Factors influencing men’s involvement in antenatal care services: A cross-sectional study in a low resource setting, Central Tanzania
Background: Men’s involvement can impact the delays in the decision to seek health care and in reaching a health facility, which are contributing causes for increased maternal mortality. Despite of the call to involve men in antenatal care, their participation is not well understood. This study aimed to determine the level of men’s involvement in […]
Effect of community-based health insurance on healthcare-seeking behavior for childhood illnesses among rural mothers in Aneded district, east Gojjam zone, Amhara region, northwest Ethiopia
Background: Community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes have been implemented in developing countries to facilitate modern medical care access. However, studies conducted on the effect of CBHI on healthcare-seeking behavior (HSB) have been limited and revealed inconsistent results. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effect of CBHI on mothers’ HSB for common under-five childhood illnesses. […]
Adolescent and adult first time mothers’ health seeking practices during pregnancy and early motherhood in Wakiso district, central Uganda
Background: Maternal health services have a potentially critical role in the improvement of reproductive health. In order to get a better understanding of adolescent mothers’needs we compared health seeking practices of first time adolescent and adult mothers during pregnancy and early motherhood in Wakiso district, Uganda. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between May […]
Is a woman’s first pregnancy outcome related to her years of schooling? An assessment of women’s adolescent pregnancy outcomes and subsequent educational attainment in Ghana
Background: Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing pose challenges to young women’s educational attainment. Studies show that while adolescent childbearing reduces educational attainment, not becoming pregnant and resorting to induced abortion when pregnant increases women’s educational levels. This study examined relationships between adolescents’ resolution of their first pregnancies and subsequent educational outcomes, for all women ages 20-49 […]
Factors associated with delivery outside a health facility: Cross-sectional study in rural Malawi
Objective: To identify factors associated with delivery outside a health facility in rural Malawi. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Balaka, Dedza, Mchinji and Ntcheu districts in Malawi in 2013 among women who had completed a pregnancy 12 months prior to the day of the survey. Multilevel logistic regression was used to assess factors associated […]
Experiences of frontline nurses with adverse medical events in a regional referral hospital in northern Ghana: A cross-sectional study
Background: Adverse medical events (AMEs) are threats to delivery of quality healthcare services, particularly in resource-poor settings such as Ghana. In sub-Saharan Africa, 30% of deaths are attributed to AMEs and a significant proportion of these events are not reported. This study explored personal experiences of nurses with AMEs and the constraints to reporting them. […]
Community attitudes and gendered influences on decision making around contraceptive implant use in rural Papua New Guinea
Background: Despite targeted interventions to improve contraceptive implant acceptability and uptake in rural Papua New Guinea (PNG), ongoing use of this method remains limited. Previous literature has suggested community attitudes and intrinsic factors within the decision-making process may be negatively impacting on implant uptake, however these elements have not previously been studied in detail in […]
Health system, socio-cultural, economic, environmental and individual factors influencing bed net use in the prevention of malaria in pregnancy in two Ghanaian regions
Background: Improving maternal health remains a priority to the Ghanaian government. Consequently, it has implemented the World Health Organization recommendation of distributing free long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to pregnant women-one of the effective strategies to combating malaria in pregnancy. However, the burden of negative outcomes of malaria in pregnancy such as low birth weight and […]
Reducing routine vaccination dropout rates: Evaluating two interventions in three Kenyan districts, 2014
Background: Globally, vaccine preventable diseases are responsible for nearly 20 % of deaths annually among children
Factors affecting malnutrition in children and the uptake of interventions to prevent the condition
Background: Malnutrition is a major cause of child morbidity and mortality. There are several interventions to prevent the condition but it is unclear how well they are taken up by both malnourished and well nourished children and their mothers and the extent to which this is influenced by socio-economic factors. We examined socio-economic factors, health […]
