Operational effectiveness of single-dose nevirapine in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV
Objective: To determine the operational effectiveness of the South African programme for preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in reducing rates of early transmission of infection. Methods: Participants were mother-infant pairs who participated in the South African PMTCT programme between October 2002 and November 2004. This was a prospective cohort study. Three sites in different […]
The Effect of the Removal of User Fees for Delivery at Public Health Facilities on Institutional Delivery in Urban Kenya
Objectives In 2013, Kenya removed delivery fees at public health facilities in an effort to promote equity in access to health services and address high maternal mortality. This study determines the effect of the policy to remove user fees on institutional delivery in a population-based sample of women from urban Kenya. Methods Longitudinal data were […]
Poor supply chain management and stock-outs of point-of-care diagnostic tests in Upper East Region’s primary healthcare clinics, Ghana
Introduction Several supply chain components are important to sustain point-of-care (POC) testing services in rural settings. To evaluate the availability of POC diagnostic tests in rural Ghana’s primary healthcare (PHC) clinics, we conducted an audit of the supply chain management for POC diagnostic services in rural Upper East Region’s (UER) PHC clinics, Ghana to determine […]
Impact of the early COVID-19 pandemic on outcomes in a rural Ugandan neonatal unit: A retrospective cohort study
Background During the early COVID-19 pandemic travel in Uganda was tightly restricted which affected demand for and access to care for pregnant women and small and sick newborns. In this study we describe changes to neonatal outcomes in one rural central Ugandan newborn unit before and during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods […]
The impact of implementing the 2016 WHO Recommendations on Antenatal Care for a Positive Pregnancy Experience on perinatal deaths: An interrupted time-series analysis in Mpumalanga province, South Africa
Objectives To investigate if the implementation of the 2016 WHO Recommendations for a Positive Pregnancy Experience reduced perinatal mortality in a South African province. The recommendations were implemented which included increasing the number of contacts and also the content of the contacts. Methods Retrospective interrupted time-series analysis was conducted for all women accessing a minimum […]
The effects of geographical accessibility to health facilities on antenatal care and delivery services utilization in Benin: a cross-sectional study
Background: The world is making progress toward achieving maternal and child health (MCH) related components of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nevertheless, the progress of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging. Geographical accessibility from residence to health facilities is considered a major obstacle hampering the use of appropriate MCH services. Benin, a country where the […]
Trends of infant mortality and its determinants in Ethiopia: mixed-effect binary logistic regression and multivariate decomposition analysis
Background: Infant mortality remains a serious global public health problem. The global infant mortality rate has decreased significantly over time, but the rate of decline in most African countries, including Ethiopia, is far below the rate expected to meet the SDG targets. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the trends of infant mortality and its […]
Obstetric Facility Quality and Newborn Mortality in Malawi: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Ending preventable newborn deaths is a global health priority, but efforts to improve coverage of maternal and newborn care have not yielded expected gains in infant survival in many settings. One possible explanation is poor quality of clinical care. We assess facility quality and estimate the association of facility quality with neonatal mortality in […]
Antenatal iron supplementation, FGF23, and bone metabolism in Kenyan women and their offspring: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial
Background: Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) regulates body phosphate homeostasis primarily by increasing phosphaturia. It also acts as a vitamin D-regulating hormone. Maternal iron deficiency is associated with perturbed expression and/or regulation of FGF23 and hence might be implicated in the pathogenesis of hypophosphatemia-driven rickets in their offspring. Objectives: We aimed to determine the effect of […]
Nairobi Newborn Study: A protocol for an observational study to estimate the gaps in provision and quality of inpatient newborn care in Nairobi City County, Kenya
Introduction Progress has been made in Kenya towards reducing child mortality as part of efforts aligned with the fourth Millennium Development Goal. However, little advancement has been made in reducing mortality among newborns, which now accounts for 45% of all child deaths. The frequently unanticipated nature of neonatal illness, its severity and the high dependency […]
