Factors associated with prelacteal feeding practices in Debre Berhan district, North Shoa, Central Ethiopia: A cross-sectional, community-based study

Background: Prelacteal feeding is one of the major harmful newborn feeding practices and is top on the list of global public health concerns. The practice deprives newborns of valuable nutrients and protection of colostrum and exposes them to preventable morbidity and mortality. Studying the prevalence and factors influencing the prelacteal feeding practice of mothers will […]

Incentives for mothers, health workers and “boda–boda” riders to improve community-based referral process and deliveries in the rural community: a case of Busoga Region in Uganda

Background: This study set out to investigate how incentives for mothers, health workers and boda–boda riders can improve the community-based referral process and deliveries in the rural community of Busoga region in Uganda. Both the monetary and non-monetary incentives have been instrumental in the improvement of deliveries at health centres. Methods: The study was a […]

Under nutrition, maternal anemia and household food insecurity are risk factors of anemia among preschool aged children in Menz Gera Midir district, Eastern Amhara, Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study

Background: In Ethiopian, the prevalence of anemia among preschool aged children widely varied across regions. Since anemia adversely affects the cognitive and physical development of the children, it is important to determine its burden for implementing appropriate measurements. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the anemia prevalence and associated factors among preschool aged children. […]

A human centred approach to digital technologies in health care delivery among mothers, children and adolescents

Background:: Healthcare outcomes in child, adolescent and maternal in Tanzania are poor, and mostly characterised by fragmentary service provision. In order to address this weakness, digital technologies are sought to be integrated in the milieu of health as they present vast opportunities especially in the ability to improve health information management and coordination. Prior to […]

Risk factors and practices contributing to newborn sepsis in a rural district of Eastern Uganda, August 2013: A cross sectional study

Background: In Uganda, newborn deaths constituted over 38 % of all infant deaths in 2010. Despite different mitigation interventions over years, the newborn mortality rate is high at 27/1,000 and newborn sepsis contributes to 31 % of that mortality. Therefore, improved strategies that contribute to reduction of newborn sepsis need to be developed and implemented. […]

Relationship between agricultural biodiversity and dietary diversity of children aged 6-36 months in rural areas of northern Ghana

In this study, we investigated the relationship between agricultural biodiversity and dietary diversity of children and whether factors such as economic access may affect this relationship. This paper is based on data collected in a baseline cross-sectional survey in November 2013. The study population comprising 1200 mother-child pairs was selected using a two-stage cluster sampling. […]

Detecting tuberculosis in pregnant and postpartum women in Eswatini

Background: Tuberculosis diagnosis in pregnancy is complex because tuberculosis symptoms are often masked by physiological symptoms of pregnancy. Untreated tuberculosis in pregnant and postpartum women may lead to maternal morbidity and low birth weight. Tuberculosis in HIV-positive pregnant women increases the risk of maternal and infant mortality. Objective: This study aimed to determine tuberculosis prevalence […]

Integrating HIV, syphilis, malaria and anaemia point-of-care testing (POCT) for antenatal care at dispensaries in western Kenya: Discrete-event simulation modelling of operational impact

Background: Despite WHO advocating for an integrated approach to antenatal care (ANC), testing coverage for conditions other than HIV remains low and women are referred to distant laboratories for testing. Using point-of-care tests (POCTs) at peripheral dispensaries could improve access to testing and timely treatment. However, the effect of providing additional services on nurse workload […]

Iodine status of pregnant women living in urban Johannesburg, South Africa

Adequate intake of iodine is important during pregnancy because of its essential role in foetal growth and neurodevelopment. Data on iodine status of South African pregnant women are scarce, and the salt reduction policy implemented in 2016 may decrease iodine intake of South Africans. This cross-sectional study assessed the iodine status of pregnant women residing […]