Access to urban acute care services in high- vs. middle-income countries: An analysis of seven cities
Purpose: Cities are expanding rapidly in middle-income countries, but their supply of acute care services is unknown. We measured acute care services supply in seven cities of diverse economic background. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we compared cities from two high-income (Boston, USA and Paris, France), three upper-middle-income (Bogota, Colombia; Recife, Brazil; and Liaocheng, China), […]
Adherence to the recommended timing of focused antenatal care in the accra metropolitan area, Ghana
Introduction: the proportion of antenatal attendants in Ghana who had at least four antenatal visits increased from 78% in 2008 to 87% in 2014. However, it is not known whether these visits followed the recommended timing of focused antenatal clinic attendance in Ghana. We sought to assess the adherence to the clinic schedule and its […]
Poor newborn care practices – a population based survey in eastern Uganda
Background: Four million neonatal deaths are estimated to occur each year and almost all in low income countries, especially among the poorest. There is a paucity of data on newborn health from sub-Saharan Africa and few studies have assessed inequity in uptake of newborn care practices. We assessed socioeconomic differences in use of newborn care […]
The prevalence and risk factors for acute respiratory infections in children aged 0-59 months in rural Malawi: A cross-sectional study
Background: Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) are a leading cause of childhood mortality and morbidity. Malawi has high childhood mortality but limited data on the prevalence of disease in the community. Methods: A cross-sectional study of children aged 0-59 months. Health passports were examined for ARI diagnoses in the preceding 12 months. Children were physically examined for malnutrition […]
A multilevel analysis of factors associated with teenage pregnancy in ethiopia
Background: A significant number of girls in Ethiopia begin childbearing at an early age. Teenage pregnancy is the main contributor to maternal and child morbidity and mortality, and the vicious cycle of ill-health and poverty. However limited evidence exists about individual-and community-level factors affecting teenage pregnancy in Ethiopia. Methods: This study used data from the […]
Determining staffing needs for improving primary health care service delivery in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Background: The equitable distribution of a skilled health workforce is critical to health service delivery. Kaduna state has taken significant steps to revamp the primary health care system to ensure access to health care for its populace. However, these investments are yet to yield the desired outcomes due to health workforce shortages and the inequitable […]
The stuff that dreams are made of: HIV-positive adolescents’ aspirations for development: HIV-positive
Background: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commit to strengthening collaborations between governments and civil society. Adolescents are among the key target populations for global development initiatives, but research studies and programmes rarely include their direct perspectives on how to promote health and wellbeing. This article explores how both the methods and the findings of participatory […]
Opening the ‘implementation black-box’ of the user fee exemption policy for caesarean section in Benin: A realist evaluation
To improve access to maternal health services, Benin introduced in 2009 a user fee exemption policy for caesarean sections. Similar to other low- and middle-income countries, its implementation showed mixed results. Our study aimed at understanding why and in which circumstances the implementation of this policy in hospitals succeeded or failed. We adopted the realist […]
Initiating a participatory action research process in the Agincourt health and socio- demographic surveillance site
Background Despite progressive health policy, disease burdens in South Africa remain patterned by deeply entrenched social inequalities. Accounting for the relationships between context, health and risk can provide important information for equitable service delivery. The aims of the research were to initiate a participatory research process with communities in a low income setting and produce […]
The impact of integrated nutrition-sensitive interventions on nutrition and health of children and women in rural Tanzania: Study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Background: Nutrition-sensitive interventions such as homestead production of diverse, nutrient-rich foods, coupled with behavior change communication, may have positive effects on the nutritional status and health of rural households engaged in agriculture, particularly among women and young children. Engagement of agriculture and health extension workers in these communities may be an effective way of delivering […]
