Predictors of acute undernutrition among children aged 6 to 36 months in east rural Ethiopia: A community based nested case – control study
Background: Child undernutrition is one of the major public health problems in the developing countries having a devastating effect on the lives of many children under five years of age. However, its causes are multitude and not uniformly understood enough across the various parts of the world and that a thorough understanding of these causes […]
Availability of comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care in developing regions in Ethiopia: lessons learned from the USAID transform health activity
Background: In collaboration with its partners, the Ethiopian government has been implementing standard Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care Services (CEmONC) since 2010. However, limited studies documented the lessons learned from such programs on the availability of CEmONC signal functions. This study investigated the availability of CEmONC signal functions and described lessons learned from Transform Health […]
Association of antenatal depression with adverse consequences for the mother and newborn in rural Ghana: Findings from the DON population-based cohort study
Background: Whilst there is compelling evidence of an almost 2-fold increased risk of still births, and suggestive evidence of increased mortality among offspring of mothers with psychotic disorders, only three studies have addressed the role of antenatal depression (AND) on survival of the baby. We examined these associations in a large cohort of pregnant women […]
Urban Health in Tanzania: Questioning the Urban Advantage
How are health inequalities articulated across urban and rural spaces in Tanzania? This research paper explores the variations, differences, and inequalities, in Tanzania’s health outcomes—to question both the idea of an urban advantage in health and the extent of urban–rural inequalities in health. The three research objectives aim to understand: what are the health differences […]
Women’s experiences with unplanned pregnancy and abortion in Kenya: A qualitative study
Background Safe and legal abortions are rarely practiced in the public health sector in Kenya, and rates of maternal mortality and morbidity from unsafe abortion is high. Little is known about women’s experiences seeking and accessing abortion in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods Seven focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 71 […]
Differences in essential newborn care at birth between private and public health facilities in eastern Uganda
Background: In Uganda and elsewhere, the private sector provides an increasing and significant proportion of maternal and child health services. However, little is known whether private care results in better quality services and improved outcomes compared to the public sector, especially regarding care at the time of birth. Objective: To describe the characteristics of care-seekers […]
Use of a novel supplementary food and measures to control inflammation in malnourished pregnant women in Sierra Leone to improve birth outcomes: Study protocol for a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical effectiveness trial
Background: The negative synergy between poor nutritional status and infectious diseases is doubly detrimental in pregnancy. In Sierra Leone, maternal malnutrition is amongst the highest in the world, while maternal mortality is high at 1320/100,000 live births and stunting in under-five is 37.9%, ranked 110/132 worldwide. Maternal malnutrition has been associated with preterm birth, small-for-gestational […]
The association between infant and young child feeding practices and diarrhoea in Tanzanian children
Background: Diarrhoea is a leading cause of child mortality in Tanzania. The association between optimal infant feeding practices and diarrhoea has been reported elsewhere, but the evidence has been limited to promote and advocate for strategic interventions in Tanzania. This study examined the association between infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and diarrhoea in […]
Referral patterns through the lens of health facility readiness to manage obstetric complications: National facility-based results from Ghana
Introduction: Countries with high maternal and newborn mortality can benefit from national facility level data that describe intra-facility emergency referral patterns for major obstetric complications. This paper assesses the relationship between referral and facilities’ readiness to treat complications at each level of the health system in Ghana. We also investigate other facility characteristics associated with […]
Faecal regenerating 1B protein concentration is not associated with child growth in rural Malawi
Aim: This study was designed to determine whether faecal regenerating 1B protein (REG1B) concentration is associated with physical growth among 6–30-month-old children in rural Malawi. Methods: This was a secondary analysis from a randomised controlled trial in rural Malawi in which we followed-up 790 live-born infants from birth to 30 months of age. We collected […]
