Effects of water quality, sanitation, handwashing, and nutritional interventions on diarrhoea and child growth in rural Kenya: a cluster-randomised controlled trial
Background: Poor nutrition and exposure to faecal contamination are associated with diarrhoea and growth faltering, both of which have long-term consequences for child health. We aimed to assess whether water, sanitation, handwashing, and nutrition interventions reduced diarrhoea or growth faltering. Methods: The WASH Benefits cluster-randomised trial enrolled pregnant women from villages in rural Kenya and […]
A method to develop vocabulary checklists in new languages and their validity to assess early language development
Background: Since the adoption of United Nations’ Sustainable Goal 4.2 to ensure that all children have access to quality early child development (ECD) so that they are ready for primary education, the demand for valid ECD assessments has increased in contexts where they do not yet exist. The development of early language ability is important […]
Verbal autopsy interpretation: A comparative analysis of the InterVA model versus physician review in determining causes of death in the Nairobi DSS
Background: Developing countries generally lack complete vital registration systems that can produce cause of death information for health planning in their populations. As an alternative, verbal autopsy (VA) – the process of interviewing family members or caregivers on the circumstances leading to death – is often used by Demographic Surveillance Systems to generate cause of […]
Association of Care Environment with HIV Incidence and Death among Orphaned, Separated, and Street-Connected Children and Adolescents in Western Kenya
Importance: In 2015, there were nearly 140 million orphaned children globally, particularly in low- and middle-income regions, and millions more for whom the street is central to their everyday lives. A total of 16.6 million children were orphaned because of deaths associated with HIV/AIDS, of whom 90% live in sub-Saharan Africa. Although most orphaned and […]
Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015
Background Non-fatal outcomes of disease and injury increasingly detract from the ability of the world’s population to live in full health, a trend largely attributable to an epidemiological transition in many countries from causes affecting children, to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) more common in adults. For the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study […]
Impact of integrated water, sanitation, hygiene, health and nutritional interventions on diarrhoea disease epidemiology and microbial quality of water in a resource-constrained setting in Kenya: A controlled intervention study
Objectives: We assessed the impact of water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), maternal, new-born and child health (MNCH), nutrition and early childhood development (ECD) on diarrhoea and microbial quality of water in a resource-constrained rural setting in Kenya. Methods: Through a controlled intervention study, we tested faecal and water samples collected from both the intervention and […]
Effect of care environment on educational attainment among orphaned and separated children and adolescents in Western Kenya
Background: There are approximately 140 million orphaned and separated children (OSCA) around the world. In Kenya, many of these children live with extended family while others live in institutions. Despite evidence that orphans are less likely to be enrolled in school than non-orphans, there is little evidence regarding the role of care environment. This evidence […]
Prevalence and risk factors of preconception anemia: A community based cross sectional study of rural women of reproductive age in northeastern Tanzania
Background Anemia is a major public health problem that adversely affects pregnancy outcomes. The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women before conception is not well known in Tanzania. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, types, and risk factors of preconception anemia in women of reproductive age from a rural Tanzanian setting. […]
Improving the demand for birth registration: A discrete choice experiment in Ethiopia
Introduction Birth registration remains limited in most low and middle-income countries. We investigated which characteristics of birth registration facilities might determine caregivers’ decisions to register children in Ethiopia. Methods We conducted a discrete choice experiment in randomly selected households in Addis Ababa and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region. We interviewed caregivers of children […]
Infant HIV testing at birth using point-ofcare and conventional HIV DNA PCR: An implementation feasibility pilot study in Kenya
Background: Infant HIV diagnosis by HIV DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at the standard 6 weeks of age is often late to mitigate the mortality peak that occurs in HIV positive infants’ first 2-3 months of life. Kenya recently revised their early infant diagnosis (EID) guidelines to include HIV DNA PCR testing at birth […]
