An equity analysis on the household costs of accessing and utilising maternal and child health care services in Tanzania
Background: Direct and time costs of accessing and using health care may limit health care access, affect welfare loss, and lead to catastrophic spending especially among poorest households. To date, limited attention has been given to time and transport costs and how these costs are distributed across patients, facility and service types especially in poor […]
Vaccine coverage and adherence to EPI schedules in eight resource poor settings in the MAL-ED cohort study
Background Launched in 1974, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is estimated to prevent two-three million deaths annually from polio, diphtheria, tuberculosis, pertussis, measles, and tetanus. Additional lives could be saved through better understanding what influences adherence to the EPI schedule in specific settings. Methods The Etiology, Risk Factors and Interactions of Enteric Infections and […]
Caesarean section among referred and self-referred birthing women: A cohort study from a tertiary hospital, northeastern Tanzania
Background: The inequity in emergency obstetric care access in Tanzania is unsatisfactory. Despite an existing national obstetric referral system, many birthing women bypass referring facilities and go directly to higher-level care centres. We wanted to compare Caesarean section (CS) rates among women formally referred to a tertiary care centre versus self-referred women, and to assess […]
Where do the rural poor deliver when high coverage of health facility delivery is achieved? Findings from a community and hospital survey in Tanzania
Introduction: As part of maternal mortality reducing strategies, coverage of delivery care among sub-Saharan African rural poor will improve, with a range of facilities providing services. Whether high coverage will benefit all socio-economic groups is unknown. Iringa rural District, Southern Tanzania, with high facility delivery coverage, offers a paradigm to address this question. Delivery services […]
Antenatal corticosteroids for women at risk of imminent preterm birth in 7 sub-Saharan African countries: A policy and implementation landscape analysis
Countries have put in place some elements necessary for safe and effective antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) use, but significant challenges remain including: ensuring accurate gestational age determination, establishing clear treatment guidelines, strengthening provider capacity, incorporating obstetric indications for ACS use in national essential medicines lists, and collecting and using ACS-related data in the HMIS. Most importantly, […]
Unpredictability dictates quality of maternal and newborn care provision in rural Tanzania-A qualitative study of health workers’ perspectives
Background: Health workers are the key to realising the potential of improved quality of care for mothers and newborns in the weak health systems of Sub Saharan Africa. Their perspectives are fundamental to understand the effectiveness of existing improvement programs and to identify ways to strengthen future initiatives. The objective of this study was therefore […]
Effect of a community health worker delivered health, nutrition and responsive stimulation package and conditional cash transfers on child development and growth in rural Tanzania: Protocol for a cluster-randomized trial
Background: Child health, nutrition, and responsive stimulation interventions have been developed to improve child survival, growth and development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Nevertheless, research on integrated implementation approaches to deliver and promote uptake of these interventions is needed, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods/design: We will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a supply-side […]
Prompt access to effective malaria treatment among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa: A multi-country analysis of national household survey data
Background: Scaling up diagnostic testing and treatment is a key strategy to reduce the burden of malaria. Delays in accessing treatment can have fatal consequences; however, few studies have systematically assessed these delays among children under five years of age in malaria-endemic countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This study identifies predictors of prompt treatment with first-line […]
Urban Health in Tanzania: Questioning the Urban Advantage
How are health inequalities articulated across urban and rural spaces in Tanzania? This research paper explores the variations, differences, and inequalities, in Tanzania’s health outcomes—to question both the idea of an urban advantage in health and the extent of urban–rural inequalities in health. The three research objectives aim to understand: what are the health differences […]
The right of access to healthcare: an analysis of how legal and institutional frameworks constrain or facilitate access to healthcare for residents in border areas in the East African Community
Background: Despite many countries working hard to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Health-related Sustainable Development Goals, access to healthcare services has remained a challenge for communities residing along national borders in the East Africa Community (EAC). Unlike the communities in the interior, those along national borders are more likely to face access barriers […]
