Using verbal autopsy to measure causes of death: The comparative performance of existing methods
Background: Monitoring progress with disease and injury reduction in many populations will require widespread use of verbal autopsy (VA). Multiple methods have been developed for assigning cause of death from a VA but their application is restricted by uncertainty about their reliability.Methods: We investigated the validity of five automated VA methods for assigning cause of […]
Global, regional, and national estimates of levels of preterm birth in 2014: a systematic review and modelling analysis
Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years worldwide. Although preterm survival rates have increased in high-income countries, preterm newborns still die because of a lack of adequate newborn care in many low-income and middle-income countries. We estimated global, regional, and national rates of preterm birth in 2014, […]
Eating and feeding behaviours in children in low-income areas in Nairobi, Kenya
Child eating and caregiver feeding behaviours are critical determinants of food intake, but they are poorly characterized in undernourished children. We aimed to describe how appetite, food refusal and force-feeding vary between undernourished and healthy children aged 6–24 months in Nairobi and identify potential variables for use in a child eating behaviour scale for international […]
Prices, availability and affordability of medicines in Rwanda
Background Access to affordable and good quality medicines is a key to meeting Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 by the year 2030. Prices, availability and affordability of essential medicines have been studied in many developing countries, but no such information has been published about Rwanda yet. This study aimed at providing data on prices, availability […]
Accuracy of patient perceptions of maternity facility quality and the choice of providers in Nairobi, Kenya: A cohort study
Objectives This study aimed to assess the accuracy of pregnant women’s perceptions of maternity facility quality and the association between perception accuracy and the quality of facility chosen for delivery. Design A cohort study. Setting Nairobi, Kenya. Participants 180 women, surveyed during pregnancy and 2 to 4 weeks after delivery. Primary outcome measures Women were […]
Prevalence and determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus in Africa based on the updated international diagnostic criteria: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a major public health problem and threat to maternal and child health in Africa. No prior review has been conducted in Africa using the updated GDM diagnostic criteria. Therefore, this review aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and determinants of GDM in Africa by using current international diagnostic criteria. […]
Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of accelerometer measured physical activity levels of school-going children in Kampala city, Uganda
Background The current international physical activity guidelines for health recommend children to engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. Yet, accurate prevalence estimates of physical activity levels of children are unavailable in many African countries due to the dearth of accelerometer-measured physical activity data. The aim of this study was […]
Key factors influencing motivation among health extension workers and health care professionals in four regions of Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Background Although Ethiopia has improved access to health care in recent years, quality of care remains low. Health worker motivation is an important determinant of performance and affects quality of care. Low health care workers motivation can be associated with poor health care quality and client experience, non-attendance, and poor clinical outcome. Objective this study […]
A risk scoring tool for predicting Kenyan women at high risk of contraceptive discontinuation
Objective: We developed and validated a pragmatic risk assessment tool for identifying contraceptive discontinuation among Kenyan women who do not desire pregnancy. Study design: Within a prospective cohort of contraceptive users, participants were randomly allocated to derivation (n = 558) and validation (n = 186) cohorts. Risk scores were developed by selecting the Cox proportional […]
Association between functional antibody against Group B Streptococcus and maternal and infant colonization in a Gambian cohort
Background Vertical transmission of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a prerequisite for early-onset disease and a consequence of maternal GBS colonization. Disease protection is associated with maternally-derived anti-GBS antibody. Using a novel antibody-mediated C3b/iC3b deposition flow cytometry assay which correlates with opsonic killing we developed a model to assess the impact of maternally-derived functional anti-GBS […]
