Female genital mutilation and obstetric outcome: A cross-sectional comparative study in a tertiary hospital in Abakaliki South East Nigeria
Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an assault on womanhood. Objective: To compare the obstetric outcome between parturient with genital mutilation with a cohort that has no genital mutilation. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional prospective study was done in the labour ward of Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki between 1st January 2013 and 31st December 2013. […]
Synthesizing qualitative and quantitative evidence on non-financial access barriers: Implications for assessment at the district level
Introduction: A key element of the global drive to universal health coverage is ensuring access to needed health services for everyone, and to pursue this goal in an equitable way. This requires concerted efforts to reduce disparities in access through understanding and acting on barriers facing communities with the lowest utilisation levels. Financial barriers dominate […]
Perceptions of health, health care and community-oriented health interventions in poor urban communities of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
In Democratic Republic of Congo access to health care is limited because of many geographical and financial barriers, while quality of care is often low. Global health donors assist the country with a number of community-oriented interventions such as free distribution of bednets, antihelminthic drugs, vitamin A supplementation and vaccination campaigns, but uptake of these […]
Task sharing of a psychological intervention for maternal depression in Khayelitsha, South Africa: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Background: Maternal depression carries a major public health burden for mothers and their infants, yet there is a substantial treatment gap for this condition in low-resourced regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. To address this treatment gap, the strategy of “task sharing” has been proposed, involving the delivery of interventions by non-specialist health workers trained and […]
Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on child stunting and anaemia in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised trial
Background: Child stunting reduces survival and impairs neurodevelopment. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on stunting and anaemia in in Zimbabwe. Methods: We did a cluster-randomised, community-based, 2 × 2 factorial trial in two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Clusters […]
Effect of maternal employment on child nutritional status in Bale Robe Town, Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional analysis
Adequate nutrition is essential for early childhood to ensure healthy growth, proper organ formation, and function, a strong immune system, neurological and cognitive development. The main aim of the present study was to assess the effect of maternal employment on nutritional status among children aged 6-23 months in the town of Bale Robe, Ethiopia. A […]
Residence and young women’s comprehensive HIV knowledge in Ethiopia
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a global health problem. The epidemic is very serious in sub-Saharan Africa with approximately 70% of the global cases. The disease particularly affects youth, accounting for half of the new HIV infections yearly. Inadequate knowledge may contribute to the high rates among youth. Hence, the main aim of […]
Time-critical conditions: Assessment of burden and access to care using verbal autopsy in Agincourt, South Africa
Background Time-critical conditions (TCC) are estimated to cause substantial mortality in low and middle-income countries. However, quantification of deaths and identification of contributing factors to those deaths are challenging in settings with poor health records. Aim To use verbal autopsy (VA) data from the Agincourt health and sociodemographic surveillance system in rural South Africa to […]
Intestinal Parasitic Infections, Treatment and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Sao Tome and Principe: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background. Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are a public health problem in developing countries such as Sao Tome and Principe (STP) although the pregnancy burden of IPIs is unknown in this endemic country. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of IPIs, prescribed anthelmintics, and associated factors among pregnant women admitted to […]
Process Evaluation of Facility Delivery Services in Northwest Ethiopia: In the Case of Public Health Centers
Background: Even if giving birth at health facility is vital for both the mothers and their newborns, the coverage of institutional delivery in Ethiopia is very low (50%). In that regard, several studies have shown the possible factors of low delivery service uptake from the patients’ side, but evidences on delivery services at the health […]