The first 2 h after birth: prevalence and factors associated with neonatal care practices from a multicountry, facility-based, observational study
Background: Amid efforts to improve the quality of care for women and neonates during childbirth, there is growing interest in the experience of care, including respectful care practices. However, there is little research on the prevalence of practices that might constitute mistreatment of neonates. This study aims to describe the care received by neonates up […]
Socioeconomic and demographic determinants of birth weight in southern rural Ghana: Evidence from Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance System
Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the major factors affecting child morbidity and mortality worldwide. It also results in substantial costs to the health sector and imposes a significant burden on the society as a whole. This study seeks to investigate the determinants of low birth weight and the incidence of LBW in […]
The public health impact of training physicians to become obstetricians and gynecologists in Ghana
Objectives. We assessed the public health effect of creating and sustaining obstetrics and gynecology postgraduate training in Ghana, established in 1989 to reverse low repatriation of physicians trained abroad. Methods. All 85 certified graduates of 2 Ghanaian university-based postgraduate training programs from program initiation in 1989 through June 2010 were identified and eligible for this […]
Promoting the use of evidence in health policy-making in the economic commission of the West African States Region: Exploring the perception of policy-makers on the necessity of an evidence-based policy-making guidance
Background: The West African Health Organization (WAHO) is promoting the use of evidence in policy-making within West Africa. The need for increased understanding of the complexities of the evidence-to-policy process among policy-makers in West Africa necessitates the development of evidence-based policy-making (EBPM) guidance. The purpose of this study was to interact with policy-makers from West […]
Willingness to pay for small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for women and children: Evidence from Ghana and Malawi
Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) are designed to enrich maternal and child diets with the objective of preventing undernutrition during the first 1,000 days. Scaling up the delivery of supplements such as SQ-LNS hinges on understanding private demand and creatively leveraging policy-relevant factors that might influence demand. We used longitudinal stated willingness-to-pay (WTP) data from contingent […]
Does the design and implementation of proven innovations for delivering basic primary health care services in rural communities fit the urban setting: The case of Ghana’s Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS)
Background: Rapid urban population growth is of global concern as it is accompanied with several new health challenges. The urban poor who reside in informal settlements are more vulnerable to these health challenges. Lack of formal government public health facilities for the provision of health care is also a common phenomenon among communities inhabited by […]
Malaria in pregnancy control and pregnancy outcomes: a decade’s overview using Ghana’s DHIMS II data
Background: Malaria in pregnancy control interventions have been implemented through antenatal care services for more than 2 decades in Ghana. The uptake of these interventions has seen steady improvement over the years. This has occurred within the context of decreasing global trends of malaria infection confirmed by decreasing malaria in pregnancy prevalence in Ghana. However, […]
Potential cost-effectiveness of prenatal distribution of misoprostol for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in Uganda
Background: In settings where home birth rates are high, prenatal distribution of misoprostol has been advocated as a strategy to increase access to uterotonics during the third stage of labor to prevent postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Our objective was to project the potential costeffectiveness of this strategy in Uganda from both governmental (the relevant payer) and […]
Path analyses of risk factors for linear growth faltering in four prospective cohorts of young children in Ghana, Malawi and Burkina Faso
Stunting prevalence is an indicator of a country’s progress towards United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2, which is to end hunger and achieve improved nutrition. Accelerating progress towards reducing stunting requires a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to linear growth faltering. We conducted path analyses of factors associated with 18-month length-for-Age z-score (LAZ) […]
Cooking fuel choices and garbage burning practices as determinants of birth weight: A cross-sectional study in Accra, Ghana
Background: Effect of indoor air pollution (IAP) on birth weight remains largely unexplored but yet purported as the most important environmental exposure for pregnant women in developing countries due to the effects of second-hand smoke. We investigated the associations between the determinants of indoor air quality in households and birth weight. Methods. A cross-sectional study […]
