Instructive roles and supportive relationships: client perspectives of their engagement with community health workers in a rural south African home visiting program
Background: Community health worker (CHW) programs have been positioned as a way to meet the needs of those who experience marginalization and inequitable access to health care, and current global health narratives also emphasize their adaptable nature to meet growing health burdens in low-income settings. However, as CHW programs adopt more technical roles, the value […]
Factors associated with non-attendance at scheduled infant follow-up visits in an observational cohort of HIV-exposed infants in South Africa, 2012-2014
BACKGROUND: Since 2001 the South African guidelines to improve child health and prevent vertical HIV transmission recommended frequent infant follow-up with HIV testing at 18 months postpartum. We sought to understand non-attendance at scheduled follow-up study visits up to 18 months, and for the 18-month infant HIV test amongst a nationally representative sample of HIV exposed uninfected […]
Healthcare without borders: A cross-sectional study of immigrant and nonimmigrant children admitted to a large public sector hospital in the Gauteng Province of South Africa
Background Human migration is a worldwide phenomenon that receives considerable attention from the media and healthcare authorities alike. A significant proportion of children seen at public sector health facilities in South Africa (SA) are immigrants, and gaps have previously been noted in their healthcare provision. The objective of the study was to describe the characteristics […]
‘It needs a complete overhaul…’ district manager perspectives on the capacity of the health system to support the delivery of emergency obstetric care in an urban South African district
Background: A high maternal mortality ratio persists in South Africa despite developments in emergency obstetric care (EmOC), a known effective intervention against direct causes of maternal deaths. Strengthening the health systems is one of the focus areas identified by the National Committee for Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in South Africa. District managers as immediate […]
Traditional herbal remedies used by women in a rural community in northern Maputaland (South Africa) for the treatment of gynaecology and obstetric complaints
According to the World Health Organization, there are annually 350,000 maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, with obstetric haemorrhage the most common cause of death. Although maternal mortality can be reduced by health-care interventions such as the provision of family planning, maternity care and access to safe abortion practice, it is not happening in rural areas. […]
Pregnant women’s access to PMTCT and ART services in South Africa and implications for universal antiretroviral treatment
Objectives: We describe pregnant womens’ access to PMTCT and HAART services and associated birth outcomes in South Africa. Methods: Women recuperating in postnatal wards of a referral hospital participated in an evaluation during February-May 2010 during which their maternity records were examined to describe their access to VCT, CD4 Counts, dual ART or HAART during […]
Strategic planning for saving the lives of mothers, newborns and children and preventing stillbirths in KwaZulu-Natal province South Africa: Modelling using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)
Background: KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa has the largest population of children under the age of five and experiences the highest number of child births per annum in the country. Its population has also been ravaged by the dual epidemics of HIV and TB and it has struggled to meet targets for maternal and child […]
Determinants of early-life lung function in African infants
Background Low lung function in early life is associated with later respiratory illness. There is limited data on lung function in African infants despite a high prevalence of respiratory disease. Aim To assess the determinants of early lung function in African infants. Method Infants enrolled in a South African birth cohort, the Drakenstein child health […]
Maltreatment in childhood and intimate partner violence: A latent class growth analysis in a South African pregnancy cohort
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant global problem, prevalent in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). IPV is particularly problematic during the perinatal and early postnatal period, where it is linked with negative maternal and child health outcomes. There has been little examination of profiles of IPV and early life adversity in LMIC contexts. We […]
Reduction of in utero lead exposures in South African populations: Positive impact of unleaded petrol
Background: Prenatal exposure to lead (Pb) has been shown to have negative and irreversible health impacts on foetal and early childhood development, affecting morbidity and mortality in adulthood. This study aimed to assess in utero Pb exposure, examine birth outcomes, and identify confounding factors in the large cohort of South African population, following the legislated […]
