A mixed-methods study of maternal health care utilisation in six referral hospitals in four sub-Saharan African countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction In sub-Saharan Africa, referral hospitals are important sources of key maternal health services, especially during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study prospectively assessed the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal health service utilisation in six large referral hospitals in Guinea, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda during the first year of the […]

Low HIV incidence in pregnant and postpartum women receiving a community-based combination HIV prevention intervention in a high HIV incidence setting in South Africa

Background: Young Southern African women have the highest HIV incidence globally. Pregnancy doubles the risk of HIV acquisition further, and maternal HIV acquisition contributes significantly to the paediatric HIV burden. Little data on combination HIV prevention interventions during pregnancy and lactation are available. We measured HIV incidence amongst pregnant and postpartum women receiving a community-based […]

Toward communities as systems: A sequential mixed methods study to understand factors enabling implementation of a skilled birth attendance intervention in Nampula Province, Mozambique Prof. Suellen Miller

Background: Skilled birth attendance, institutional deliveries, and provision of quality, respectful care are key practices to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. In Mozambique, the government has prioritized improved service delivery and demand for these practices, alongside “humanization of the birth process.” An intervention implemented in Nampula province beginning in 2009 saw marked improvement in […]

Determinants of the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in pregnant women: a mixed-methods study in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Malaria in pregnancy remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, affecting the highly endemic countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are effective for malaria prevention. However, poor adherence in SSA remains a challenge. METHODS: We conducted a standard questionnaire survey among 710 pregnant women from 37 primary care clinics in the […]

How accurate are modelled birth and pregnancy estimates? Comparison of four models using high resolution maternal health census data in southern Mozambique

Background Existence of inequalities in quality and access to healthcare services at subnational levels has been identified despite a decline in maternal and perinatal mortality rates at national levels, leading to the need to investigate such conditions using geographical analysis. The need to assess the accuracy of global demographic distribution datasets at all subnational levels […]

The lucky ones get cured: Health care seeking among women with pelvic organ prolapse in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Background The majority of women suffering from maternal morbidities live in resource-constrained settings with diverse barriers preventing access to quality biomedical health care services. This study aims to highlight the dynamics between the public health system and alternative healing through an exploration of the experiences of health care seeking among women living with severe symptomatic […]

Comparison of respiratory health impacts associated with wood and charcoal biomass fuels: A population-based analysis of 475,000 children from 30 low-and middle-income countries

Background: The World Health Organisation reported that 45% of global acute respiratory infection (ARI) deaths in children under five years are attributable to household air pollution, which has been recognised to be strongly associated with solid biomass fuel usage in domestic settings. The introduction of legislative restrictions for charcoal production or purchase can result in […]

Predictors of prenatal iron folic acid supplement utilization in Wolaita, South Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study (quantitative and qualitative approach)

Background: Effectiveness of prenatal iron supplementation program depends on utilization of the supplement by pregnant women. Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, regardless of increasing efforts, lower proportion of pregnant women use the supplementation for recommended 3 months and above but, the reason is not clear. This study aimed to identify the level and factors associated with utilization […]

Time to early initiation of postnatal care service utilization and its predictors among women who gave births in the last 2 years in Ethiopia: a shared frailty model

Background: Most maternal and infant deaths occurred within the first month after birth. Nearly half of the maternal deaths and more than a million newborn deaths occurred within the first day of life but these were preventable through early initiation of postnatal care (PNC) services. However, the available evidence on the level of early initiation […]

Infant feeding, growth monitoring and the double burden of malnutrition among children aged 6 months and their mothers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

South Africa has a documented high prevalence of stunting and increasing obesity in children as well as obesity in adults. The double burden of malnutrition, which can be on an individual-, household- or population level, has implications for both health and the economic development of a community and country. This paper describes a large-scale survey […]