Using audit to enhance quality of maternity care in resource limited countries: Lessons learnt from rural Tanzania
Background: Although clinical audit is an important instrument for quality care improvement, the concept has not yet been adequately taken on board in rural settings in most resource limited countries where the problem of maternal mortality is immense. Maternal mortality and morbidity audit was established at Saint Francis Designated District Hospital (SFDDH) in rural Tanzania […]
‘How to know what you need to do’: A cross-country comparison of maternal health guidelines in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania
Background: Initiatives to raise the quality of care provided to mothers need to be given priority in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The promotion of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is a common strategy, but their implementation is often challenging, limiting their potential impact. Through a cross-country perspective, this study explored CPGs for maternal health in Burkina […]
The global maternal sepsis study and awareness campaign (GLOSS): Study protocol
Background: Maternal sepsis is the underlying cause of 11% of all maternal deaths and a significant contributor to many deaths attributed to other underlying conditions. The effective prevention, early identification and adequate management of maternal and neonatal infections and sepsis can contribute to reducing the burden of infection as an underlying and contributing cause of […]
Predictors of Adherence to Routine Immunization Schedule Among Caretakers of Children Aged 10 to 18 Months in Lira City, Uganda
Background: Although the majority of nations have routine immunization programs in place as a public health strategy, more than 1.5 million children under the age of 5 die yearly worldwide due to inadequate vaccination coverage. This study investigated the predictors of adherence to routine immunization schedules in Lira city. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study […]
Availability of facility resources and services and infection-related maternal outcomes in the WHO Global Maternal Sepsis Study: a cross-sectional study
Background: Infections are among the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. The Global Maternal Sepsis and Neonatal Initiative, launched in 2016 by WHO and partners, sought to reduce the burden of maternal infections and sepsis and was the basis upon which the Global Maternal Sepsis Study (GLOSS) was implemented in 2017. In this Article, […]
What are the barriers to antenatal care utilization in Rufisque District, Senegal?: A bottleneck analysis
Background: This study aimed to analyze the barriers affecting the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) among Senegalese mothers. Methods: Health facility staffs were surveyed to examine the availability coverage of ANC (infrastructural capacity of health posts to handle maternal and newborn healthcare). A total of 113 women of childbearing age were surveyed to identify factors […]
eRegistries: Governance for electronic maternal and child health registries
Background: The limited availability of maternal and child health data has limited progress in reducing mortality and morbidity among pregnant women and children. Global health agencies, leaders, and funders are prioritizing strategies that focus on acquiring high quality health data. Electronic maternal and child health registries (eRegistries) offer a systematic data collection and management approach […]
Barriers to healthcare access and healthcare seeking for childhood illnesses among childbearing women in sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel modelling of Demographic and Health Surveys
Introduction The success of current policies and interventions on providing effective access to treatment for childhood illnesses hinges on families’ decisions relating to healthcare access. In sub- Saharan Africa (SSA), there is an uneven distribution of child healthcare services. We investigated the role played by barriers to healthcare accessibility in healthcare seeking for childhood illnesses […]
Family context and individual characteristics in antenatal care utilization among adolescent childbearing mothers in urban slums in Nigeria
Introduction Adolescent pregnancy contributes significantly to the high maternal mortality in Nigeria. Research evidence from developing countries consistently underscores Antenatal Care (ANC) among childbearing adolescents as important to reducing high maternal mortality. However, more than half of pregnant adolescents in Nigeria do not attend ANC. A major gap in literature is on the influence of […]
A model for predicting utilization of mHealth interventions in low-resource settings: case of maternal and newborn care in Kenya
Background: In low-resource settings, there are numerous socioeconomic challenges such as poverty, inadequate facilities, shortage of skilled health workers, illiteracy and cultural barriers that contribute to high maternal and newborn deaths. To address these challenges, there are several mHealth projects particularly in Sub-Sahara Africa seeking to exploit opportunities provided by over 90% rate of mobile […]
