Skilled delivery inequality in Ethiopia: To what extent are the poorest and uneducated mothers benefiting?
Background: The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targeted at improving maternal health. In this regard, Ethiopia has shown substantial progresses in the past two decades. Nonetheless, these impressive gains are unevenly distributed among Ethiopian women with different socio-economic characteristics. This study aimed at investigating levels and trends of skilled delivery service, and wealth and education […]
Reaching the unreached: effectiveness and satisfaction with community-directed distribution of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for preventing malaria in pregnancy in rural South-East, Nigeria
Background: Innovative community strategies to increase intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) coverage is advocated particularly in rural areas, where health infrastructure is weakest and malaria transmission highest. This study involved proof-of-concept implementation research to determine satisfaction with and effectiveness of community-directed distribution of IPTp-SP on uptake among pregnant women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Methods: […]
Socio-demographic characteristics associated with HIV and syphilis seroreactivity among pregnant women in Blantyre, Malawi, 2000-2004
Objectives: We aimed to evaluate socio-demographic factors associated with HIV and syphilis seroreactivity in pregnant Malawians presenting for antenatal care in late third trimester of pregnancy. Methods: Between December 2000 and March 2004 at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Blantyre, Malawi, we collected cross-sectional clinical and socioeconomic data from consenting women. HIV-1 status was determined using […]
Access to integrated community case management of childhood illnesses services in rural Ethiopia: A qualitative study of the perspectives and experiences of caregivers
Background: In 2010, Ethiopia began scaling up the integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness strategy throughout the country allowing health extension workers (HEWs) to treat children in rural health posts. After 2 years of iCCM scale up, utilization of HEWs remains low. Little is known about factors related to the use of health […]
Double Burden of Malnutrition: Evidence from a Selected Nigerian Population
Indices reflecting the double burden of malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing. Evidence to support this claim in households of Africa’s most populous country – Nigeria – is scant. This study, therefore, presents results from a study of mother-child pairs sampled from Akwa Ibom State in the southern region of Nigeria. Anthropometric measures for 660 […]
Prevalence and determinants of adherence to HAART amongst PLHIV in a tertiary health facility in south-south Nigeria
Background: Adherence to Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is a major predictor of the success of HIV/AIDS treatment. Good adherence to HAART is necessary to achieve the best virologic response, lower the risk of drug resistance and reduce morbidity and mortality. This study therefore aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of adherence to HAART […]
Inequities in childhood anaemia at provincial borders in Mozambique: Cross-sectional study results from multilevel Bayesian analysis of 2018 National Malaria Indicator Survey
Objectives This study aims to identify the child-level, maternal-level, household-level and community-level determinants of anaemia among children aged 6-59 months, and determine the inequities of anaemia prevalence across communities in Mozambique. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Mozambique. Participants This study used data of a weighted population of 3946 children, 6-59 months, delivered by women between 15 […]
Prevalence and determinants of antenatal tetanus vaccination in Sudan: a cross-sectional analysis of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
Background: Tetanus vaccination is an indispensable component of the antenatal care (ANC) and is considered one of the most effective and protective measures against tetanus deaths. However, data on antenatal tetanus vaccination in Sudan are scarce. We aimed to explore the level of antenatal tetanus vaccination and to identify the influencing factors in a nationally […]
Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Kenya: Challenges to implementation
Background: The prevention of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is lauded as one of the more successful HIV prevention measures. However, despite some gains in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in sub-Saharan Africa, mother-to-child transmission rates are still high. In Kenya, mother-to-child transmission is considered one of the greatest health […]
Spatial pattern and determinants of institutional delivery in Ethiopia: Spatial and multilevel analysis using 2019 Ethiopian demographic and health survey
Background In Ethiopia, despite the progress that has been made to improve maternal and child health, the proportion of births occurring at health institutions is still very low (26%), Which significantly contribute to a large number of maternal death 412 deaths/100,000 live births. Therefore, this study intended to determine spatial pattern and factors affecting institutional […]
