Could ultrasound midwifery training increase antenatal detection of congenital anomalies in Ghana?
Background As part of World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 updated antenatal care (ANC) guidelines routine ultrasonography is recommended, including to detect congenital anomalies. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) developed an in-service midwifery ultrasound training course in 2017, which includes fetal anomaly detection. Training rollout has been very limited. We sought to determine proportions of anomalies […]
COVID-19 Preventive Practices, Psychological Distress, and Reported Barriers to Healthcare Access during the Pandemic among Adult Community Members in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Phone Survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious negative health and economic impacts in sub-Saharan Africa. Continuous monitoring of these impacts is crucial to formulate interventions to minimize the consequences of COVID-19. This study surveyed 2,829 adults in urban and rural sites among five sub-Saharan African countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ghana. Participants completed a […]
Challenges and facilitators to the provision of sexual, reproductive health and rights services in Ghana
Expanding access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is one of the key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The extent to which sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) targets will be achieved largely depends on how well they are integrated within Universal Health Coverage (UHC) initiatives. This paper examines challenges and facilitators […]
A decomposition analysis of change in skilled birth attendants, 2003 to 2008, Ghana demographic and health surveys
Background: The single most critical intervention to improve maternal and neonatal survival is to ensure that a competent health worker with midwifery skills is present at every birth, and transport is available to a referral facility for obstetric care in case of an emergency. This study aims to describe changes in percentage of skilled birth […]
WHO global vaccine safety multi-country collaboration project on safety in pregnancy: Assessing the level of diagnostic certainty using standardized case definitions for perinatal and neonatal outcomes and maternal immunization
Standardized case definitions strengthen post-marketing safety surveillance of new vaccines by improving generated data, interpretation and comparability across surveillance systems. The Global Alignment of Immunization Safety Assessment in Pregnancy (GAIA) project developed standardized case definitions for 21 key obstetric and neonatal terms following the Brighton Collaboration (BC) methodology. In this prospective cohort study, we assessed […]
Poor supply chain management and stock-outs of point-of-care diagnostic tests in Upper East Region’s primary healthcare clinics, Ghana
Introduction Several supply chain components are important to sustain point-of-care (POC) testing services in rural settings. To evaluate the availability of POC diagnostic tests in rural Ghana’s primary healthcare (PHC) clinics, we conducted an audit of the supply chain management for POC diagnostic services in rural Upper East Region’s (UER) PHC clinics, Ghana to determine […]
Institutional delivery and associated factors among women in Ghana: Findings from a 2017-2018 multiple indicator cluster survey
Background: Institutional delivery is essential in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. We investigated the prevalence of institutional delivery and associated factors among women in Ghana. Methods: National representative data from the 2017-2018 Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey was used for the analysis. The study included 3466 women, ages 15-49 y, who had a live birth […]
Impact evaluation of a quality improvement intervention on maternal and child health outcomes in Northern Ghana: Early assessment of a national scale-up project
Objective. To evaluate the influence of the early phase of Project Fives Alive!, a national child survival improvement project, on key maternal and child health outcomes. Design. The evaluation used multivariable interrupted time series analyses to determine whether change categories tested were associated with improvements in the outcomes of interest. Participants. The evaluation used program […]
Reasons for the utilization of the services of traditional birth attendants during childbirth: A qualitative study in Northern Ghana
Background: Skilled delivery reduces maternal and neonatal mortality. Ghana has put in place measures to reduce geographical and financial access to skilled delivery. Despite this, about 30% of deliveries still occur either at home or are conducted by traditional birth attendants. We, therefore, conducted this study to explore the reasons for the utilization of the […]
Prevalence of pregnancy-relevant infections in a rural setting of Ghana
Background: Although infectious diseases still account for a high burden of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, simultaneous investigations on multiple infections affecting maternal and child health are missing. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, single-centre pilot study in a rural area of Ghana to assess the infectiological profile during pregnancy. Screening of 180 expectant mothers […]
