Exploring primary healthcare practitioners’ experiences regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly around the world since the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, South Africa is presently the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Healthcare workers have been at the forefront of the pandemic in terms of screening, early detection […]
Evaluating the cascade of care for hypertension in Sierra Leone
Objective: To assess the care for hypertension in Sierra Leone, by the use of a cascade-of-care approach, to identify where the need for healthcare system interventions is greatest. Methods: Using data from a nationwide household survey on surgical conditions undertaken in 1956 participants ≥18 years from October 2019 to March 2020, a cascade of care for […]
Setting up a nurse-led model of care for management of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a high HIV prevalence context in rural Zimbabwe: A descriptive study
Background: In the light of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on health systems in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, context-adapted, cost-effective service delivery models are now required as a matter of urgency. We describe the experience of setting up and organising a nurse-led Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Hypertension (HTN) model […]
Infant and child health status ahead of implementation of an integrated intervention to improve nutrition and survival: A cross-sectional baseline assessment
Background: Burundi has one of the poorest child health outcomes in the world. With an acute malnutrition rate of 5% and a chronic malnutrition rate of 56%, under five death is 78 per 1000 live births and 47 children for every 1000 children will live until their first birthday. In response to this grim statistics, […]
Mortality transition over a quarter century in rural South Africa: findings from population surveillance in Agincourt 1993-2018
Background: Mortality burden in South Africa since the mid-1990s has been characterized by a quadruple disease burden: HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB); other communicable diseases (excluding HIV/AIDS and TB), maternal causes, perinatal conditions and nutritional deficiencies; non-communicable diseases (NCDs); and injuries. Causes from these broad groupings have persistently constituted the top 10 causes of death. However, […]
Qualitative accounts of school-aged children’s diets during the covid-19 pandemic in rural, central, kenya
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to food security in many countries, including Kenya. However, the impact of this on food provision to children at an individual level is unknown. This small study aimed to provide a qualitative snapshot of the diets of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. During completion of 24-h food recalls, with […]
Factors associated with COVID-19 infections and mortality in Africa: A cross-sectional study using publicly available data
Introduction The current COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat. This elicits questions on the level of preparedness and capacity of health systems to respond to emergencies relative to other parts of the world. Methods This cross-sectional study uses publicly available core health data for 53 African countries to determine risk factors for cumulative COVID-19 deaths […]
Medicinal plants used among pregnant women in a tertiary teaching hospital in Jimma, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Objective The aim of this study was to investigate and describe the use of medicinal plants during pregnancy among women admitted in the Maternity and Gynaecology wards at Jimma University Medical Centre (JUMC) in the southwest Ethiopia. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Maternity and Gynaecology wards at JUMC. Participants 1117 hospitalised pregnant women or postpartum women. […]
Determinants of facility readiness for integration of family planning with HIV testing and counseling services: Evidence from the Tanzania service provision assessment survey, 2014-2015
Background: Global policy reports, national frameworks, and programmatic tools and guidance emphasize the integration of family planning and HIV testing and counseling services to ensure universal access to reproductive health care and HIV prevention. However, the status of integration between these two services in Tanzanian health facilities is unclear. This study examined determinants of facility […]
Measuring progress from 1990 to 2017 and projecting attainment to 2030 of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
Background: Efforts to establish the 2015 baseline and monitor early implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight both great potential for and threats to improving health by 2030. To fully deliver on the SDG aim of “leaving no one behind”, it is increasingly important to examine the health-related SDGs beyond national-level estimates. As […]
