Exploring the determinants of exclusive breastfeeding among infants under-six months in Ethiopia using multilevel analysis
Introduction Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is the safest and healthiest option of feeding among infants in the first 6 months throughout the world. Thus, the promotion of EBF is essential to prevent complex infant health problems even at the adulthood level. But the majority of previous studies focused on individual- level determinants of EBF by using […]
Does a complex intervention targeting communities, health facilities and district health managers increase the utilisation of community-based child health services? A before and after study in intervention and comparison areas of Ethiopia
INTRODUCTION: Ethiopia successfully reduced mortality in children below 5 years of age during the past few decades, but the utilisation of child health services was still low. Optimising the Health Extension Programme was a 2-year intervention in 26 districts, focusing on community engagement, capacity strengthening of primary care workers and reinforcement of district accountability of child […]
Protocol for a prospective evaluation of postpartum engagement in HIV care among women living with HIV in South Africa
Introduction KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa (SA) has the highest prevalence of pregnant women living with HIV in the world. Pregnancy and the postpartum period offer opportunities to engage women in HIV care, to prevent perinatal transmission and to optimise maternal and infant well-being. However, research suggests that remaining engaged in HIV care during this time […]
Mixed-method study to assess the feasibility, acceptability and early effectiveness of the Hospital to Home programme for follow-up of high-risk newborns in a rural district of Central Uganda: A study protocol
Introduction A follow-up programme designed for high-risk newborns discharged from inpatient newborn units in low-resource settings is imperative to ensure these newborns receive the healthiest possible start to life. We aim to assess the feasibility, acceptability and early outcomes of a discharge and follow-up programme, called Hospital to Home (H2H), in a neonatal unit in […]
Effect of a baby-friendly workplace support intervention on exclusive breastfeeding in Kenya
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during the first 6 months of life is crucial for optimizing child growth, development and survival, as well as the mother’s wellbeing. Mother’s employment may hinder optimal breastfeeding, especially in the first 6 months. We assessed the effectiveness of a baby-friendly workplace support intervention on EBF in Kenya. This pre-post intervention study […]
Determinants of undernutrition among young children in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the highest burden of childhood undernutrition. Despite the high burden of this scourge, little is known about the magnitude and contributing determinants to anthropometric failure among children aged 0–23 months, a period regarded as the best window of opportunity for interventions against undernutrition. This study examined […]
Stakeholder’s experiences, expectations and decision making on reproductive care: An ethnographic study of three districts in northern Ghana
Background: In Ghana, priority-setting for reproductive health service interventions is known to be rudimentary with little wider stakeholder involvement. In recognizing the need for broad stakeholder engagement to advance reproductive care provision and utilization, it is necessary to jointly study the varied stakeholder views on reproductive care services. Methods: We applied an ethnographic study approach […]
Study protocol: Incentives for increased access to comprehensive family planning for urban youth using a benefits card in Uganda. A quasi-experimental study
Background: The use of contraception is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions and has the potential to prevent about 30% of maternal and 10% of child deaths in developing countries. Voucher-based initiatives for family planning are an effective and viable means of increasing contraceptive use. In this paper, we present a protocol for […]
Designing mHealth for maternity services in primary health facilities in a low-income setting – Lessons from a partially successful implementation 08 Information and Computing Sciences 0806 Information Systems
Background: Increasing mobile phone ownership, functionality and access to mobile-broad band internet services has triggered growing interest to harness the potential of mobile phone technology to improve health services in low-income settings. The present project aimed at designing an mHealth system that assists midlevel health workers to provide better maternal health care services by automating […]
Hypertension screening, awareness, treatment, and control in india: A nationally representative cross-sectional study among individuals aged 15 to 49 years
Background Evidence on where in the hypertension care process individuals are lost to care, and how this varies among states and population groups in a country as large as India, is essential for the design of targeted interventions and to monitor progress. Yet, to our knowledge, there has not yet been a nationally representative analysis […]
