Technological Innovation in International Training and Advancing Health Services: Two Cases During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic limited onsite international activities and challenged us to plan and implement new ways of collaboration. We reviewed our online trials during a three-year period to better understand how to use digital technologies to continue knowledge and skills transfer. In this cross-national case study, we compare two illustrative cases: Japanese experts training Indonesian health professionals for participatory school health education, and Swiss experts training Malagasy health providers for respectful obstetric and newborn emergencies.

Association between neonatal mortality and births not weighed among 400 thousand institutional deliveries in 32 low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Low birthweight (LBW) children have a higher risk of neonatal mortality. All institutional deliveries, therefore, should be weighed to determine appropriate care. Mortality risk for newborns who are not weighed at birth (NWB) is unknown.

Simulation training on respectful emergency obstetric and neonatal care in north-western Madagascar: a mixed-methods evaluation of an innovative training program.

Background: The rates of maternal and neonatal deaths in Madagascar are among the highest in the world. In response to a request for additional training from obstetrical care providers at the Ambanja district hospital in north-eastern Madagascar, a partnership of institutions in Switzerland and Madagascar conducted innovative training on respectful emergency obstetric and newborn care using e-learning and simulation methodologies. The training focused on six topics: pre-eclampsia, physiological childbirth, obstetric maneuvers, postpartum hemorrhage, maternal sepsis, and newborn resuscitation.

Lessons Learned From Building a Global Health Partnership on Obstetric Care in Madagascar.

The authors share experiences of a global health partnership that worked to promote equity through a commitment to shared values and goals, engagement and communication, and mutual trust and respect.

Effects of prenatal exposure to maternal COVID-19 and perinatal care on neonatal outcome: results from the INTERCOVID Multinational Cohort Study.

Background: The effect of COVID-19 in pregnancy on maternal outcomes and its association with preeclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus have been reported; however, a detailed understanding of the effects of maternal positivity, delivery mode, and perinatal practices on fetal and neonatal outcomes is urgently needed.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on fetal and neonatal outcomes and the role of mode of delivery, breastfeeding, and early neonatal care practices on the risk of mother-to-child transmission.

Study Design: In this cohort study that took place from March 2020 to March 2021, involving 43 institutions in 18 countries, 2 unmatched, consecutive, unexposed women were concomitantly enrolled immediately after each infected woman was identified, at any stage of pregnancy or delivery, and at the same level of care to minimize bias.

Diabetes mellitus, maternal adiposity, and insulin-dependent gestational diabetes are associated with COVID-19 in pregnancy: the INTERCOVID study.

Background: Among nonpregnant individuals, diabetes mellitus and high body mass index increase the risk of COVID-19 and its severity.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether diabetes mellitus and high body mass index are risk factors for COVID-19 in pregnancy and whether gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with COVID-19 diagnosis.

Study Design: INTERCOVID was a multinational study conducted between March 2020 and February 2021 in 43 institutions from 18 countries, enrolling 2184 pregnant women aged ≥18 years; a total of 2071 women were included in the analyses.

Health System Redesign to Shift to Hospital Delivery for Maternal and Newborn Survival: Feasibility Assessment in Kakamega County, Kenya.

Maternal and newborn health (MNH) service delivery redesign aims to improve maternal and newborn survival by shifting deliveries from poorly equipped primary care facilities to adequately prepared designated delivery hospitals. We assess the feasibility of such a model in Kakamega County, Kenya, by determining the capacity of hospitals to provide services under the redesigned model and the acceptability of the concept to providers and users. We find many existing system assets to implement redesign, including political will to improve MNH outcomes, a strong base of support among providers and users, and a good geographic spread of facilities to support implementation.

Mobility restrictions were associated with reductions in COVID-19 incidence early in the pandemic: evidence from a real-time evaluation in 34 countries.

Most countries have implemented restrictions on mobility to prevent the spread of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), entailing considerable societal costs but, at least initially, based on limited evidence of effectiveness. We asked whether mobility restrictions were associated with changes in the occurrence of COVID-19 in 34 OECD countries plus Singapore and Taiwan. Our data sources were the Google Global Mobility Data Source, which reports different types of mobility, and COVID-19 cases retrieved from the dataset curated by Our World in Data.

Guidelines for Pregnancy Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Public Health Conundrum.

Pregnant women seem to be at risk for developing complications from COVID-19. Given the limited knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy, management guidelines are fundamental. Our aim was to examine the obstetrics guidelines released from December 2019 to April 2020 to compare their recommendations and to assess how useful they could be to maternal health workers.

PERFORMANCE OF SMARTPHONE-BASED DIGITAL IMAGES FOR CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING IN A LOW-RESOURCE CONTEXT.

Objectives: Colposcopes are expensive, heavy, and need specialized technical service, which may outreach the capacity of low-resource settings. Our aim was to assess the performance of smartphone-based digital images for the detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+).

Methods: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive women recruited through a cervical cancer screening campaign had VIA/VILI assessment (visual inspection after application of acetic acid/lugol's iodine).

High Burden of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Madagascar: Comparison With Other Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Background: In Madagascar, human papillomavirus (HPV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, as well as syphilis share common risk factors but seem to differ in their prevalence. We measured and compared their prevalence in the country.

Methods: The data used in this study came from the Saint Damien Health Centre in Ambanja, Madagascar.

A Mobile Health Data Collection System for Remote Areas to Monitor Women Participating in a Cervical Cancer Screening Campaign.

Background: Barriers to efficient cervical cancer screening in low- and medium-income countries include the lack of systematic monitoring of the participants' data. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a mobile health (m-Health) data collection system to facilitate monitoring of women participating to cervical cancer screening campaign.

Methods: Women aged 30-65 years, participating in a cervical cancer screening campaign in Ambanja, Madagascar, were invited to participate in the study.

Use of swabs for dry collection of self-samples to detect human papillomavirus among Malagasy women.

Background: Most women in developing countries have never attended cervical screening programmes and often little information exists on type-specific human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence among these populations. Self-sampling for HPV testing (self-HPV) using a dry swab may be useful for establishing a screening program and evaluating HPV prevalence. Our aim was to evaluate self-HPV using a dry swab stored at room temperature.