Action research and health system strengthening: The case of the health sector support programme in Mauritania, West Africa
Background: Access to qualitative and equitable healthcare is a major challenge in Mauritania. In order to support the country’s efforts, a health sector strengthening programme was set up with participatory action research at its core. Reinforcing a health system requires a customised and comprehensive approach to face the complexity inherent to health systems. Yet, limited […]
Study of congenital heart defects among neonates in Jos, Nigeria: prevalence and spectrum
Background: There are few reports of the prevalence of CHD in the neonatal period in sub-Saharan Africa. The only available study in Nigeria was carried out before the widespread availability of echocardiography in the country. We sought to determine the prevalence and spectrum of congenital heart defects (CHD) among neonates in Jos, Nigeria. Methods: This […]
Establishment of reference intervals during normal pregnancy through six months postpartum in western Kenya
Background Pregnancy is associated with changes in hematological and biochemistry values, yet there are no African reference intervals for clinical management of pregnant women. We sought to 1) develop laboratory reference intervals during pregnancy and up to 24 weeks postpartum and 2) determine the proportion of women in a previous clinical trial who would be […]
Prevalence and Correlates of Viral Load Suppression and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Drug Resistance Among Children and Adolescents in South Rift Valley and Kisumu, Kenya
BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents living with HIV (CALHIV) face unique challenges, including poorer treatment outcomes, risk for drug-resistance mutations (HIVDRMs), and limited drug formulations. We estimated viral suppression (VS) prevalence and evaluated predictors of VS and HIVDRMs in Kenya. METHODS: From 2018-2020, CALHIV 1-19 years on antiretroviral therapy (ART) >6 months were enrolled in this […]
Achieving community-based postpartum follow up in eastern Uganda: The field experience from the MamaMiso Study on antenatal distribution of misoprostol ISRCTN70408620 ISRCTN
Background: Advance provision of misoprostol to women during antenatal care aims to achieve broader access to uterotonics for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage. Studies of this community-based approach usually involve antenatal education as well as timely postpartum follow-up visits to confirm maternal and neonatal outcomes. The MamaMiso study in Mbale, Uganda sought to assess the […]
Lay HIV counselors’ knowledge and attitudes toward depression: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study at primary healthcare centers in Mozambique
Introduction: Depression is the most common mental disorder among people living with HIV/AIDS and has a negative impact on HIV treatment outcomes. Training lay HIV counselors to identify and manage depression may contribute to improved patient access and adherence to treatment, and reduce stigma and discrimination among lay health workers toward both HIV and depression. […]
Barriers to Oral HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Adherence Among Pregnant and Post-partum Women from Cape Town, South Africa
Cisgender women, particularly pregnant and postpartum women in Eastern and Southern Africa, face an unacceptably high risk of HIV acquisition. Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention intervention that can reduce HIV acquisition and vertical transmission. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 21 postpartum women from Cape Town, South Africa who initiated PrEP […]
A case-control study on the driving factors of childhood brain volume loss: What pediatricians must explore
Background The brain volume loss also known as brain atrophy is increasingly observed among children in the course of performing neuroimaging using CT scan and MRI brains. While severe forms of brain volume loss are frequently associated with neurocognitive changes due to effects on thought processing speed, reasoning and memory of children that eventually alter […]
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health care service availability and delivery in public health facilities of plateau state nigeria
To assess the availability, accessibility, appropriateness and quality of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services in primary health care (PHC) facilities in Plateau State, Nigeria, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 230 PHC facilities across the three senatorial zones of Plateau state. Primary data were obtained through face-to-face interviews with heads of facilities from […]
Subnational health management and the advancement of health equity: a case study of Ethiopia
Background: Health equity is a cross-cutting theme in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and a priority in health sector planning in countries including Ethiopia. Subnational health managers in Ethiopia are uniquely positioned to advance health equity, given the coordination, planning, budgetary, and administration tasks that they are assigned. Yet, the nature of […]