Impact of community-based health insurance on health services utilisation among vulnerable households in Amhara region, Ethiopia

Background: Ethiopia piloted community-based health insurance in 2011, and as of 2019, the programme was operating in 770 districts nationwide, covering approximately 7 million households. Enrolment in participating districts reached 50%, holding promise to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage in the country. Despite the government’s efforts to expand community-based health insurance to all […]

COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among community members and health workers in Ebonyi state, Nigeria: Study protocol for a concurrent-independent mixed method analyses of intention to receive, timeliness of the intention to receive, uptake and hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccination and the determinants

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has gravely affected the lives and economies of the global population including Nigeria. The attainment of herd immunity through mass COVID-19 vaccination is the foremost control strategy, however, the deployments of COVID-19 vaccinations are facing challenges of non-acceptance. Despite the efforts of the Nigerian government and COVAX facility in making COVID-19 […]

Incentives for mothers, health workers and “boda–boda” riders to improve community-based referral process and deliveries in the rural community: a case of Busoga Region in Uganda

Background: This study set out to investigate how incentives for mothers, health workers and boda–boda riders can improve the community-based referral process and deliveries in the rural community of Busoga region in Uganda. Both the monetary and non-monetary incentives have been instrumental in the improvement of deliveries at health centres. Methods: The study was a […]

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 […]

Mobile technology for community health in Ghana: Is maternal messaging and provider use of technology cost-effective in improving maternal and child health outcomes at scale?

Background: Mobile technologies are emerging as tools to enhance health service delivery systems and empower clients to improve maternal, newborn, and child health. Limited evidence exists on the value for money of mobile health (mHealth) programs in low- and middle-income countries. Objective: This study aims to forecast the incremental cost-effectiveness of the Mobile Technology for […]

Implementation of point-of-care diagnostics leads to variable uptake of syphilis, anemia and CD4+ T-Cell count testing in rural maternal and child health clinics

Introduction Anemia, syphilis and HIV are high burden diseases among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in four health facilities in Southern Mozambique to evaluate the effect of point-of-care technologies for hemoglobin quantification, syphilis testing and CD4+ T-cell enumeration performed within maternal and child health services on testing and treatment coverage, […]

Evaluating quality neonatal care, call Centre service, tele-health and community engagement in reducing newborn morbidity and mortality in Bungoma county, Kenya

Background: Neonatal mortality is a major health burden in Bungoma County with the rate estimated at 31 per 1000 live births and is above the national average of 22 per 1000. Nonetheless, out of the nine sub county hospitals, only two are fairly equipped with necessary infrastructure and skilled personnel to manage neonatal complications such […]

Hygienic disposal of stools and risk of diarrheal episodes among children aged under two years: Evidence from the Ghana Demographic Health Survey, 2003–2014

Background Most childhood diarrheal illnesses are a result of the faeco-oral transmission of infected food, water, and unclean fingers. The present paper was conducted to estimate the prevalence of hygienic disposal of stools (HDS) and its associated factors, and further quantify the impact of HDS on diarrheal diseases among children under two years. Methods A […]

Effect of a community-based approach of iron and folic acid supplementation on compliance by pregnant women in Kiambu County, Kenya: A quasi-experimental study

Introduction Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (IFAS) is an essential and affordable intervention strategy for prevention of anaemia during pregnancy. The supplements are currently provided for free to pregnant women in Kenya during antenatal care (ANC), but compliance remains low over the years. There is need for diversification of IFAS programme implementation by exploring other […]

Intermittent screening and treatment with artemether-lumefantrine versus intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for malaria in pregnancy: A facility-based, open-label, non-inferiority trial in Nigeria

Background: The spread of SP resistance may compromise the effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (MiP) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) across Africa. However, there is no recommended alternative medicine for IPTp or alternative strategy for prevention of MiP. This poses problems for the prevention of MiP. This study investigated, whether screening with a […]