Effectiveness of home-based nutritional counselling and support on exclusive breastfeeding in urban poor settings in Nairobi: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) improves infant health and survival. We tested the effectiveness of a home-based intervention using Community Health Workers (CHWs) on EBF for six months in urban poor settings in Kenya. Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Korogocho and Viwandani slums in Nairobi. We recruited pregnant women and followed them until […]

Rationale, design and protocol of a cross-sectional study on pregnancy-related cardiovascular diseases in Tanzania (PRECARDT): Burden, characterisation and prognostic significance at delivery

Introduction The paucity of data describing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in pregnancy in many parts of Africa including Tanzania has given rise to challenges in proper management by the healthcare providers. This study is set out to (1) determine the prevalence of a range of CVDs during pregnancy in women attending antenatal clinics in Tanzania and […]

Geographical variations of the associations between health interventions and all-cause under-five mortality in Uganda

Background: To reduce the under-five mortality (U5M), fine-gained spatial assessment of the effects of health interventions is critical because national averages can obscure important sub-national disparities. In turn, sub-national estimates can guide control programmes for spatial targeting. The purpose of our study is to quantify associations of interventions with U5M rate at national and sub-national […]

Modelling geographical accessibility to support disaster response and rehabilitation of a healthcare system: An impact analysis of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique

Objectives Modelling and assessing the loss of geographical accessibility is key to support disaster response and rehabilitation of the healthcare system. The aim of this study was therefore to estimate postdisaster travel times to functional health facilities and analyse losses in accessibility coverage after Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique in 2019. Setting We modelled […]

Mobile nudges and financial incentives to improve coverage of timely neonatal vaccination in rural areas (GEVaP trial): A 3-armed cluster randomized controlled trial in Northern Ghana

Background Despite progress in vaccination coverage, timeliness of childhood vaccination remains a challenge in many settings. We aimed to assess if mobile phone-based reminders and incentives to health workers and caregivers could increase timely neonatal vaccination in a rural, low-resource setting. Methods We conducted an open-label cluster randomized controlled 1:1:1 trial with three arms in […]

Population Health Metrics Research Consortium gold standard verbal autopsy validation study: Design, implementation, and development of analysis datasets

Background: Verbal autopsy methods are critically important for evaluating the leading causes of death in populations without adequate vital registration systems. With a myriad of analytical and data collection approaches, it is essential to create a high quality validation dataset from different populations to evaluate comparative method performance and make recommendations for future verbal autopsy […]

Qualitative Assessment of the Feasibility, Usability, and Acceptability of a Mobile Client Data App for Community-Based Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Care in Rural Ghana

Mobile phone applications may enhance the delivery of critical health services and the accuracy of health service data. Yet, the opinions and experiences of frontline health workers on using mobile apps to track pregnant and recently delivered women are underreported. This evaluation qualitatively assessed the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of a mobile Client Data App […]

Challenges and opportunities of optimal breastfeeding in the context of HIV option B+ guidelines

Background: In 2013, the World Health Organization released a new set of guidelines widely known as Option B+. Prior to that there were guidelines released in 2010. Option B+ recommends lifelong antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The study aimed at investigating challenges and opportunities in implementing Infant […]

Household factors and gestational age predict diet quality of pregnant women

Adequate diet during pregnancy has positive effects on the mother and pregnancy outcome. Assessment of diet quality during pregnancy is particularly important in areas where household food security is suboptimal, to enable appropriate targeting and intervention. This study assessed diet quality and identified predicting factors among pregnant women in northern Ghana. A cross-sectional study involving […]

Spatial variation of overweight/obesity and associated factor among reproductive age group women in Ethiopia, evidence from EDHS 2016

Background Globally, at least 4.7 million people die from being overweight or obese. In Ethiopia, the level of overweight and obesity among women grew from 3% to 8%. However, as far as my literature searching, studies concerning the spatial variation of overweight/obesity and factors associated are not researched in Ethiopia using geospatial techniques. Therefore, this […]