Use of mobile phones and text messaging to decrease the turnaround time for early infant HIV diagnosis and notification in rural Zambia: An observational study
Background: Early infant diagnosis of HIV infection is challenging in rural sub-Saharan Africa as blood samples are sent to central laboratories for HIV DNA testing, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation. Simple technologies to rapidly deliver results to clinics and notify mothers of test results would decrease many of these delays. The feasibility […]
‘We are the advocates for the babies’ – understanding interactions between patients and health care providers during the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in South Africa: a qualitative study
Background: HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on maternal and child health in South Africa. It is thus of vital importance to implement interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) as early as possible during pregnancy. Negative interactions between patients and health care providers (HCPs) can be an important barrier to antenatal care, PMTCT […]
Drivers of under-five stunting trend in 14 low-and middle-income countries since the turn of the millennium: A multilevel pooled analysis of 50 demographic and health surveys
Background: Understanding the drivers contributing to the decreasing trend in stunting is paramount to meeting the World Health Assembly’s global target of 40% stunting reduction by 2025. Methods: We pooled data from 50 Demographic and Health Surveys since 2000 in 14 countries to examine the relationships between the stunting trend and potential factors at distal, […]
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and rhesus disease of the newborn: Incidence and impairment estimates for 2010 at regional and global levels
Background: Rhesus (Rh) disease and extreme hyperbilirubinemia (EHB) result in neonatal mortality and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment, yet there are no estimates of their burden. Methods: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were undertaken of national prevalence, mortality, and kernicterus due to Rh disease and EHB. We applied a compartmental model to estimate neonatal survivors and impairment cases […]
Prevalence of wasting and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in Wolkite town of the Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2020. A cross-sectional study
Background Undernutrition among children is one of the leading major public health problems and about 49.5 million children were wasted worldwide. Asia and African countries contributed 69% and 27.2% of wasting respectively. In Ethiopia, 7% of children were wasted and 1% was severely wasted. Although Ethiopia has achieved remarkable progress in reducing underfive mortality and […]
Effect of nutritional supplementation of breastfeeding HIV positive mothers on maternal and child health: Findings from a randomized controlled clinical trial
Background: It has been well established that breastfeeding is beneficial for child health, however there has been debate regarding the effect of lactation on maternal health in the presence of HIV infection and the need for nutritional supplementation in HIV positive lactating mothers. Aims. To assess the effect of nutritional supplementation to HIV infected lactating […]
Assessing early access to care and child survival during a health system strengthening intervention in Mali: A repeated cross sectional survey
Background: In 2012, 6.6 million children under age five died worldwide, most from diseases with known means of prevention and treatment. A delivery gap persists between well-validated methods for child survival and equitable, timely access to those methods. We measured early child health care access, morbidity, and mortality over the course of a health system […]
A descriptive longitudinal study protocol: Recurrence and pregnancy post-repair of obstetric fistula in Guinea
Background: Obstetric fistula is a serious medical condition which affects women in low income countries. Despite the progress of research on fistula, there is little data on long term follow-up after surgical repair. The objective of this study is to analyse the factors associated with the recurrence of fistula and the outcomes of pregnancy following […]
Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG), a First-Aid Device to Decrease Maternal Mortality from Obstetric Hemorrhage: A Cluster Randomized Trial
Background:Obstetric hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality. Using a cluster randomized design, we investigated whether application of the Non-pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) before transport to referral hospitals (RHs) from primary health care centers (PHCs) decreased adverse outcomes among women with hypovolemic shock. We hypothesized the NASG group would have a 50% reduction in […]
Prospective multicentre study of host response signatures in neonatal sepsis in Sub Saharan Africa
Few biomarkers for sepsis diagnosis are commonly used in neonatal sepsis. While the role of host response is increasingly recognized in sepsis pathogenesis and prognosis, there is a need for evaluating new biomarkers targeting host response in regions where sepsis burden is high and medico-economic resources are scarce. The objective of the study is to […]
