Predictors of inappropriate complementary feeding practice among children aged 6 to 23 months in Wonago District, South Ethiopia, 2017; Case control study
Background: Inappropriate complementary feeding practice could result in child illness, sub-optimal growth and development. Evidence shows a huge burden of inappropriate complementary feeding practice from global to national level. But studies regarding predictors of inappropriate complementary feeding practices were scarce especially in the study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine predictors […]
Nutritional Status of Postpartum Mothers and Associated Risk Factors in Shey-Bench District, Bench-Sheko Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Malnutrition affects millions of people in developing countries and contributes to poor health outcomes and nutritional status among women in the postpartum period. Lactation increases high nutritional demands and marks a significant life transition that can impact diet quality and subsequently predispose woman to high risk of overweight and undernutrition. Although, studies have been […]
A decade of progress providing safe abortion services in Ethiopia: Results of national assessments in 2008 and 2014
Background: Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world (420 per 100,000 live births in 2013), and unsafe abortion continues to be one of the major causes. To reduce deaths and disabilities from unsafe abortion, Ethiopia liberalized its abortion law in 2005 to allow safe abortion under certain conditions. This study […]
Collective reflections on the first cycle of a collaborative learning platform to strengthen rural primary healthcare in Mpumalanga, South Africa
Background: Frontline managers and health service providers are constrained in many contexts from responding to community priorities due to organizational cultures focused on centrally defined outputs and targets. This paper presents an evaluation of the Verbal Autopsy with Participatory Action Research (VAPAR) programme—a collaborative learning platform embedded in the local health system in Mpumalanga, South […]
Improving the quality of postabortion care services in Togo increased uptake of contraception
High-quality postabortion care (PAC) services that include family planning counseling and a full range of contraceptives at point of treatment for abortion complications have great potential to break the cycle of repeat unintended pregnancies and demand for abortions. We describe the first application of a systematic approach to quality improvement of PAC services in a […]
Determinants of diarrhoeal diseases and height-for-age Z-scores in children under five years of age in rural central Tanzania
Introduction. Childhood diarrhoeal diseases and stunting are major health problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Poor water supply, sanitation services and hygiene, frequently encountered in resource-poor settings, contribute to childhood diarrhoea and stunting. Methods. Data on demographic characteristics, hygiene practices, sanitation and human-animal interactions (predictors) and child height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) (outcome) were collected once, […]
Readiness of rural health facilities to provide immediate postpartum care in Uganda
Background: Nearly 60% of maternal and 45% of newborn deaths occur within 24 h after delivery. Immediate postpartum monitoring could avert death from preventable causes including postpartum hemorrhage, and eclampsia among mothers, and birth asphyxia, hypothermia, and sepsis for babies. We aimed at assessing facility readiness for the provision of postpartum care within the immediate […]
Determinants of postnatal care use at health facilities in rural Tanzania: Multilevel analysis of a household survey
Background: Postnatal care (PNC) for the mother and infant is a neglected area, even for women who give birth in a health facility. Currently, there is very little evidence on the determinants of use of postnatal care from health facilities in Tanzania. Methods: This study examined the role of individual and community-level variables on the […]
Stunting in infancy is associated with decreased risk of high body mass index for age at 8 and 12 years of age
Background: Effects of early-life stunting on adiposity development later in childhood are not well understood, specifically with respect to age in the onset of overweight and obesity. Objectives: We analyzed associations of infant stunting with prevalence of, incidence of, and reversion from high body mass index-for-age z score (BMIZ) later in life. We then estimated […]
Impact of a health system strengthening intervention on maternal and child health outputs and outcomes in rural Rwanda 2005-2010
Introduction Although Rwanda’s health system underwent major reforms and improvements after the 1994 Genocide, the health system and population health in the southeast lagged behind other areas. In 2005, Partners In Health and the Rwandan Ministry of Health began a health system strengthening intervention in this region. We evaluate potential impacts of the intervention on […]
