factors for fatal RSV disease comes from high-income settings. Methods: Among infants aged 4 days to
Assessment of quality of primary care with facility surveys: a descriptive analysis in ten low-income and middle-income countries
Background: Primary care has the potential to address a large proportion of people’s health needs, promote equity, and contain costs, but only if it provides high-quality health services that people want to use. 40 years after the Declaration of Alma-Ata, little is known about the quality of primary care in low-income and middle-income countries. We […]
Community health workers trained to conduct verbal autopsies provide better mortality measures than existing surveillance: Results from a cross-sectional study in rural western Uganda
Background: In much of sub-Saharan Africa, health facilities serve as the primary source of routine vital statistics. These passive surveillance systems, however, are plagued by infrequent and unreliable reporting and do not capture events that occur outside of the formal health sector. Verbal autopsies (VA) have been utilized to estimate the burden and causes of […]
Parity, dental caries and implications for maternal depletion syndrome in northern Nigerian Hausa women
Background Female reproductive history, especially high parity, affects general health and may impact negatively on oral health. While parity has been positively linked to tooth loss, the specific association between parity and caries has not been adequately investigated. Aim To determine the association between parity and caries in a population of higher parity women. Influences […]
Socio-cultural and economic barriers, and facilitators influencing men’s involvement in antenatal care including HIV testing: a qualitative study from urban Blantyre, Malawi
Background: Male partner involvement in antenatal care (ANC) is associated with positive maternal and neonatal outcomes. However, only a handful of men attend ANC with their partners. This study aimed to understand the underlying barriers and facilitators influencing men’s ANC attendance including HIV testing in Blantyre, Malawi. Methods: Data were collected during a formative qualitative […]
Essential new-born care practices and associated factors among post natal mothers in Nekemte City, Western Ethiopia
Background New-born survival is a prominent goal on the global health agenda and an important area of focus for programs seeking to ensure child survival. Geographically, neonatal deaths are most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, accounting for 39% and 38% of all neonatal deaths respectively while Ethiopia in particular has 28% neonatal death. […]
Comprehensive Knowledge of HIV among Women in Rural Mozambique: Development and Validation of the HIV Knowledge 27 Scale
Background: The relationship between HIV knowledge and HIV-related behaviors in settings like Mozambique has been limited by a lack of rigorously validated measures. Methods: A convenience sample of women seeking prenatal care at two clinics were administered an adapted, orally-administered, 27 item HIV-knowledge scale, the HK-27. Validation analyses were stratified by survey language (Portuguese and […]
