Publications by authors named "Brenda Wandika"

Background: Women living with HIV (WLWH) face unique reproductive health (RH) barriers which increase their risks of unmet need for contraception, contraceptive failure, unintended pregnancy, and pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality and may prevent them from achieving their reproductive goals. Patient-centered counseling interventions that support health care workers (HCWs) in providing high-quality RH counseling, tailored to the needs of WLWH, may improve reproductive health outcomes.

Methods And Design: We are conducting a non-blinded cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) of a digital health intervention for WLWH (clinicaltrials.

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Article Synopsis
  • Adolescents living with HIV (ALH) in sub-Saharan Africa show lower adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) compared to adults, especially in boarding schools where stigma may hinder their treatment.
  • A study conducted in Kenya found that 29% of ALH reported missing their ART doses when school was in session, with those in boarding schools missing doses more frequently than those in day schools.
  • The findings suggest that schools are crucial environments where interventions could improve ART adherence and health outcomes for ALH.
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Globally, 2.5 million neonates die and 2 million more are stillborn each year; the vast majority occur where access to life-saving care is limited. High quality, feasible interventions are needed to reach, educate and empower pregnant women and new mothers to improve care-seeking behaviors.

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Background: Perinatal depression is broadly defined as depressive symptoms during pregnancy or within the 12 months following delivery, affecting approximately 20-25% of pregnant and postpartum women in low- and middle-income countries. The wide accessibility of mobile phones allows mobile health (mHealth) interventions to be considered a solution to identify perinatal depression and provide appropriate referrals for treatment. This study, nested in a larger SMS communication project, examined the prevalence and correlates of perinatal depression, determined the association between antenatal depression and infant morbidity and mortality, and compared SMS communication patterns between women with and without perinatal depression.

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Introduction: Globally, approximately half of the estimated 6.3 million under-5 deaths occur in the neonatal period (within the first 28 days of life). Kenya ranks among countries with the highest number of neonatal deaths, at 20 per 1000 live births.

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