Time to non-adherence to iron and folic acid supplementation and associated factors among pregnant women in Hosanna town, South Ethiopia: Cox-proportional hazard model

Backgrounds Micronutrient deficits in women of reproductive age have been linked to poor pregnancy outcomes. The most common micronutrient deficits in women are iron and folate. The World Health Organization recommends daily oral iron and folic acid supplementation (IFAS) as part of routine antenatal care to lower the risk of maternal anemia and adverse pregnancy […]

Application of the Andersen-Newman model of health care utilization to understand antenatal care use in Kersa District, Eastern Ethiopia

Background In Ethiopia, the uptake of antenatal care services has been low. Moreover, there is less frequent and late attendance of antenatal care among women who attend. Using the Anderson-Newman model of health care utilization, this study identified factors that either facilitate or impede antenatal care utilization in Kersa district, Eastern Ethiopia. Method A community-based […]

Rubella vaccine introduction in the South African public vaccination schedule: Mathematical modelling for decision making

Background: age structured mathematical models have been used to evaluate the impact of rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) introduction into existing measles vaccination programs in several countries. South Africa has a well-established measles vaccination program and is considering RCV introduction. This study aimed to provide a comparison of different scenarios and their relative costs within the context […]

Preparedness for and impact of COVID-19 on primary health care delivery in urban and rural Malawi: a mixed methods study

Objective Across Africa, the impact of COVID-19 continues to be acutely felt. This includes Malawi, where a key component of health service delivery to mitigate against COVID-19 are the primary healthcare facilities, strategically placed throughout districts to offer primary and maternal healthcare. These facilities have limited infrastructure and capacity but are the most accessible and […]

Coverage of maternal viral load monitoring during pregnancy in South Africa: Results from the 2019 national Antenatal HIV Sentinel Survey

Objectives: South Africa has made remarkable progress in increasing the coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among pregnant women; however, viral suppression among pregnant women receiving ART is reported to be low. Access to routine viral load testing is crucial to identify women with unsuppressed viral load early in pregnancy and to provide timely intervention to […]

The effect of a Mentor Mothers program on prevention of vertical transmission of HIV outcomes in Zambézia Province, Mozambique: a retrospective interrupted time series analysis

Introduction: Mentor Mothers (MM) provide peer support to pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV (PPWH) and their infants with perinatal HIV exposure (IPE) throughout the cascade of prevention of vertical transmission (PVT) services. MM were implemented in Zambézia Province, Mozambique starting in August 2017. This evaluation aimed to determine the effect of MM on […]

Mapping tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Ethiopia

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease in Ethiopia, killing more than 30 thousand people every year. This study aimed to determine whether the rates of poor TB treatment outcome varied geographically across Ethiopia at district and zone levels and whether such variability was associated with socioeconomic, behavioural, health […]

Impact of adversity on early childhood growth & development in rural India: Findings from the early life stress sub-study of the SPRING cluster randomised controlled trial (SPRING-ELS)

Introduction Early childhood development is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and can be negatively influenced by many different adversities including violence in the home, neglect, abuse and parental ill-health. We set out to quantify the extent to which multiple adversities are associated with impaired early childhood growth & development. Methods This was a […]

Effectiveness of checklist-based box system intervention (CBBSI) versus routine care on improving utilization of antenatal care visits in Northwest Ethiopia: a cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: In Ethiopia, the proportion of mothers who attend the fourth antenatal care visit is lower than the proportion who attend the first visit. Although the reasons for these dropouts were investigated, few studies introduced interventions to promote the fourth antenatal care visit. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of […]

Effects of the EQUIP quasi-experimental study testing a collaborative quality improvement approach for maternal and newborn health care in Tanzania and Uganda

Background: Quality improvement is a recommended strategy to improve implementation levels for evidence-based essential interventions, but experience of and evidence for its effects in low-resource settings are limited. We hypothesised that a systemic and collaborative quality improvement approach covering district, facility and community levels, supported by report cards generated through continuous household and health facility […]