Family planning use and fertility desires among women living with HIV in Kenya Global health
Background: Enabling women living with HIV to effectively plan whether and when to become pregnant is an essential right; effective prevention of unintended pregnancies is also critical to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality as well as vertical transmission of HIV. The objective of this study is to examine the use of family planning (FP) services […]
The Etiology of Pneumonia in HIV-infected Zambian Children: Findings From the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) Study
BACKGROUND: Despite recent declines in new pediatric HIV infections and childhood HIV-related deaths, pneumonia remains the leading cause of death in HIV-infected children under 5. We describe the patient population, etiology and outcomes of childhood pneumonia in Zambian HIV-infected children. METHODS: As one of the 9 sites for the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health […]
Cost of malaria treatment and health seeking behaviour of children under-five years in the Upper West Region of Ghana
Background There is limited knowledge on cost of treating malaria in children under-five years in northern Ghana which poses a challenge in determining whether interventions such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) have reduced the economic burden of malaria to households or not. This study examined the […]
Scaled-up nutrition education on pulse-cereal complementary food practice in Ethiopia: A cluster-randomized trial
Background: Improving children’s weight status through nutrition education (NE) for mothers about using pulses in complementary feeding has been demonstrated in pilot studies, but no effect on stunting was reported. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a 9-month pulse-nutrition education program on improving mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards […]
The introduction of new policies and strategies to reduce inequities and improve child health in Kenya: A country case study on progress in child survival, 2000-2013
As of 2015, only 12 countries in the World Health Organization’s AFRO region had met Millennium Development Goal #4 (MDG#4) to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Given the variability across the African region, a four-country study was undertaken to examine barriers and facilitators of child survival prior to 2015. Kenya was one of […]
Implementation and outcomes of a comprehensive emergency care curriculum at a low-resource referral hospital in Liberia: A novel approach to application of the WHO Basic Emergency Care toolkit
Background Emergency care is vital in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) but many frontline healthcare workers in low-resource settings have no formal training in emergency care. To address this gap, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed Basic Emergency Care (BEC): Approach to the acutely ill and injured, a multi-day, open-source course for healthcare workers in […]
Five-year retention of volunteer community health workers in rural Uganda: a population-based retrospective cohort
Community health workers (CHWs) effectively improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) outcomes in low-to-middle-income countries. However, CHW retention remains a challenge. This retrospective registry analysis evaluated medium-term retention of volunteer CHWs in two rural Ugandan districts, trained during a district-wide MNCH initiative. From 2012 to 2014, the Healthy Child Uganda partnership facilitated district-led CHW […]
Risk factors for vaginal fistula symptoms in Sub-Saharan Africa: A pooled analysis of national household survey data
Background: Vaginal fistula (VF) is one of the most severe maternal morbidities with the immediate consequence of chronic urinary and/or fecal incontinence. The epidemiological evidence regarding risk factors for VF is dominated by facility-based studies. Our aim is to estimate the effect size of selected risk factors for VF using population-based survey data. Methods: We […]
An Exploration of the Unintended Consequences of Performance-Based Financing in 6 Primary Healthcare Facilities in Burkina Faso
Background: Performance-based financing (PBF) is promoted to improve the quality and quantity of healthcare services in low-income countries. Despite the complexity of the intervention, little attention has been given to studying its unintended consequences. Our objective is to increase evidence on the unintended consequences of PBF in Burkina Faso. Methods: Using the diffusion of innovations […]
Barriers and enablers to emergency obstetric and newborn care services use in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative case study
Background: Globally, 11.4 million untreated obstetric complications did not receive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) services yearly, with the highest burden in low and middle-income countries. Half of the Ethiopian women with obstetric complications did not receive EmONC services. However, essential aspects of the problem have not been assessed in depth. This study, therefore, […]
