If we build it, will they come? Results of a quasi-experimental study assessing the impact of maternity waiting homes on facility-based childbirth and maternity care in Zambia.

Introduction: Maternity waiting homes (MWHs) aim to increase access to maternity and emergency obstetric care by allowing women to stay near a health centre before delivery. An improved MWH model was developed with community input and included infrastructure, policies and linkages to health centres. We hypothesised this MWH model would increase health facility delivery among remote-living women in Zambia.

Out-of-Pocket Expenditures for Delivery for Maternity Waiting Home Users and Non-users in Rural Zambia.

Background: Utilizing maternity waiting homes (MWHs) is a strategy to improve access to skilled obstetric care in rural Zambia. However, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses remain a barrier for many women. We assessed delivery-related expenditure for women who used MWHs and those who did not who delivered at a rural health facility.

Increasing facility delivery through maternity waiting homes for women living far from a health facility in rural Zambia: a quasi-experimental study.

Objective: To report on the effectiveness of a standardised core Maternity Waiting Home (MWH) model to increase facility deliveries among women living >10 km from a health facility.

Design: Quasi-experimental design with partial randomisation at the cluster level.

Setting: Seven rural districts in Zambia.

Alterations in Vascular Function Associated With the Use of Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes.

Background Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been proposed as a potential harm reduction tool for combustible cigarette smokers. The majority of adult e-cigarette users continue to smoke combustible cigarettes and are considered dual users. The vascular impact of e-cigarettes remains incompletely defined.

The effects of maternity waiting homes on the health workforce and maternal health service delivery in rural Zambia: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Maternity waiting homes (MWHs) are a potential strategy to address low facility delivery rates resulting from access-associated barriers in resource-limited settings. Within a cluster-randomized controlled trial testing a community-generated MWH model in rural Zambia, we qualitatively assessed how MWHs affect the health workforce and maternal health service delivery at their associated rural health centers.

Methods: Four rounds of in-depth interviews with district health staff (n = 21) and health center staff (n = 73) were conducted at intervention and control sites over 24 months.