Adherence to respectful maternity care guidelines during COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors among healthcare providers working at hospitals in northwest Ethiopia: A multicenter, observational study
Background: Respectful maternity care is one of the facilitators of women’s access to maternity healthcare services. However, it has been evidenced that maternal healthcare services are compromised during the pandemic of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Moreover, there was a dearth of evidence on healthcare provider’s adherence to respectful maternity care guidelines through direct observation. Hence, […]
Derivation of a contextually-appropriate covid-19 mortality scale for low-resource settings
Background: In many low-and middle-income countries, where vaccinations will be delayed and healthcare systems are underdeveloped, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue for the foreseeable future. Mortality scales can aid frontline providers in low-resource settings (LRS) in identifying those at greatest risk of death so that limited resources can be directed towards those in greatest need […]
Participation in household decision making and justification of wife beating: Evidence from the 2018 Mali Demographic and Health Survey
Background: We assessed the association between women’s participation in household decision making and justification of wife beating among married women ages 15-49 y in Mali. Methods: We employed a cross-sectional study design among 7893 women of reproductive age involving a two-stage sampling technique using version 6 of the Mali Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) data, […]
Unmet contraceptive needs among female sex workers (FSWs) in semi urban Blantyre, Malawi
Background: Research has paid limited attention to understanding factors that are associated with unmet contraceptive needs among female sex workers. In order to fill this knowledge gap, we estimated the prevalence of unmet contraceptive needs and examined associated factors among FSWs in semi urban Blantyre, Malawi. Methods: We used systematic sampling to recruit 290 female […]
Factors associated with the use of deworming drugs during pregnancy in Tanzania; an analysis from the 2015–16 Tanzanian HIV and malaria indicators survey
Background: The use of deworming drugs is one of the important antenatal strategies in preventing anaemia in pregnancy. Little is known about the factors associated with the use of deworming drugs, which accounts for the aim of this study. Method: The study used data from the 2015–16 Tanzania HIV Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria […]
Medication Adherence Clubs: A potential solution to managing large numbers of stable patients with multiple chronic diseases in informal settlements
Objectives: To assess the care of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and/or HIV patients enrolled into Medication Adherence Clubs (MACs). Methods: Retrospective descriptive study was carried out using routinely collected programme data from a primary healthcare clinic at informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. All patients enrolled into MACs were selected for the study. MACs are nurse-facilitated mixed […]
Postpartum women’s lived experiences of perinatal intimate partner violence in wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia: A phenomenological study approach
Objective: Perinatal intimate partner violence affects the health and safety of postpartum women and their infants. However, it has not been well recognized and addressed in the study setting. Hence, this study aimed to explore postpartum women’s lived experiences of perinatal intimate partner violence and its contributing factors in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A […]
Risk factors for vaginal fistula symptoms in Sub-Saharan Africa: A pooled analysis of national household survey data
Background: Vaginal fistula (VF) is one of the most severe maternal morbidities with the immediate consequence of chronic urinary and/or fecal incontinence. The epidemiological evidence regarding risk factors for VF is dominated by facility-based studies. Our aim is to estimate the effect size of selected risk factors for VF using population-based survey data. Methods: We […]
The COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions to essential health services in Kenya: a retrospective time-series analysis
Background: Public health emergencies can disrupt the provision of and access to essential health-care services, exacerbating health crises. We aimed to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential health-care services in Kenya. Methods: Using county-level data routinely collected from the health information system from health facilities across the country, we used a robust […]
Impact-Oriented Dialogue for Culturally Safe Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Bauchi State, Nigeria: Protocol for a Codesigned Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Adolescents (10-19 years) are a big segment of the Nigerian population, and they face serious risks to their health and well-being. Maternal mortality is very high in Nigeria, and rates of pregnancy and maternal deaths are high among female adolescents. Rates of HIV infection are rising among adolescents, gender violence and sexual abuse are […]
