Association Between Nutrition Social Behavior Change Communication and Improved Caregiver Health and Nutrition Knowledge and Practices in Rural Tanzania

Background: Efforts to improve infant and young child feeding practices include the use of nutrition behavior change communication among caregivers of children under 5 years. We assessed the association between monthly participation in community-level nutrition group meetings on caregiver health and nutrition knowledge and practices (KPs). Methods: Data from a community-based cross-sectional survey conducted in […]

Community-level chlamydial serology for assessing trachoma elimination in trachoma-endemic Niger

Background: Program decision-making for trachoma elimination currently relies on conjunctival clinical signs. Antibody tests may provide additional information on the epidemiology of trachoma, particularly in regions where it is disappearing or elimination targets have been met. Methods: A cluster-randomized trial of mass azithromycin distribution strategies for trachoma elimination was conducted over three years in a […]

Baseline assessment of the WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA maternal and newborn quality-of-care standards around childbirth: Results from an intermediate hospital, northeast Namibia

Background: Quality of care around childbirth can reduce above half of the stillbirths and newborn deaths. Northeast Namibia’s neonatal mortality is higher than the national level. Yet, no review exists on the quality of care provided around childbirth. This paper reports on baseline assessment for implementing WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA quality measures around childbirth. Methods: A mixed-methods research […]

Availability of drugs and medical supplies for emergency obstetric care: Experience of health facility managers in a rural District of Tanzania

Background: Provision of quality emergency obstetric care relies upon the presence of skilled health attendants working in an environment where drugs and medical supplies are available when needed and in adequate quantity and of assured quality. This study aimed to describe the experience of rural health facility managers in ensuring the timely availability of drugs […]

The Mentor-Mothers program in the Nigeria Department of Defense: policies, processes, and implementation

Background: Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and is one of the countries with the highest rates of new pediatric infections in sub-Saharan Africa. The country faces several challenges in the provision of healthcare services and coverage of Prevention of Mother to child transmission of HIV. In the Nigeria’s Department of […]

Determinants of institutional delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa: findings from Demographic and Health Survey (2013–2017) from nine countries

Introduction: Institutional delivery is a major concern for a country’s long-term growth. Rapid population development, analphabetism, big families, and a wider range of urban-rural health facilities have had a negative impact on institutional services in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. The aim of this study was to look into the factors that influence women’s decision to […]

Scaling up context-tailored clinical guidelines and training to improve childbirth care in urban, low-resource maternity units in Tanzania: A protocol for a stepped-wedged cluster randomized trial with embedded qualitative and economic analyses (The PartoMa Scale-Up Study)

While facility births are increasing in many low-resource settings, quality of care often does not follow suit; maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity remain unacceptably high. Therefore, realistic, context-tailored clinical support is crucially needed to assist birth attendants in resource-constrained realities to provide best possible evidence-based and respectful care. Our pilot study in Zanzibar suggested […]

Genetic analyses of Tanzanian local chicken ecotypes challenged with newcastle disease virus

Newcastle Disease (ND) is a continuing global threat to domestic poultry, especially in developing countries, where severe outbreaks of velogenic ND virus (NDV) often cause major economic losses to households. Local chickens are of great importance to rural family livelihoods through provision of high-quality protein. To investigate the genetic basis of host response to NDV, […]

Scaling up Locally Adapted Clinical Practice Guidelines for Improving Childbirth Care in Tanzania: A Protocol for Programme Theory and Qualitative Methods of the PartoMa Scale-up Study

Effective, low-cost clinical interventions to improve facility-based care during childbirth are critical to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity in low-resource settings. While health interventions for low- and lower-middle-income countries are often developed and implemented top-down, needs and circumstances vary greatly across locations. Our pilot study in Zanzibar improved care through locally co-created intrapartum […]

Engaging men in maternal, infant and young child nutrition in rural Tanzania: Outcomes from a cluster randomized control trial and qualitative study

There is growing recognition that engaging men in maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN) interventions can benefit child health and disrupt harmful gender norms. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Tanzania, which engaged men and women in behaviour change via mobile messaging (short message service [SMS]) and traditional interpersonal communication (IPC), separately and in combination. […]