Effectiveness of targeted antenatal family planning information provision on early postpartum family planning uptake in Kisumu County: Protocol for a simple randomized control trial (I DECIDE Study)
Overlooking the contraceptive needs of postpartum women constitutes missed opportunities in health system. Inter-birth interval of at least three years can prevent poor maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes and afford women socio-economic benefits of family planning (FP). The unmet need for FP in the postpartum period remains unacceptably high and far exceeds the FP unmet […]
Cognitive variations following exposure to childhood adversity: Evidence from a pre-registered, longitudinal study
Background: Different methodological approaches to studying the effects and timing of childhood adversity have been proposed and tested. While childhood adversity has primarily been operationalized through specificity (effects of individual adversity types) and cumulative risk (sum of all adversities reported by an individual) models, dimensional models (probeable through latent class and other cluster analyses) have […]
Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of accelerometer measured physical activity levels of school-going children in Kampala city, Uganda
Background The current international physical activity guidelines for health recommend children to engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. Yet, accurate prevalence estimates of physical activity levels of children are unavailable in many African countries due to the dearth of accelerometer-measured physical activity data. The aim of this study was […]
Community food beliefs during pregnancy in rural kebeles of Ofla Woreda, Northern Ethiopia: an explorative qualitative study
Background: Dietary related misconceptions during pregnancy affect the heath of mothers and their growing babies. Misconceptions vary from place to place and from community to community. Understanding of a given community’s food perceptions during pregnancy helps policy makers able to design cultural appropriate interventions. In Ethiopia, however, evidences on food beliefs and perceptions during pregnancy […]
A qualitative exploration of community ownership of a maternity waiting home model in rural zambia
Context: Ownership is an important construct of sustainability for community-based health programming, though it is often not clearly defined or measured. We implemented and evaluated a community-driven maternity waiting home (MWH) model in rural Zambia. We engaged stakeholders at all levels and provided intensive mentorship to an MWH governance committee comprised of community-selected members. We […]
Parity, dental caries and implications for maternal depletion syndrome in northern Nigerian Hausa women
Background Female reproductive history, especially high parity, affects general health and may impact negatively on oral health. While parity has been positively linked to tooth loss, the specific association between parity and caries has not been adequately investigated. Aim To determine the association between parity and caries in a population of higher parity women. Influences […]
Socio-cultural and economic barriers, and facilitators influencing men’s involvement in antenatal care including HIV testing: a qualitative study from urban Blantyre, Malawi
Background: Male partner involvement in antenatal care (ANC) is associated with positive maternal and neonatal outcomes. However, only a handful of men attend ANC with their partners. This study aimed to understand the underlying barriers and facilitators influencing men’s ANC attendance including HIV testing in Blantyre, Malawi. Methods: Data were collected during a formative qualitative […]
Essential new-born care practices and associated factors among post natal mothers in Nekemte City, Western Ethiopia
Background New-born survival is a prominent goal on the global health agenda and an important area of focus for programs seeking to ensure child survival. Geographically, neonatal deaths are most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, accounting for 39% and 38% of all neonatal deaths respectively while Ethiopia in particular has 28% neonatal death. […]
Knowledge translation in Uganda: A qualitative study of Ugandan midwives’ and managers’ perceived relevance of the sub-elements of the context cornerstone in the PARIHS framework
Background: A large proportion of the annual 3.3 million neonatal deaths could be averted if there was a high uptake of basic evidence-based practices. In order to overcome this ‘know-do’ gap, there is an urgent need for in-depth understanding of knowledge translation (KT). A major factor to consider in the successful translation of knowledge into […]
Cultural and contextual adaptation of mental health measures in Kenya: An adolescentcentered transcultural adaptation of measures study
Introduction There is paucity of culturally adapted tools for assessing depression and anxiety in children and adolescents in low-and middle-income countries. This hinders early detection, provision of appropriate and culturally acceptable interventions. In a partnership with the University of Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenyatta National Hospital, and UNICEF, a rapid cultural adaptation of three adolescent mental […]
