Designed to Fail? Revisiting Uganda’s Maternal Health Policies to Understand Policy Design Issues Underpinning Missed Targets for Reduction of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): 2000-2015
Background: Despite Uganda and other sub-Saharan African countries missing their maternal mortality ratio (MMR) targets for Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5, limited attention has been paid to policy design in the literature examining the persistence of preventable maternal mortality. This study examined the specific policy interventions designed to reduce maternal deaths in Uganda and identified […]
Opportunities and challenges for improving anti-microbial stewardship in low- and middle-income countries; lessons learnt from the maternal sepsis intervention in western Uganda
This paper presents findings from an action-research intervention designed to identify ways of improving antimicrobial stewardship in a Ugandan Regional Referral Hospital. Building on an existing health partnership and extensive action-research on maternal health, it focused on maternal sepsis. Sepsis is one of the main causes of maternal mortality in Uganda and surgical site infection, […]
Abortion-related near-miss morbidity and mortality in 43 health facilities with differences in readiness to provide abortion care in Uganda
Introduction With a view to inform policy for improved postabortion care, we describe abortion-related near-miss and mortality by sociodemographic risk factors and management options by pregnancy trimester in Uganda. Methods This secondary data analysis used an adapted WHO near-miss methodology to collect cross-sectional maternal near-miss and abortion complications data at 43 health facilities in Central […]
Bypassing or successful referral? A population-based study of reasons why women travel far for childbirth in Eastern Uganda
Background: Delivery in a facility with a skilled health provider is considered the most important intervention to reduce maternal and early newborn deaths. Providing care close to people’s homes is an important strategy to facilitate equitable access, but many women are known to bypass the closest delivery facility for a higher level one. The aim […]
Barriers, facilitators and priorities for implementation of WHO Maternal and perinatal health guidelines in four lower-income countries: A great network research activity
Background Health systems often fail to use evidence in clinical practice. In maternal and perinatal health, the majority of maternal, fetal and newborn mortality is preventable through implementing effective interventions. To meet this challenge, WHO’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research partnered with the Knowledge Translation Program at St. Michael’s Hospital (SMH), University of Toronto, […]
Male involvement in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: Evaluating gaps between policy and practice in Uganda
Introduction: Male involvement in maternal and child health is a practice wherein fathers and male community members actively participate in caring for women and supporting their family to access better health services. There is positive association between male involvement and better maternal and child health outcomes. However, the practice is not always practiced optimally, especially […]
The prevalence of histologic acute chorioamnionitis among HIV infected pregnant women in Uganda and its association with adverse birth outcomes
Background Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and longer-term morbidity. Acute chorioamnionitis (ACA) is a common cause of PTB, however, there are limited data on the prevalence of ACA and its association with PTB in resource limited settings. Methods Data and samples came from a clinical trial evaluating novel strategies for […]
Under 10 mortality patterns, risk factors, and mechanisms in low resource settings of Eastern Uganda: An analysis of event history demographic and verbal social autopsy data
Background Globally, the under-10 years of age mortality has not been comprehensively studied. We applied the life-course perspective in the analysis and interpretation of the event history demographic and verbal autopsy data to examine when and why children die before their 10th birthday. Methods We analysed a decade (2005-2015) of event histories data on 22385 […]
Predictors of Adherence to Routine Immunization Schedule Among Caretakers of Children Aged 10 to 18 Months in Lira City, Uganda
Background: Although the majority of nations have routine immunization programs in place as a public health strategy, more than 1.5 million children under the age of 5 die yearly worldwide due to inadequate vaccination coverage. This study investigated the predictors of adherence to routine immunization schedules in Lira city. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study […]
Impact of postpartum tenofovir-based antiretroviral therapy on bone mineral density in breastfeeding women with HIV enrolled in a randomized clinical trial
Objectives We set out to evaluate the effect of postnatal exposure to tenofovir-containing antiretroviral therapy on bone mineral density among breastfeeding women living with HIV. Design IMPAACT P1084s is a sub-study of the PROMISE randomized trial conducted in four African countries (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01066858). Methods IMPAACT P1084s enrolled eligible mother-infant pairs previously randomised in the […]
