Learn, Engage, Act, Dedicate (LEAD): development and feasibility testing of a task-shifted intervention to improve alcohol use, depression and family engagement for fathers

Background: Men’s depression, alcohol use, and family problems commonly co-occur to create of cluster of mental health problems. Yet, few treatments exist to address these problems, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper describes the development and initial feasibility and acceptability of a novel task-shifted intervention to address this cluster of men’s mental […]

Determinants of healthcare seeking and out-of-pocket expenditures in a “free” healthcare system: Evidence from rural Malawi

Background: Monitoring financial protection is a key component in achieving Universal Health Coverage, even for health systems that grant their citizens access to care free-of-charge. Our study investigated out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on curative healthcare services and their determinants in rural Malawi, a country that has consistently aimed at providing free healthcare services. Methods: Our study […]

An integrated infant and young child feeding and small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo is associated with improvements in breastfeeding and handwashing behaviours but not dietary diversity

Integrating small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) into infant and young child feeding (IYCF) programmes can increase consumption of essential nutrients among children in vulnerable populations; however, few studies have assessed the impact of integrated IYCF–SQ-LNS programmes on IYCF practices. A 2-year, enhanced IYCF intervention targeting pregnant women and infants (0–12 months) was implemented in a health […]

Toward improving respectful maternity care: A discrete choice experiment with rural women in northeast Nigeria

Introduction There is a limited understanding of the importance of respectful maternity care on utilisation of maternal and newborn health services. This study aimed to determine how specific hypothetical facility birth experience of care attributes influenced rural Nigerian women’s stated preferences for hypothetical place of delivery. Methods Attributes were identified through a comprehensive review of […]

Animal source food consumption in young children from four regions of ethiopia: Association with religion, livelihood, and participation in the productive safety net program

Introduction: Child undernutrition remains a challenge globally and in the geographically diverse country of Ethiopia. Improving dietary diversity and consumption of animal source foods are important for improving child nutrition and corresponding health outcomes. Objective: The objective of the study was to identify household and community factors associated with consumption of animal source foods among […]

Implementing performance-based financing in peripheral health centres in Mali: What can we learn from it?

Introduction: Numerous sub-Saharan African countries have experimented with performance-based financing (PBF) with the goal of improving health system performance. To date, few articles have examined the implementation of this type of complex intervention in Francophone West Africa. This qualitative research aims to understand the process of implementing a PBF pilot project in Mali’s Koulikoro region. […]

Spending on health and HIV/AIDS: domestic health spending and development assistance in 188 countries, 1995–2015

Background: Comparable estimates of health spending are crucial for the assessment of health systems and to optimally deploy health resources. The methods used to track health spending continue to evolve, but little is known about the distribution of spending across diseases. We developed improved estimates of health spending by source, including development assistance for health, […]

Economic evaluation of provision of postpartum intrauterine device services in Bangladesh and Tanzania

Introduction: Postpartum family planning is an effective means of achieving improved health outcomes for women and children, especially in low- and middle-income settings. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of an immediate postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUD) initiative compared with standard practice in Bangladesh and Tanzania (which is no immediate postpartum family planning counseling or service provision) to […]

Assessing the impact of group antenatal care on gestational length in Rwanda: A cluster-randomized trial

Background Research on group antenatal care in low- and middle-income contexts suggests high acceptability and preliminary implementation success. Methods We studied the effect of group antenatal care on gestational age at birth among women in Rwanda, hypothesizing that participation would increase mean gestational length. For this unblinded cluster randomized trial, 36 health centers were pair-matched […]

Bayesian Spatiotemporal Modeling of Routinely Collected Data to Assess the Effect of Health Programs in Malaria Incidence During Pregnancy in Burkina Faso

Control of malaria in pregnancy (MiP) remains a major challenge in Burkina Faso. Surveillance of the burden due to MiP based on routinely collected data at a fine-scale level, followed by an appropriate analysis and interpretation, may be crucial for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of existing control measures. We described the spatio-temporal dynamics of MiP […]