Measles second dose vaccine utilization and associated factors among children aged 24–35 months in Sub-Saharan Africa, a multi-level analysis from recent DHS surveys
Background: Although a safe and effective vaccine is available, measles remains an important cause of mortality and morbidity among young children in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The WHO and UNICEF recommended measles-containing vaccine dose 2 (MCV2) in addition to measles-containing vaccine dose 1 (MCV1) through routine services strategies. Many factors could contribute to the routine dose […]
Low birth weight in a sub-urban area of Cameroon: An analysis of the clinical cut-off, incidence, predictors and complications
Background: The World Health Organisation recommends that each country adopts its own cut-off value of low birth weight (LBW) for clinical use. The aims of this study were to establish a clinical cut-off point for LBW and to determine its incidence, predictors and complications in a sub-urban area’s hospital of Cameroon. Methods: We conducted a […]
Barriers to formal health care seeking during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period: A qualitative study in Siaya County in rural Kenya
Background: There is broad agreement that antenatal care (ANC) interventions, skilled attendance at birth and management of complications arising after delivery are key strategies that can tackle the high burden of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, utilisation rate of these services has remained low despite a government policy on free maternal care. The […]
Undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant mothers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia
Background Regardless of significant gains and signs of progress in the last decades, maternal undernutrition remains a major public health concern in Ethiopia. Supporting the progress of interventions being taken in the country with evidence might be important to keep the sustainability of the government effort. We aimed at determining the extent of undernutrition and […]
The prevalence of under nutrition and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care service in public hospitals of western Ethiopia
Background Pregnancy is a time when the body is under a lot of stress, which increases your dietary needs. Under nutrition is a worldwide health issue, especially among pregnant women. Malnutrition during pregnancy can result in miscarriages, fetal deaths during pregnancy, preterm delivery, and maternal mortality for both the mother and her fetus. Therefore, this […]
Women’s education and health inequalities in under-five mortality in selected sub-saharan African countries, 1990-2015
Background The aim of the study was to analyse trends in the relationship between mother’s educational level and mortality of children under the year of five in Sub-Saharan Africa, from 1990 to 2015. Data and Methods Data used in this study came from different waves of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of Sub-Saharan countries. Logistic […]
Participation in a clinical trial of a text messaging intervention is associated with increased infant HIV testing: A parallel-cohort randomized controlled trial
Objective Text messages significantly improve uptake of infant HIV testing in clinical trial contexts. Women who were excluded from a randomized trial in Kenya were followed to create a comparison between women who were enrolled and did not receive the study SMS intervention and women who were screened but not enrolled. Design Parallel-cohort randomized controlled […]
Adverse pregnancy outcomes in rural Uganda (1996-2013): Trends and associated factors from serial cross sectional surveys
Objective: Community based evidence on pregnancy outcomes in rural Africa is lacking yet it is needed to guide maternal and child health interventions. We estimated and compared adverse pregnancy outcomes and associated factors in rural south-western Uganda using two survey methods. Methods: Within a general population cohort, between 1996 and 2013, women aged 15-49 years […]
The international Perinatal Outcomes in the Pandemic (iPOP) study: Protocol
Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant death worldwide, but the causes of preterm birth are largely unknown. During the early COVID-19 lockdowns, dramatic reductions in preterm birth were reported; however, these trends may be offset by increases in stillbirth rates. It is important to study these trends globally as the pandemic continues, and […]
Predicting neurodevelopmental risk in children born to mothers living with HIV in Kenya: protocol for a prospective cohort study (Tabiri Study)
Introduction For the growing number of children with in utero and postpartum exposure to HIV and/or antiretrovirals, it is unclear which exposures or risk factors play a significant role in predicting worse neurodevelopmental outcomes. This protocol describes a prospective longitudinal cohort study of infants born to mothers living with HIV and those born to mothers […]
