Measuring socioeconomic inequalities in prenatal HIV test service uptake for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in East Africa: A decomposition analysis
Background Despite efforts made towards the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission, socioeconomic inequality in prenatal HIV test uptake in East Africa is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed at measuring socioeconomic inequalities in prenatal HIV test uptake and explaining its main determinants in East Africa Method We analysed a total weighted sample of 45,476 […]
Prevalence and determinants of unintended pregnancy in Mchinji district, Malawi; using a conceptual hierarchy to inform analysis
Background In 2012 there were around 85 million unintended pregnancies globally. Unintended pregnancies unnecessarily expose women to the risks associated with pregnancy, unsafe abortion and childbirth, thereby contributing to maternal mortality and morbidity. Studies have identified a range of potential determinants of unplanned pregnancy but have used varying methodologies, measures of pregnancy intention and analysis […]
Healthcare utilization and maternal and child mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in 18 low- and middle-income countries: An interrupted time-series analysis with mathematical modeling of administrative data
Background The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had wide-reaching direct and indirect impacts on population health. In low- and middle-income countries, these impacts can halt progress toward reducing maternal and child mortality. This study estimates changes in health services utilization during the pandemic and the associated consequences for maternal, neonatal, and child mortality. Methods […]
Pregnancy intention and contraceptive use among HIV-positive Malawian women at 4-26 weeks post-partum: A nested cross-sectional study
Background Avoiding unintended pregnancies through family planning is a WHO strategy for preventing mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and maternal morbidity/mortality. We investigated factors associated with unintended index pregnancy, unmet contraceptive need, future pregnancy intention and current contraceptive use among Malawian women living with HIV in the Option B+ era. Methods Women who […]
Stillbirths and hospital early neonatal deaths at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre-Malawi
Background. Much of the data on still births and early neonatal deaths from resource-limited settings are obtained via maternal recall from national or community level surveys. While this approach results in useful information to be obtained, often such data suffer from significant recall bias and misclassification. In order to determine the prevalence of stillbirths (SB), […]
How can childbirth care for the rural poor be improved? A contribution from spatial modelling in Rural Tanzania
Introduction Maternal and perinatal mortality remain a challenge in resource-limited countries, particularly among the rural poor. To save lives at birth health facility delivery is recommended. However, increasing coverage of institutional deliveries may not translate into mortality reduction if shortage of qualified staff and lack of enabling working conditions affect quality of services. In Tanzania […]
Prenatal hiv test uptake and its associated factors for prevention of mother to child transmission of hiv in East Africa
Identifying the socioeconomic and structural issues that act as enablers and/or barriers to HIV testing services is critical in combatting HIV/AIDS amongst mothers and children in Africa. In this study, we used a weighted sample of 46,645 women aged 15–49 who gave birth in the two years preceding the survey from the recent DHS dataset […]
Maternal and health care workers’ perceptions of the effects of exclusive breastfeeding by HIV positive mothers on maternal and infant health in Blantyre, Malawi
Background: HIV-positive mothers are likely to exclusively breastfeed if they perceive exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) beneficial to them and their infants. Nevertheless, very little is known in Malawi about HIV-positive mothers’ perceptions regarding EBF. In order to effectively promote EBF among these mothers, it is important to first understand their perceptions on benefits of exclusive breastfeeding. […]
Intended and unintended effects: Community perspectives on a performance-based financing programme in Malawi
Background Several performance-based financing (PBF) evaluations have been undertaken in low-income countries, yet few have examined community perspectives of care amid PBF programme implementation. We assessed community members’ perspectives of Support for Service Delivery Integration – Performance-Based Incentives (‘SSDI-PBI’), a PBF intervention in Malawi, and explored some of the unintended effects that emerged amid implementation. […]
The Tingathe programme: A pilot intervention using community health workers to create a continuum of care in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) cascade of services in Malawi
Introduction: Loss to follow-up is a major challenge in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in Malawi with reported loss to follow-up of greater than 70%. Tingathe-PMTCT is a pilot intervention that utilizes dedicated community health workers (CHWs) to create a complete continuum of care within the PMTCT cascade, improving […]
