Adverse pregnancy outcomes, 'stillbirths and early neonatal deaths' in Mutare district, Zimbabwe (2014): a descriptive study.

Background: Perinatal deaths account for 7% of the global burden of disease, with developing countries contributing about 98% of deaths. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and factors contributing to adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly perinatal death, among women at Sakubva hospital, Mutare district, Zimbabwe from January to June 2014.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 346 patient records, of women who delivered at Sakubva hospital and those referred from Mutare district facilities to Mutare Provincial Hospital, between January and June 2014.

Methodology and Baseline Results From the Evaluation of a Sexuality Education Activity in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

In South Africa, adolescents and young adults (ages 15-24) are at risk of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancies. Recently, the Department of Basic Education has revised its sexuality education content and teaching strategies (using scripted lessons plans) as part of its life orientation curriculum. This paper presents the methodology and baseline results from the evaluation of the scripted lesson plans and supporting activities.

Maternal characteristics and birth outcomes resulting from births before arrival at health facilities in Nkangala District, South Africa: a case control study.

Background: Risks of severe, avoidable maternal and neonatal complications at birth are increased if the birth occurs before arrival at the health facility and in the absence of skilled birth attendants. Birth Before Arrival (BBA) is a preventable phenomenon still common in modern-day practice despite extensive improvements made in obstetric care and in accessibility to healthcare in South Africa. This study aimed to determine the risk factors and outcomes in mothers and babies associated with being born before arrival at hospitals.

Predictors of survival among HIV-positive children on ART in Swaziland.

The objective of the study was to determine predictors of survival among HIV-positive children (<15 years) in Swaziland. A retrospective cohort analysis of medical records for 4 167 children living with HIV who were initiated on antiretroviral therapy (ART) between 2004 and 2008, and followed up until 2014 was conducted in clinical settings at 36 health facilities. The Kaplan Meier Estimator, signed-ranks test, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model were applied to determine survival probabilities, significant difference among stratified survival functions and adjusted hazard ratios respectively.

Assessing the effect of indoor residual spraying (IRS) on malaria morbidity in Northern Uganda: a before and after study.

Background: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is known to reduce malaria transmission. In northern Uganda, a high endemic area, IRS has been implemented since 2006. Limited data however, exists on the effect of IRS on the malaria burden.

Survival of smear-positive multidrug resistant tuberculosis patients in Witbank, South Africa: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: A retrospective cohort study was carried out to compare the survival between smear-positive patients and smear-negative multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients hospitalised in a specialised TB hospital in Witbank, South Africa.

Methods: A review of medical records of MDR-TB patients treated from 2001 to 2010 was carried out. Survival time was measured from a patient's date of hospitalisation to the date when the patient died, was last treated at the hospital or the end of the study (whichever came first).

Predictors of satisfaction with child birth services in public hospitals in Ghana.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between experiences during childbirth and satisfaction with childbirth services.

Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional analytical approach using a structured questionnaire and exit interviews was employed to gather data from 885 women who delivered vaginally in two public hospitals. Data were analysed by generating frequencies and chi-square which was used in running a binary logistic regression using a stepwise backward elimination approach.

Community and health facility influences on contraceptive method choice in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Context: Although a growing number of studies have examined how community factors influence contraceptive use, few have explored how such factors affect method choice.

Methods: Data from the 1998 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey and the 1998 Eastern Cape Facility Survey were used to examine community and health facility influences on the method choices of 1,165 women aged 15-49 who lived in the Eastern Cape. Relative risk ratios from multilevel multinomial models assessed how method choice varied between communities.

Contextual influences on contraceptive use in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

This paper uses linked individual and health facility data from the 1998 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey and the 1998 Eastern Cape Facility Survey to explore community and health facility influences on modern contraceptive use. Several pathways of influence between the community and individual contraceptive adoption are identified, centering primarily on the community climate of female autonomy. Few significant effects of the health facility environment on contraceptive adoption are identified.

Males' preference for circumcised women in northern Ghana.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) still remains one of the challenges facing women in many countries around the world. Efforts to eradicate the practice are on going but the results are still modest due to, among other things, ingrained cultural traditions that expose women to serious health consequences. In Africa where FGM is practiced in more than 28 countries, males have been found to perpetuate the practice.