Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (Wash) and improved complementary feeding on early neurodevelopment among children born to hiv-negative mothers in rural zimbabwe: Sub study of a cluster-randomized trial
Background Globally, nearly 250 million children (43% of all children under 5 years of age) are at risk of compromised neurodevelopment due to poverty, stunting, and lack of stimulation. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on early child development […]
Malnutrition, enamel defects, and early childhood caries in preschool children in a sub-urban Nigeria population
Objectives The study tried to determine if malnutrition (underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight) and enamel defects (enamel hypoplasia, hypomineralized second molar, amelogenesis imperfecta, fluorosis) were associated with early childhood caries (ECC). The study also examined whether malnutrition was associated with the presence of enamel defects in 0-5-year-old children. Methods The study was a secondary analysis of […]
Spatial and multilevel analysis of unskilled birth attendance in Chad
Background: Unskilled birth attendance is a major public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Existing studies are hardly focused on the socio-demographic correlates and geospatial distribution of unskilled birth attendance in Chad (a country in SSA), although the country has consistently been identified as having one of the highest prevalence of maternal and neonatal deaths […]
Burden, risk factors, and comorbidities of behavioural and emotional problems in Kenyan children: a population-based study
Background Three-quarters of the burden of mental health problems occurs in low-and-middle-income countries, but few epidemiological studies of these problems in preschool children from sub-Saharan Africa have been published. Behavioural and emotional problems often start in early childhood, and this might be particularly important in Africa, where the incidence of perinatal and early risk factors […]
A human centred approach to digital technologies in health care delivery among mothers, children and adolescents
Background:: Healthcare outcomes in child, adolescent and maternal in Tanzania are poor, and mostly characterised by fragmentary service provision. In order to address this weakness, digital technologies are sought to be integrated in the milieu of health as they present vast opportunities especially in the ability to improve health information management and coordination. Prior to […]
Use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) by pregnant women I: Risk of small-for-gestational-age birth
INTRODUCTION The 2016 US Surgeon General’s Report suggests that the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is a fetal risk factor. However, no previous study has estimated their effect on adverse pregnancy outcomes. We assessed the prevalence of current ENDS use in pregnant women and explored the effect on birth weight and smallness-for-gestational-age (SGA), […]
Association of whole blood n-6 fatty acids with stunting in 2-to-6-year-old Northern Ghanaian children: A cross-sectional study
In Northern Ghana, 33% of children are stunted due to economic disparities. Dietary fatty acids (FA) are critical for growth, but whether blood FA levels are adequate in Ghanaian children is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the association between whole blood FAs and growth parameters in Northern Ghanaian children 2–6 years […]
Increasing facility delivery through maternity waiting homes for women living far from a health facility in rural Zambia: a quasi-experimental study
Objective: To report on the effectiveness of a standardised core Maternity Waiting Home (MWH) model to increase facility deliveries among women living >10 km from a health facility. Design: Quasi-experimental design with partial randomisation at the cluster level. Setting: Seven rural districts in Zambia. Population: Women delivering at 40 health facilities between June 2016 and August […]
Application of Intervention Mapping to develop a community-based health promotion pre-pregnancy intervention for adolescent girls in rural South Africa: PROJECT Ntshembo (Hope)
Background: South Africa (SA) is undergoing multiple transitions with an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases and high levels of overweight and obesity in adolescent girls and women. Adolescence is key to addressing trans-generational risk and a window of opportunity to intervene and positively impact on individuals’ health trajectories into adulthood. Using Intervention Mapping (IM), this […]
Motivation and incentive preferences of community health officers in Ghana: An economic behavioral experiment approach
Background: Health worker shortage in rural areas is one of the biggest problems of the health sector in Ghana and many developing countries. This may be due to fewer incentives and support systems available to attract and retain health workers at the rural level. This study explored the willingness of community health officers (CHOs) to […]
