Association Between Household Deprivation and Living in Informal Settlements and Incidence of Diarrhea in Children Under 5 in Eleven Latin American Cities.

Diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children globally, mostly due to inadequate sanitary conditions and overcrowding. Poor housing quality and lack of tenure security that characterize informal settlements are key underlying contributors to these risk factors for childhood diarrhea deaths. The objective of this study is to better understand the physical attributes of informal settlement households in Latin American cities that are associated with childhood diarrhea.

Demographic change and urban health: Towards a novel agenda for delivering sustainable and healthy cities for all.

The focus is on the demographic drivers and demographic implications of urban health and wellbeing in towns and cities across the globe. The aim is to identify key linkages between demographic change and urban health - subjects of two largely disparate fields of research and practice - with a view to informing arguments and advocacy for urban health while identifying research gaps and priorities. The core arguments are threefold.

Menstrual management among adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh, India: An examination of interpersonal and mediated communication as delivery mechanisms for practical guidance.

Background: Adolescent girls' right to achieve menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM) healthfully is yet to be realized. One reason is the lack of practical guidance on the procurement, use, and disposal of menstrual products. This study defined interpersonal practical guidance (IPG) as face-to-face communication and mediated practical guidance (MPG) as social and behavior change communication (SBCC) intervention-driven communications through print and media materials.

Contraceptive Use in Urban Africa: Examining Trends in Rich-Poor Gaps.

Previous studies have documented significant differences in health and reproductive health outcomes between the poor and nonpoor across various countries in sub-Saharan Africa. However, a number of these studies is dated, and the past decade has witnessed significant shifts in health and reproductive health outcomes in many African countries. Using recent data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, this paper updates and extends the literature by examining patterns in contraceptive practice among poor and nonpoor married women in urban settings in 19 African countries.

Adolescent Mothers in Eastern and Southern Africa: An Overlooked and Uniquely Vulnerable Subpopulation in the Fight Against HIV.

Purpose: Adolescent girls (10-19 years) in Eastern and Southern Africa face a high risk of pregnancy and HIV infection. However, few studies have examined whether the profound developmental, social, and economic changes that accompany adolescent motherhood contribute to HIV risk. This study examines the intersection between adolescent motherhood and HIV infection across 10 Eastern and Southern African countries, where over half of all HIV infections occur among adolescent girls.

The Conundrum of Low COVID-19 Mortality Burden in sub-Saharan Africa: Myth or Reality?

The demographic age structure of sub-Saharan Africa contributes significantly to the low morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 compared to other regions in the world.

Acceptability and feasibility of inter-related activities to improve agency among African district health managers: A four-country study.

District health managers (DHMs) lead and manage Ministry of Health programmes and system performance. We report on the acceptability and feasibility of inter-related activities to increase the agency of DHMs in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda using a cross-sectional rapid appraisal with 372 DHMs employing structured questionnaires. We found differences and similarities between the countries, in particular, who becomes a DHM.

Vertical transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2: A scoping review.

Introduction: The evidence for vertical transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is not well established. Therefore, the objective of this review is to summarize emerging evidence on the vertical transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and CENTRAL.

Managing Resident Workforce and Residency Training During COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review of Adaptive Approaches.

Objective: To review available adaptive residency training approaches and management of the resident workforce in different residency programs amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: Websites of different professional associations and international or national specialty accreditation institutions were searched. We looked for English studies (any form), reviews or editorials, perspectives, short or special communications, and position papers on residency education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Prepared Is Africa for the COVID-19 Pandemic Response? The Case of Ethiopia.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The objective of this research communication is to describe the general epidemic preparedness of Ethiopia using "Ready score" criterion that was developed by PreventEpidemics.org.

Quantifying the cost of in-kind contributions to a multidonor-funded health research capacity-building programme: the case of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa.

Introduction: There are significant investments in health research capacity development in the 'global-south'. The monetary value of contributions from institutions running these programmes is not known.

Methods: Using the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) as a case study we estimate in-kind contributions made by consortium members.

Gender responsive multidisciplinary doctoral training program: the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) experience.

Doctoral training has increasingly become the requirement for faculty in institutions of higher learning in Africa. Africa, however, still lacks sufficient capacity to conduct research, with just 1.4% of all published research authored by African researchers.

Because space matters: conceptual framework to help distinguish slum from non-slum urban areas.

Despite an estimated one billion people around the world living in slums, most surveys of health and well-being do not distinguish between slum and non-slum urban residents. Identifying people who live in slums is important for research purposes and also to enable policymakers, programme managers, donors and non-governmental organisations to better target investments and services to areas of greatest deprivation. However, there is no consensus on what a slum is let alone how slums can be distinguished from non-slum urban precincts.

Fertility intentions and the adoption of long-acting and permanent contraception (LAPM) among women: evidence from Western Kenya.

Background: The use of long-acting and permanent method (LAPM) for family planning (FP) is of importance to the FP movement. A better understanding of how fertility-related intentions shape the usage of LAPM is important for programming. This paper explored the interaction of fertility intentions with LAPM use in rural western Kenya.