Does early Vitamin B12 supplementation improve neurodevelopment and cognitive function in childhood and into school age: A study protocol for extended follow-ups from randomised controlled trials in India and Tanzania

Introduction: As many as 250 million children under the age of 5 may not be reaching their full developmental potential partly due to poor nutrition during pregnancy and the first 2 years of life. Micronutrients, including vitamin B12, are important for the development of brain structure and function; however, the timing, duration and severity of […]

Systems analysis and improvement to optimize pMTCT (SAIA): A cluster randomized trial

Background: Despite significant increases in global health investment and the availability of low-cost, efficacious interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (pMTCT) in low- and middle-income countries with high HIV burden, the translation of scientific advances into effective delivery strategies has been slow, uneven and incomplete. As a result, pediatric HIV infection remains largely uncontrolled. A […]

Bridging the childhood epilepsy treatment gap in northern Nigeria (BRIDGE): Rationale and design of pre-clinical trial studies

Epilepsy is the most common serious childhood neurological disorder. In the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) of Africa, children with epilepsy suffer increased morbidity and mortality compared to their counterparts in high-income countries, and the majority do not receive treatment – the childhood epilepsy treatment gap. Reports of the childhood epilepsy treatment gap in Africa […]

Evaluation of conditional cash transfers and mHealth audio messaging in reduction of risk factors for childhood malnutrition in internally displaced persons camps in Somalia: A 2 × 2 factorial cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background AU Cash: Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly transfer programmes are increasingly used in humanitarian : contexts to help address people’s needs across multiple sectors. However, their impact on the key objectives of reducing malnutrition and excess mortality remains unclear. mHealth interventions show great promise in many areas of public health, but evidence for their impact on reducing the […]

The Role of Milk Protein and Whey Permeate in Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements on the Growth and Development of Stunted Children in Uganda: A Randomized Trial Protocol (MAGNUS)

Stunting is associated with cognitive impairment and later chronic disease. Previous trials to prevent stunting have had little effect, and no trials seem to have provided larger amounts of energy and high-quality proteins to already stunted children. We aimed to assess the effects of milk protein (MP) and whey permeate (WP) in large-quantity lipid-based nutrient […]

Impact of community-based health insurance on utilisation of preventive health services in rural Uganda: a propensity score matching approach

The effect of voluntary health insurance on preventive health has received limited research attention in developing countries, even when they suffer immensely from easily preventable illnesses. This paper surveys households in rural south-western Uganda, which are geographically serviced by a voluntary Community-based health insurance scheme, and applied propensity score matching to assess the effect of […]

Validation of an Automated Wearable Camera-Based Image-Assisted Recall Method and the 24-h Recall Method for Assessing Women’s Time Allocation in a Nutritionally Vulnerable Population: The Case of Rural Uganda

Accurate data are essential for investigating relationships between maternal time-use patterns and nutritional outcomes. The 24 h recall (24HR) has traditionally been used to collect time-use data, however, automated wearable cameras (AWCs) with an image-assisted recall (IAR) may reduce recall bias. This study aimed to evaluate their concurrent criterion validity for assessing women’s time use […]

Protocol for a drugs exposure pregnancy registry for implementation in resource-limited settings

Background: The absence of robust evidence of safety of medicines in pregnancy, particularly those for major diseases provided by public health programmes in developing countries, has resulted in cautious recommendations on their use. We describe a protocol for a Pregnancy Registry adapted to resource-limited settings aimed at providing evidence on the safety of medicines in […]

Eating and feeding behaviours in children in low-income areas in Nairobi, Kenya

Child eating and caregiver feeding behaviours are critical determinants of food intake, but they are poorly characterized in undernourished children. We aimed to describe how appetite, food refusal and force-feeding vary between undernourished and healthy children aged 6–24 months in Nairobi and identify potential variables for use in a child eating behaviour scale for international […]

Accuracy of patient perceptions of maternity facility quality and the choice of providers in Nairobi, Kenya: A cohort study

Objectives This study aimed to assess the accuracy of pregnant women’s perceptions of maternity facility quality and the association between perception accuracy and the quality of facility chosen for delivery. Design A cohort study. Setting Nairobi, Kenya. Participants 180 women, surveyed during pregnancy and 2 to 4 weeks after delivery. Primary outcome measures Women were […]