Trend and factors associated with anemia among women reproductive age in Ethiopia: A multivariate decomposition analysis of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey

Background In developing countries like Ethiopia, anemia is a public health problem. Unfortunately, the progress of anemia reduction has been slow. Although the issue of anemia has received considerable critical attention nowadays, trends and factors associated with anemia among women of reproductive age have not been explored in Ethiopia. Objective This study aimed to determine […]

Evaluation of methods for linking household and health care provider data to estimate effective coverage of management of child illness: Results of a pilot study in Southern Province, Zambia

Background Existing population-based surveys have limited accuracy for estimating the coverage and quality of management of child illness. Linking household survey data with health care provider assessments has been proposed as a means of generating more informative population- level estimates of effective coverage, but methodological issues need to be addressed. Methods A 2016 survey estimated […]

Implementation of the WHO guideline on treatment of young infants with signs of possible serious bacterial infection when hospital referral is not feasible in rural Zaria, Nigeria: Challenges and solutions

Background Bacterial infection is one of the leading causes of mortality in young infants globally. The standard practice to manage young infants with any sign of possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) is in a hospital setting with parenteral antibiotics, which may not be feasible for majority of cases in most low resource settings. The World […]

Association between the quality of contraceptive counseling and method continuation: Findings from a prospective cohort study in social franchise clinics in Pakistan and Uganda

Quality of family planning counseling is likely associated with whether or not women continue to use the same contraceptive method over time. The Method Information Index (MII) is a widely available measure of contraceptive counseling quality but little is known about its association with rates of method continuation. The index ranges from 0 to 3 […]

Safety and efficacy of intermittent presumptive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine using rapid diagnostic test screening and treatment with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine at the first antenatal care visit (IPTp-SP+): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is recommended by the World Health Organization for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy (MIP)-associated adverse outcomes in high burden areas. However, the efficacy of IPTp-SP has decreased in step with increasing parasite drug resistance. Suitable alternative strategies are needed. Methods: This is a protocol […]

A macro- and micronutrient-fortified complementary food supplement reduced acute infection, improved haemoglobin and showed a dose-response effect in improving linear growth: A 12-month cluster randomised trial

Inadequate protein quality may be a risk factor for poor growth. To examine the effect of a macronutrient-micronutrient supplement KOKO Plus (KP), provided to infants from 6 to 18 months of age, on linear growth, a single-blind cluster-randomised study was implemented in Ghana. A total of thirty-eight communities were randomly allocated to receive KP (fourteen […]

Evaluation of a multi-level intervention to improve postpartum intrauterine device services in Rwanda

Background. The copper intrauterine device is one of the most safe, effective, and cost-effective methods for preventing unintended pregnancy. It can be used postpartum irrespective of breastfeeding to improve birth spacing and reduce unintended pregnancy and maternal-child mortality. However, this method remains highly underutilized. Methods. We developed a multi-level intervention to increase uptake of the […]

Implementation research on management of sick young infants with possible serious bacterial infection when referral is not possible in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia: Challenges and solutions

Introduction Of 2.5 million newborn deaths each year, serious neonatal infections are a leading cause of neonatal death for which inpatient treatment is recommended. However, manysick newborns in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia do not have access to inpatientcare. A World Health Organization (WHO) guideline recommends simplified antibiotic treatment atan outpatient level for young infants […]

Safety and immunogenicity of a parenteral trivalent P2-VP8 subunit rotavirus vaccine: a multisite, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: A monovalent, parenteral, subunit rotavirus vaccine was well tolerated and immunogenic in adults in the USA and in toddlers and infants in South Africa, but elicited poor responses against heterotypic rotavirus strains. We aimed to evaluate safety and immunogenicity of a trivalent vaccine formulation (P2-VP8-P[4],[6],[8]). Methods: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation, phase 1/2 study […]

Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Rigorous analysis of levels and trends in exposure to leading risk factors and quantification of their effect on human health are important to identify where public health is making progress and in which cases current efforts are inadequate. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a standardised and […]