Socioeconomic inequalities in teenage pregnancy in Nigeria: evidence from Demographic Health Survey
Background: Despite the high rate of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria and host of negative medical, social and economic consequences that are associated with the problem, relatively few studies have examined socioeconomic inequality in teenage pregnancy. Understanding the key factors associated with socioeconomic inequality in teenage pregnancy is essential in designing effective policies for teenage pregnancy […]
A multilevel analysis of factors associated with teenage pregnancy in ethiopia
Background: A significant number of girls in Ethiopia begin childbearing at an early age. Teenage pregnancy is the main contributor to maternal and child morbidity and mortality, and the vicious cycle of ill-health and poverty. However limited evidence exists about individual-and community-level factors affecting teenage pregnancy in Ethiopia. Methods: This study used data from the […]
The stuff that dreams are made of: HIV-positive adolescents’ aspirations for development: HIV-positive
Background: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commit to strengthening collaborations between governments and civil society. Adolescents are among the key target populations for global development initiatives, but research studies and programmes rarely include their direct perspectives on how to promote health and wellbeing. This article explores how both the methods and the findings of participatory […]
Opening the ‘implementation black-box’ of the user fee exemption policy for caesarean section in Benin: A realist evaluation
To improve access to maternal health services, Benin introduced in 2009 a user fee exemption policy for caesarean sections. Similar to other low- and middle-income countries, its implementation showed mixed results. Our study aimed at understanding why and in which circumstances the implementation of this policy in hospitals succeeded or failed. We adopted the realist […]
Using a mHealth system to recall and refer existing clients and refer community members with health concerns to primary healthcare facilities in South Africa: a feasibility study
Background: Lay health workers (LHWs) are critical in linking communities and primary healthcare (PHC) facilities. Effective communication between facilities and LHWs is key to this role. We implemented a mobile health (mHealth) system to improve communication and continuity of care for chronically ill clients. The system focused on requests from facility staff to LHWs to […]
Progress towards onchocerciasis elimination in côte d’ivoire: A geospatial modelling study
Background Côte d’Ivoire has had 45 years of intervention for onchocerciasis by vector control (from 1975 to 1991), ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) (from 1992 to 1994) and community directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTi) from 1995 to the present. We modeled oncho-cerciasis endemicity during two time periods that correspond to the scale up of vector […]
Use of antenatal services and delivery care in Entebbe, Uganda: A community survey
Background: Disparities in perinatal health care occur worldwide. If the UN Millennium Development Goals in maternal and child health are to be met, this needs to be addressed. This study was conducted to facilitate our understanding of the changing use of maternity care services in a semi-urban community in Entebbe Uganda and to examine the […]
Designing mHealth for maternity services in primary health facilities in a low-income setting – Lessons from a partially successful implementation 08 Information and Computing Sciences 0806 Information Systems
Background: Increasing mobile phone ownership, functionality and access to mobile-broad band internet services has triggered growing interest to harness the potential of mobile phone technology to improve health services in low-income settings. The present project aimed at designing an mHealth system that assists midlevel health workers to provide better maternal health care services by automating […]
Evaluating the effectiveness of a combined approach to improve utilization of adolescent sexual reproductive health services in Kenya: A quasi-experimental design study protocol
Background: Access to and utilization of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services remains poor. ASRH services in Kenya are primarily offered in health facilities and include counselling, information, and services on family planning, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV and basic life skills. The Ministry of Education also provides age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information […]
Study design and rationale for the PAASIM project: a matched cohort study on urban water supply improvements and infant enteric pathogen infection, gut microbiome development and health in Mozambique
Introduction Despite clear linkages between provision of clean water and improvements in child health, limited information exists about the health impacts of large water infrastructure improvements in low-income settings. Billions of dollars are spent annually to improve urban water supply, and rigorous evaluation of these improvements, especially targeting informal settlements, is critical to guide policy […]