Factors associated with skilled birth attendance in 37 low-income and middle-income countries: a secondary analysis of nationally representative, individual-level data.

Background: Progress on skilled birth attendance (SBA) has been very uneven across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is scant empirical evidence on the role of fundamental development processes in explaining differences in SBA outcomes across world regions over time in these settings. We therefore aimed to estimate how these processes have contributed to observed changes in SBA across Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Vaccine hesitancy and trust in sub-Saharan Africa.

Lack of trust is a primary reason behind the global rise in vaccine hesitancy. Existing research on the trust-vaccine hesitancy nexus has almost exclusively focused on COVID-19 with the vast majority of studies examining industrialized countries. In this study, we investigated the influence of trust in different policy-relevant actors (government, science, media, pharmaceutical companies, society) on vaccine hesitancy for recently available vaccines related to polio and HPV which we benchmark against a COVID-19 vaccine.

Who shares fake news on social media? Evidence from vaccines and infertility claims in sub-Saharan Africa.

The widespread dissemination of misinformation on social media is a serious threat to global health. To a large extent, it is still unclear who actually shares health-related misinformation deliberately and accidentally. We conducted a large-scale online survey among 5,307 Facebook users in six sub-Saharan African countries, in which we collected information on sharing of fake news and truth discernment.

Automated wearable cameras for improving recall of diet and time use in Uganda: a cross-sectional feasibility study.

Background: Traditional recall approaches of data collection for assessing dietary intake and time use are prone to recall bias. Studies in high- and middle-income countries show that automated wearable cameras are a promising method for collecting objective health behavior data and may improve study participants' recall of foods consumed and daily activities performed. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using automated wearable cameras in rural Eastern Ugandan to collect dietary and time use data.

Can mHealth campaigns improve CCT outcomes? Experimental evidence from sms-nudges in Indonesia.

Employing a clustered RCT this paper examines the short-term impact of a 12-month mHealth BCC campaign on health practices & outcomes among CCT beneficiaries in Indonesia. Our analysis reveals that the intervention led to substantial improvements in maternal health behavior (postnatal care, child vaccinations, hygiene practices) & outcomes (anemia rates). Adopting a heterogeneous treatment effect framework, we further show that improvements in maternal hygiene practices and anemia rates are closely linked to health knowledge gained by mothers through the sms campaign.

Validation of an Automated Wearable Camera-Based Image-Assisted Recall Method and the 24-h Recall Method for Assessing Women's Time Allocation in a Nutritionally Vulnerable Population: The Case of Rural Uganda.

Accurate data are essential for investigating relationships between maternal time-use patterns and nutritional outcomes. The 24 h recall (24HR) has traditionally been used to collect time-use data, however, automated wearable cameras (AWCs) with an image-assisted recall (IAR) may reduce recall bias. This study aimed to evaluate their concurrent criterion validity for assessing women's time use in rural Eastern Ugandan.

How (not) to mobilize health workers in the fight against vaccine hesitancy: Experimental evidence from Germany's AstraZeneca controversy.

Background: COVID-19 vaccine hesistancy is a serious policy issue in Germany as vaccinations have stagnated at low levels compared to most other European countries. In this context, we study whether and how health workers can be leveraged to promote the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Methods: We employed an information experiment with health workers in Germany to quantify how access to information related to (i) AstraZeneca's vaccine safety, (ii) misinformation, (iii) individual health risks, and (iv) public health risks can sway health workers' recommendations for any of the following vaccines: AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm, and Sputnik-V.

Validation of a life-logging wearable camera method and the 24-h diet recall method for assessing maternal and child dietary diversity.

Accurate and timely data are essential for identifying populations at risk for undernutrition due to poor-quality diets, for implementing appropriate interventions and for evaluating change. Life-logging wearable cameras (LLWC) have been used to prospectively capture food/beverage consumed by adults in high-income countries. This study aimed to evaluate the concurrent criterion validity, for assessing maternal and child dietary diversity scores (DDS), of a LLWC-based image-assisted recall (IAR) and 24-h recall (24HR).