Women’s Perspectives on Influencers to the Utilisation of Skilled Delivery Care: An Explorative Qualitative Study in North West Ethiopia
Skilled attendance at birth is widely regarded as an effective intervention to reduce maternal and early neonatal morbidity and mortality. However, many women in Ethiopia still deliver without skilled assistance. This study was carried out to identify factors that influenced or motivated women to give birth in a health facility in their previous, current, and […]
The MONARCH intervention to enhance the quality of antenatal and postnatal primary health services in rural South Africa: Protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial
Background: Gaps in maternal and child health services can slow progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Management and Optimization of Nutrition, Antenatal, Reproductive, Child Health & HIV Care (MONARCH) study will evaluate a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) intervention targeted at improving antenatal and postnatal health service outcomes in rural South Africa where HIV […]
An effectiveness study of an integrated, community-based package for maternal, newborn, child and HIV care in South Africa: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Background: Progress towards MDG4 in South Africa will depend largely on scaling up effective prevention against mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and also addressing neonatal mortality. This imperative drives increasing focus on the neonatal period and particularly on the development and testing of appropriate models of sustainable, community-based care in South Africa in […]
A Retrospective Review of Decision to Delivery Time Interval for Foetal Distress at a Central Hospital
Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the trajectory of emergency caesarean deliveries for foetal distress at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH). Patients and Methods: A retrospective, contextual, descriptive study, using consecutive convenience sampling was done reviewing all the records of emergency caesarean deliveries for foetal distress at CHBAH in February 2019 […]
“They told me to come back”: Women’s antenatal care booking experience in inner-city johannesburg
To assess women’s experience of public antenatal care (ANC) services and reasons for late antenatal care attendance in inner-city Johannesburg, South Africa. This cross-sectional study was conducted at three public labour wards in Johannesburg. Interviews were conducted with 208 women who had a live-birth in October 2009. Women were interviewed in the labour wards post-delivery […]
Regulatory registration timelines of generic medicines in South Africa: Assessment of the performance of SAHPRA between 2011 and 2022
Background: Various regulatory authorities are experiencing backlogs of applications which result in delayed access to medicines for patients. The objective of this study is to critically assess the registration process utilised by SAHPRA between 2011 and 2022 and determine the fundamental root causes for the formation of a backlog. The study also aims to detail […]
Mind the gap: what explains the rural-nonrural inequality in diarrhoea among under-five children in low and medium-income countries? A decomposition analysis
Background: Diarrhoea poses serious health problems among under-five children (U5C) in Low-and Medium-Income Countries (LMIC) with a higher prevalence in rural areas. A gap exists in knowledge on factors driving rural-non-rural inequalities in diarrhoea development among U5C in LMIC. This study investigates the magnitude of rural-non-rural inequalities in diarrhoea and the roles of individual-level and […]
Quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care services in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia
Background: Globally, nearly 295,000 women die every year during and following pregnancy and childbirth. Emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) can avert 75% of maternal mortality if all mothers get quality healthcare. Improving maternal health needs identification and addressing of barriers that limit access to quality maternal health services. Hence, this study aimed to assess […]
Effects of early feeding on growth velocity and overweight/obesity in a cohort of HIV unexposed South African infants and children
Background: South Africa has the highest prevalence of overweight/obesity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Assessing the effect of modifiable factors such as early infant feeding on growth velocity and overweight/obesity is therefore important. This paper aimed to assess the effect of infant feeding in the transitional period (12 weeks) on 12-24 week growth velocity amongst HIV unexposed […]
Screening and supporting through schools: Educational experiences and needs of adolescents living with HIV in a South African cohort
Background: Many adolescents living with HIV remain disconnected from care, especially in high-prevalence settings. Slow progressors-adolescents infected perinatally who survive without access to lifesaving treatment-remain unidentified and disconnected from heath systems, especially in high-prevalence settings. This study examines differences in educational outcomes for ALHIV, in order to i) identify educational markers for targeting HIV testing, […]
