The Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of a District-Strengthening Strategy to Mitigate the 3 Delays to Quality Maternal Health Care: Results From Uganda and Zambia.

The primary objective of this study was to estimate the costs and the incremental cost-effectiveness of maternal and newborn care associated with the Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL) initiative-a comprehensive district-strengthening approach addressing the 3 delays associated with maternal mortality-in Uganda and Zambia. To assess effectiveness, we used a before-after design comparing facility outcome data from 2012 (before) and 2016 (after). To estimate costs, we used unit costs collected from comparison districts in 2016 coupled with data on health services utilization from 2012 in SMGL-supported districts to estimate the costs before the start of SMGL.

Intra-facility linkage of HIV-positive mothers and HIV-exposed babies into HIV chronic care: rural and urban experience in a resource limited setting.

Introduction: Linkage of HIV-infected pregnant women to HIV care remains critical for improvement of maternal and child outcomes through prevention of maternal-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and subsequent chronic HIV care. This study determined proportions and factors associated with intra-facility linkage to HIV care and Early Infant Diagnosis care (EID) to inform strategic scale up of PMTCT programs.

Methods: A cross-sectional review of records was done at 2 urban and 3 rural public health care facilities supported by the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI).

Severe neurological sequelae and behaviour problems after cerebral malaria in Ugandan children.

Background: Cerebral malaria is the most severe neurological complication of falciparum malaria and a leading cause of death and neuro-disability in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to describe functional deficits and behaviour problems in children who survived cerebral malaria with severe neurological sequelae and identify patterns of brain injury.

Findings: Records of children attending a specialist child neurology clinic in Uganda with severe neurological sequelae following cerebral malaria between January 2007 and December 2008 were examined to describe deficits in gross motor function, speech, vision and hearing, behaviour problems or epilepsy.

The costs associated with adverse event procedures for an international HIV clinical trial determined by activity-based costing.

Objective: To determine costs for adverse event (AE) procedures for a large HIV perinatal trial by analyzing actual resource consumption using activity-based costing (ABC) in an international research setting.

Methods: The AE system for an ongoing clinical trial in Uganda was evaluated using ABC techniques to determine costs from the perspective of the study. Resources were organized into cost categories (eg, personnel, patient care expenses, laboratory testing, equipment).