Ghana’s national health insurance scheme and maternal and child health: A mixed methods study
Background: Ghana is attracting global attention for efforts to provide health insurance to all citizens through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). With the program’s strong emphasis on maternal and child health, an expectation of the program is that members will have increased use of relevant services. Methods: This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data […]
Intermittent Preventive Therapy with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine for Malaria in Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study from Tororo, Uganda
Background:Intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is widely recommended in sub-Saharan Africa to reduce the risk of malaria and improve birth outcomes. However, there are reports that the efficacy of IPTp with SP is waning, especially in parts of Africa where antimalarial resistance to this drug has become widespread.Methodology/Principal Findings:We conducted a […]
Development of a new model for estimating maternal mortality ratio at national and subnational levels and its application for describing sub-national variations of maternal death in Ethiopia
Background In developing countries lacking functional vital registration system, statistical models are being increasingly used for estimating maternal mortality ratio (MMR). Yet, most of the models have limited applicability at sub-country level. This paper introduces a new model for estimating MMR at national and sub-national levels based on maternal health-related indicators. Further, it applies the […]
Determinants of timing, adequacy and quality of antenatal care in Rwanda: a cross-sectional study using demographic and health surveys data
Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is a recommended intervention to lessen maternal and neonatal mortality. The increased rate in ANC coverage in most Sub-Saharan African countries is not considerably reducing the maternal and neonatal mortality. This disconnection has raised concerns to study further the trend and determinants of the ANC timing and quality. We aimed to […]
Can she make it? Transportation barriers to accessing maternal and child health care services in rural Ghana
Background: The Ghana Community based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) strategy targets to bring health services to the doorsteps of clients in a manner that improves maternal and child health outcomes. In this strategy, referral is an important component but it is threatened in a rural context where transportation service is a problem. Few studies […]
Place of Delivery Associated With Postnatal Care Utilization Among Childbearing Women in Zambia
Objective: Postnatal care (PNC) utilization is critical to the prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality. Despite its importance, the proportion of women utilizing this service is still low in Zambia. We investigated if place of delivery was associated with PNC utilization in the first 48 h among childbearing women in Zambia. Methods: Data from the […]
Demographic disparities in unimproved drinking water and sanitation in Ghana: A nationally representative cross-sectional study
Objective The government of Ghana has targeted universal access to safe drinking water by 2025 and elimination of open defecation by year 2030. This study explored the use of unimproved drinking water and unimproved sanitation and assessed their association with demographic factors. Design This was a secondary data analysis of the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health […]
Determinants of depressive symptoms among postpartum mothers: a cross-sectional study in Ethiopia
Objective This study aims to assess the determinants of depressive symptoms among postpartum mothers. Design A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting Ten randomly selected rural kebeles of Meket district of Ethiopia. Participants A random sample of 232 mothers with infants 5-10 months was included in this study. Data analysis Forward multivariable logistic regression analysis. […]
Determinants of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality in a war-affected country: Analysis of the 2010 Household Health Survey in South Sudan
Background: Under-five children born in a fragile and war-affected setting of South Sudan are faced with a high risk of death as reflecting in high under-five mortality. In South Sudan health inequities and inequitable condition of daily living play a significant role in childhood mortality. This study examines factors associated with under-five mortality in South […]
Factors associated with concurrent wasting and stunting among children 6–59 months in Karamoja, Uganda
Children with concurrent wasting and stunting (WaSt) and children with severe wasting have a similar risk of death. Existing evidence shows that wasting and stunting share similar causal pathways, but evidence on correlates of WaSt remains limited. Research on correlates of WaSt is needed to inform prevention strategies. We investigated the factors associated with WaSt […]
