Inequalities in maternal health care utilization in Benin: A population based cross-sectional study
Background: Ensuring equitable access to maternal health care including antenatal, delivery, postnatal services and fertility control methods, is one of the most critical challenges for public health sector. There are significant disparities in maternal health care indicators across many geographical locations, maternal, economic, socio-demographic factors in many countries in sub-Sahara Africa. In this study, we […]
Utilizing mobile health and community informants to collect real-time health care data in extremely low resource environments
Background: Mobile health provides promising opportunities to perform population surveillance in rural, impoverished, or unstable communities. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy and accuracy of data collected by community informants in extreme low-resource environments using electronic surveys and mobile phones. Methods: We carried out a population-based, cross-sectional survey between October and […]
Growing inequities in maternal health in South Africa: A comparison of serial national household surveys
Background: Rates of maternal mortality and morbidity vary markedly, both between and within countries. Documenting these variations, in a very unequal society like South Africa, provides useful information to direct initiatives to improve services. The study describes inequalities over time in access to maternal health services in South Africa, and identifies differences in maternal health […]
Maternal and child health in Yushu, Qinghai Province, China
Introduction. Surmang, Qinghai Province is a rural nomadic Tibetan region in western China recently devastated by the 2010 Yushu earthquake; little information is available on access and coverage of maternal and child health services. Methods. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in August 2004. 402 women of reproductive age (15-50) were interviewed regarding their pregnancy […]
Maternal and Child Ill Health as a Household Health Shock – Case Descriptions from a Vulnerability Perspective in Lao Pdr
Household coping strategies during maternal and child health shocks in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) are analysed in this paper. Vulnerability was the consequence of high and immediate medical costs, which forced households to borrow money or sell off assets, and also of poor access to health care as a result of these costs. This, […]
Poor coverage and quality for poor women: Inequalities in quality antenatal care in nine East African countries
The use of quality antenatal care (ANC) improves maternal and newborn health outcomes. Ensuring equity in access to quality maternal health services is a priority agenda in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to assess inequalities in the use of quality ANC in nine East African countries using the most recent Demographic and Health […]
Improving maternal and newborn health care delivery in rural Amhara and Oromiya regions of Ethiopia through the maternal and newborn health in Ethiopia partnership
Introduction: In Ethiopia, rural residence and limited access to skilled providers and health services pose challenges for maternal and newborn survival. The Maternal Health in Ethiopia Partnership (MaNHEP) developed a community-based model of maternal and newborn health focusing on birth and the early postnatal period and positioned it for scale-up. MaNHEP’s 3-pronged intervention included community- […]
Pregnancy rates and clinical outcomes among women living with HIV enrolled in HPTN 052
HPTN 052 was a multi-country clinical trial of cART for preventing heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. The study allowed participation of pregnant women and provided access to cART and contraceptives. We explored associations between pregnancy and clinical measures of HIV disease stage and progression. Of 869 women followed for 5.70 (SD = 1.62) years, 94.7% were married/cohabitating, […]
Factors associated with maternal delays in utilising emergency obstetric care in arsi zone, Ethiopia
Background. Delay to timely healthcare contributes to high maternal mortality and morbidity in developing countries. The so-called ‘Three delays’ model has been used extensively to investigate factors relating to maternal mortality. Objective. To investigate factors associated with delayed emergency obstetric care in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted across 10 public health […]
Obstetric care in Mali: Effect of organization on in-hospital maternal mortality
Background: Maternal mortality is still too high in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in referral hospitals. Solutions exist but their implementation is a great issue in the poor-resources settings. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of the organization of obstetric care services on maternal mortality in referral hospitals in Mali. Methods: This is […]
