The Etiology of Pneumonia in Zambian Children: Findings From the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) Study
BACKGROUND: Childhood pneumonia in developing countries is the foremost cause of morbidity and death. Fresh information on etiology is needed, considering the changing epidemiology of pneumonia in the setting of greater availability of effective vaccines, changing antibiotic use and improved access to care. We report here the Zambia site results of the Pneumonia Etiology Research […]
Oral rehydration solution coverage in under 5 children with diarrhea: a tri-country, subnational, cross-sectional comparative analysis of two demographic health surveys cycles
Background: More than 3 million children under 5 years in developing countries die from dehydration due to diarrhea, a preventable and treatable disease. We conducted a comparative analysis of two Demographic Health Survey (DHS) cycles to examine changes in ORS coverage in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. These surveys are cross-sectional conducted on a representative sample […]
Improving access to child health services at the community level in Zambia: A country case study on progress in child survival, 2000-2013
Reductions in under-five mortality in Africa have not been sufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goal #4 (MDG#4) of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Nevertheless, 12 African countries have met MDG#4. We undertook a four country study to examine barriers and facilitators of child survival prior to 2015, seeking to better understand variability […]
Cost-effectiveness of pre-exposure HIV prophylaxis during pregnancy and breastfeeding in Sub-Saharan Africa
Introduction: Antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for the prevention of HIV acquisition is cost-effective when delivered to those at substantial risk. Despite a high incidence of HIV infection among pregnant and breastfeeding women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a theoretical increased risk of preterm birth on PrEP could outweigh the HIV prevention benefit. Methods: We developed a […]
Pooled prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among under-five years children in East Africa: A multilevel logistic regression analysis
Background Worldwide, diarrhea is the second most common cause of death and morbidity among under-five years’ children. In sub-saran Africa, access to water, sanitation, and hygiene are very scanty and the burden of diarrhea diseases is countless relative to the rest of the world. Prior studies conducted in East Africa vary in design, sample size, […]
Point-of-care virologic testing to improve outcomes of HIV-infected children in Zambia: A clinical trial protoco
Introduction: In the absence of early infant diagnosis (EID) and immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART), some 50% of untreated HIVinfected infants die before age 2. Conventional EID requires sophisticated instruments that are typically placed in centralized or reference laboratories. In low-resource settings, centralized systems often lead to result turnaround times of several months, long delays in […]
Determinants of periodontal health in pregnant women and association with infants’ anthropometric status: a prospective cohort study from Eastern Uganda
Background: Preterm-low birth weight delivery is a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality in sub Saharan Africa and has been linked to poor periodontal health during pregnancy. This study investigated predisposing and enabling factors as determinants of oral health indicators in pregnancy as well as the association between periodontal problems at 7 months gestational […]
Challenges and opportunities of optimal breastfeeding in the context of HIV option B+ guidelines
Background: In 2013, the World Health Organization released a new set of guidelines widely known as Option B+. Prior to that there were guidelines released in 2010. Option B+ recommends lifelong antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The study aimed at investigating challenges and opportunities in implementing Infant […]
Barriers to the care of HIV-infected children in rural Zambia: A cross-sectional analysis
Background: Successful antiretroviral treatment programs in rural sub-Saharan Africa may face different challenges than programs in urban areas. The objective of this study was to identify patient characteristics, barriers to care, and treatment responses of HIV-infected children seeking care in rural Zambia. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of HIV-infected children seeking care at Macha Hospital in rural […]
Prevalence and associated factors of home delivery in Eastern Africa: Further analysis of data from the recent Demographic and Health Survey data
Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the magnitude of home delivery and its associated factors in East Africa using data from the Demographic and Health Survey. Methods: We pooled data from the Demographic and Health Survey of the 11 East African countries and included a total weighted sample of 126,107 women in the study. […]