Pregnant women and health workers’ perspectives on perinatal mental health and intimate partner violence in rural Ethiopia: a qualitative interview study
Background: Mental health conditions are common during the perinatal period and associated with maternal, foetal, and neonatal morbidity and mortality. There is an established bidirectional relationship between mental health conditions and intimate partner violence (IPV), including during and after pregnancy. Mean lifetime prevalence of physical, sexual or emotional IPV exposure among women in rural Ethiopia […]
Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and associated risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Mulago Hospital, Uganda: a cross-sectional study
AIM: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Mulago Hospital. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda, antenatal clinic. PARTICIPANTS: We randomly selected 340 pregnant women attending their first antenatal visit at Mulago Hospital antenatal clinic. PRIMARY OUTCOME: Hepatitis B […]
Factors associated with modern contraceptive demands satisfied among currently married/in-union women of reproductive age in Ethiopia: A multilevel analysis of the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey
Objectives Regardless of the local and international initiatives, excluding exempting services, demand satisfied for contraceptives remains low in Ethiopia. This circumstance is supposed to be attributed to different level factors; however, most were not well addressed in the previous studies. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the magnitude and individual, household and community-level factors associated […]
Burden of mortality linked to community-nominated priorities in rural South Africa
Background: Community knowledge is a critical input for relevant health programmes and strategies. How community perceptions of risk reflect the burden of mortality is poorly understood. Objective: To determine the burden of mortality reflecting community-nominated health risk factors in rural South Africa, where a complex health transition is underway. Methods: Three discussion groups (total 48 […]
Prevalence of and factors associated with antenatal care seeking and adherence to recommended iron-folic acid supplementation among pregnant women in Zinder, Niger
The World Health Organization recommends iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation for pregnant women. The high prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in Niger warrants better understanding of the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) and IFA. We aimed to assess the prevalence of and factors associated with ANC coverage and adherence to IFA recommendation among […]
“I Don’t Know where I Have to Knock for Support”: A Mixed-Methods Study on Perceptions and Experiences of Single Mothers Raising Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Introduction and Objectives: It is well-documented that single mothers in sub-Saharan Africa face unique psychosocial challenges which can lead to child health and developmental disadvantages, often impacting life trajectories for both the mother and child. Years of instability, conflict, and widespread poor governance within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have resulted in magnified challenges […]
The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on Ghanaian infants’ response to the Still Face Task: Comparison between Ghanaian and Canadian mother-infant dyads
The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on Ghanaian infants’ developing social expectations for maternal behavior was investigated. Infants with high and low mother-infant skin-to-skin contact experience in the infants’ first month engaged with their mothers in a Still Face Task at 6 weeks of age. Infants with high skin-to-skin contact experience, but not those with […]
Community-level effect of the reproductive health vouchers program on out-of-pocket spending on family planning and safe motherhood services in Kenya
Background: Although vouchers can protect individuals in low-income countries from financial catastrophe and impoverishment arising from out-of-pocket expenditures on healthcare, their effectiveness in achieving this goal depends on whether both service and transport costs are subsidized as well as other factors such as service availability in a given locality and community perceptions about the quality […]
Maternal Exposure to Acephate Caused Nephrotoxicity in Adult Offspring Rats Mediated by Excessive Autophagy Activation, Oxidative Stress Induction, and Altered Epithelial Sodium Channel and Na+/K+-ATPase Gene Expression
This study examined how maternal exposure to acephate—an organophosphate-based insecticide—affected the renal development in rat offspring during adulthood. Virgin female Wistar rats were randomly allocated to three groups: group 1 (control) received sterile water; groups 2 and 3 were intragastrically exposed to low (14 mg/kg) and high (28 mg/kg) doses of acephate from day 6 […]
Investigating mediators of the poor pneumonia outcomes of human immunodeficiency virus–exposed but uninfected children
Background. Human immunodeficiency virus–exposed but uninfected (HIV-EU) children have a higher mortality rate than the children of HIV-negative mothers (HIV-unexposed). Causal mediators of the poor health outcomes of HIV-EU children remain poorly defined. Methods. We conducted a hospital-based prospective cohort study of children aged 1 to 23 months with clinically defined pneumonia. The children were […]
