Operational effectiveness of single-dose nevirapine in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV
Objective: To determine the operational effectiveness of the South African programme for preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in reducing rates of early transmission of infection. Methods: Participants were mother-infant pairs who participated in the South African PMTCT programme between October 2002 and November 2004. This was a prospective cohort study. Three sites in different […]
Poor supply chain management and stock-outs of point-of-care diagnostic tests in Upper East Region’s primary healthcare clinics, Ghana
Introduction Several supply chain components are important to sustain point-of-care (POC) testing services in rural settings. To evaluate the availability of POC diagnostic tests in rural Ghana’s primary healthcare (PHC) clinics, we conducted an audit of the supply chain management for POC diagnostic services in rural Upper East Region’s (UER) PHC clinics, Ghana to determine […]
The impact of implementing the 2016 WHO Recommendations on Antenatal Care for a Positive Pregnancy Experience on perinatal deaths: An interrupted time-series analysis in Mpumalanga province, South Africa
Objectives To investigate if the implementation of the 2016 WHO Recommendations for a Positive Pregnancy Experience reduced perinatal mortality in a South African province. The recommendations were implemented which included increasing the number of contacts and also the content of the contacts. Methods Retrospective interrupted time-series analysis was conducted for all women accessing a minimum […]
Feasibility of task-sharing with community health workers for the identification, emergency management and referral of women with pre-eclampsia, in Mozambique
Background: Maternal mortality is an important public health problem in low-income countries. Delays in reaching health facilities and insufficient health care professionals call for innovative community-level solutions. There is limited evidence on the role of community health workers in the management of pregnancy complications. This study aimed to describe the feasibility of task-sharing the initial […]
How multiple episodes of exclusive breastfeeding impact estimates of exclusive breastfeeding duration: report from the eight-site MAL-ED birth cohort study
The duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is often defined as the time from birth to the first non-breast milk food/liquid fed (EBFLONG), or it is estimated by calculating the proportion of women at a given infant age who EBF in the previous 24 h (EBFDHS). Others have measured the total days or personal prevalence of […]
Effects of treating helminths during pregnancy and early childhood on risk of allergy-related outcomes: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial
Background: Helminth infections, common in low-income countries, may protect against allergy-related disease. Early exposure may be a key. In the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study, treating helminths during pregnancy resulted in increased eczema rates in early childhood. We followed the cohort to determine whether this translated to increased asthma rates at school age. Methods: This […]
Early Antibiotic Exposure in Low-resource Settings Is Associated with Increased Weight in the First Two Years of Life
Objectives: The potential growth-promoting effects of antibiotics are not well understood among undernourished children in environments with high pathogen exposure. We aimed to assess whether early antibiotic exposure duration and class were associated with growth to 2 years of age across 8 low-resource sites in the MAL-ED birth cohort study. Methods: We followed 1954 children […]
Communication about HIV and death: Maternal reports of primary school-aged children’s questions after maternal HIV disclosure in rural South Africa
Introduction Children’s understanding of HIV and death in epidemic regions is under-researched. We investigated children’s death-related questions post maternal HIV-disclosure. Secondary aims examined characteristics associated with death-related questions and consequences for children’s mental health. Methods HIV-infected mothers (N = 281) were supported to disclose their HIV status to their children (6–10 years) in an uncontrolled […]
Feeding practices and growth of infants from birth to 12 months in the central region of the Limpopo Province of South Africa
OBJECTIVE: We evaluated feeding practices and growth patterns of infants in the central region of the Limpopo Province over the first 12 mo of life. METHODS: A follow-up study on a cohort of term infants born to 276 mothers recruited during their third trimester of pregnancy was undertaken. The mothers were recruited by the nursing […]
An approach for evaluating early and long term mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) in low and middle income countries: a South African experience
BACKGROUND: Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV is a global public health target. Robust, feasible methodologies to measure population level impact of programmes to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) are needed in high HIV prevalence settings. We present a summary of the protocol of the South African PMTCT Evaluation (SAPMTCTE) with its revision over three […]