Health care seeking behavior for common childhood illnesses in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Numerous deaths in under-five children occur from preventable and treatable causes. Seeking medical care for a sick child is an important aspect of child health. Parents decide the type and frequency of health care service utilization for their children. A number of factors influence mothers’/caregivers’ health care seeking behavior for sick children. This systematic […]
Individual and community-level factors associated with introduction of prelacteal feeding in Ethiopia
Background: Ethiopia is a country with low optimal breast feeding practice, and prelacteal feeding is still a norm. Introduction of prelacteal feeding is a known barrier for optimal breast feeding practices. However, knowledge on determinants of introduction of prelacteal feeding is minimal. This study aimed to identify the effects of individual and community-level factors in […]
Placental Malaria is associated with reduced early life weight development of affected children independent of low birth weight
Background: Infection with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy contributes substantially to the disease burden in both mothers and offspring. Placental malaria may lead to intrauterine growth restriction or preterm delivery resulting in low birth weight (LBW), which, in general, is associated with increased infant morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the possible direct impact […]
WHO global vaccine safety multi-country collaboration project on safety in pregnancy: Assessing the level of diagnostic certainty using standardized case definitions for perinatal and neonatal outcomes and maternal immunization
Standardized case definitions strengthen post-marketing safety surveillance of new vaccines by improving generated data, interpretation and comparability across surveillance systems. The Global Alignment of Immunization Safety Assessment in Pregnancy (GAIA) project developed standardized case definitions for 21 key obstetric and neonatal terms following the Brighton Collaboration (BC) methodology. In this prospective cohort study, we assessed […]
HIV-associated orphanhood and children’s psychosocial distress: Theoretical framework tested with data from Zimbabwe
Objectives. We measured the psychosocial effect of orphanhood in a sub-Saharan African population and evaluated a new framework for understanding the causes and consequences of psychosocial distress among orphans and other vulnerable children. Methods. The framework was evaluated using data from 5321 children aged 12 to 17 years who were interviewed in a 2004 national […]
Lived experiences and perceptions of childbirth among pastoralist women in north-eastern Ethiopia: A multimethod qualitative analysis to the WHO health systems responsiveness framework
Maternity should be a time of hope and joy. However, for women in pastoralist communities in Ethiopia, the reality of motherhood is often grim. This problem is creating striking disparities of skilled birth uptake among the agrarian and pastoral communities in Ethiopia. So far, the depth and effects of the problem are not well understood. […]
Examining socioeconomic status disparities in facility-based childbirth in Kenya: role of perceived need, accessibility, and quality of care
Background: Giving birth in health facilities with skilled birth attendants (SBAs) is one of the key efforts promoted to reduce preventable maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. However, research has revealed large socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in facility-based childbirth. We seek to extend the literature on the factors underlying these SES disparities. Drawing on the Disparities […]
Equity in antenatal care quality: an analysis of 91 national household surveys
Background: Emerging data show that many low-income and middle-income country (LMIC) health systems struggle to consistently provide good-quality care. Although monitoring of inequalities in access to health services has been the focus of major international efforts, inequalities in health-care quality have not been systematically examined. Methods: Using the most recent (2007–16) Demographic and Health Surveys […]
Induced abortion: A cross-sectional study on knowledge of and attitudes toward the new abortion law in Maputo and Quelimane cities, Mozambique
Background: Maternal mortality, of which 6.7% is attributable to abortion complications, remains high in Mozambique. The objective of this paper is to assess the level of induced abortion at the community, as well as to assess awareness of and attitudes towards the new abortion law among women of reproductive age in suburban areas of Maputo […]
High severity of abortion complications in fragile and conflict-affected settings: a cross-sectional study in two referral hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa (AMoCo study)
Background: Abortion-related complications are one of the five main causes of maternal mortality. However, research about abortion is very limited in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Our study aims to describe the magnitude and severity of abortion-related complications in two referral hospitals supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and located in such settings in northern Nigeria and […]
