Persistence and heterogeneity of the effects of educating mothers to improve child immunisation uptake: Experimental evidence from Uttar Pradesh in India.

Childhood vaccinations are among the most cost-effective health interventions. Yet, in India, where immunisation services are widely available free of charge, a substantial proportion of children remain unvaccinated. We revisit households 30 months after a randomised experiment of a health information intervention designed to educate mothers on the benefits of child vaccination in Uttar Pradesh, India.

From projects to systems: Being explicit about assumptions in systems-level theories of change.

Projects and programs have long been the primary instrument for achieving development goals in low- and middle-income countries. One criticism of the project-focused approach is its failure to focus on broader system-level changes. This paper explores how Mayne's COM-B Theory of Change model can enhance the evaluation of how projects and system-level investments can lead to system-level changes, especially in a development context.

Ag and Au Nanoparticles as Color Indicators for Monomer/Micelle-Nanoparticle Interactions.

Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) were used as color indicators to determine the monomer/micelle adsorption on the NP surface. A simple methodology based on the color change of Ag/Au NPs upon interacting with surface-active molecules was developed. A contrasting color change occurred when NPs interact with the monomer/micelle.

Hemolytic Response of Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles at the Interface and in Bulk: Extraction of Blood Cells by Magnetic Nanoparticles.

Surface-active and water-soluble magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized in the presence of a series of amphiphilic molecules of different functional groups to determine the hemolytic response and their ability to extract blood cells across the interface and aqueous bulk while maintaining minimum hemolysis. Amphiphilic molecules such as Gemini surfactants of strong hydrophobicity and low hydrophilic-lipophilic balance produced surface-active magnetic NPs, which were highly cytotoxic even when placed at the blood suspension (aqueous)-air interface. A similar behavior was shown by water-soluble magnetic NPs produced using monomeric ionic and nonionic surfactants and different amino acids.

Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence: Findings from Slums of Four Major Metro Cities of India.

There are limited studies on COVID vaccine confidence at the household level in urban slums, which are at high risk of COVID-19 transmission due to overcrowding and poor living conditions. The objective was to understand the reasons influencing COVID-19 vaccine confidence, in terms of barriers and enablers faced by communities in urban slums and informal settlements in four major metro cities in India. A mixed method approach was adopted, where in field studies were conducted during April-May 2021.

Colloidal Stabilization of Sodium Dilauraminocystine for Selective Nanoparticle-Nanoparticle Interactions: Their Screening and Extraction by Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles.

Nanoparticle-nanoparticle (NP-NP) interactions between Au and Ag NPs were studied by using sodium dilauraminocystine (SDLC)- and Gemini surfactant-stabilized NPs to demonstrate the unique NP surface adsorption behavior of SDLC in controlling and mimicking such interactions in complex mixtures. They were significantly affected by the spacer as well as the polymeric nature of the head group of Gemini surfactants. A longer spacer impeded while a polymeric head group facilitated the interactions.

Measuring quality of family planning counselling and its effects on uptake of contraceptives in public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Quality of care in family planning traditionally focuses on promoting awareness of the broad array of contraceptive options rather than on the quality of interpersonal communication offered by family planning (FP) providers. There is a growing emphasis on person-centered contraceptive counselling, care that is respectful and focuses on meeting the reproductive needs of a couple, rather than fertility regulation. Despite the increasing global focus on person-centered care, little is known about the quality of FP care provided in low- and middle- income countries like India.

Avoiding Hemolytic Anemia by Understanding the Effect of the Molecular Architecture of Gemini Surfactants on Hemolysis.

Hemolytic behavior of a series of different categories of Gemini surfactants was determined in their low concentration range. Cationic Gemini surfactants of different molecular architectures prove to be highly cytotoxic even at 0.1 mM.

Associations between recent intimate partner violence and receipt and quality of perinatal health services in Uttar Pradesh.

Background: India suffers some of the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the world. Intimate partner violence (IPV) can be a barrier to utilization of perinatal care, and has been associated with poor maternal and neonatal health outcomes. However, studies that assess the relationship between IPV and perinatal health care often focus solely on receipt of services, and not the quality of the services received.

Photophysical behavior of heme group: Unfolding of hemoglobin and myoglobin in the presence of Gemini surfactants of different molecular architectures.

Fluorescence studies were performed to determine the photophysical behavior of heme group in the presence of cationic Gemini surfactants of different architectures. Both hemoglobin and myoglobin were used to understand the heme group interactions with Gemini surfactants under the influence of temperature variation and were compared with homologous monomeric surfactants. The results were also supplemented from the size and zeta potential measurements of both proteins.

Unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications: cross-sectional analysis of data from rural Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: This study aims to explore the potential association between unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications. Secondarily, we test whether antenatal care (ANC) and community health worker (CHW) visits moderate the observed association between unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications.

Methods: Cross sectional data were collected using a multistage sampling design to identify women who had a live birth in the last 12 months across 25 highest risk districts of Uttar Pradesh (N = 3659).

Coverage and equity of maternal and newborn health care in rural Nigeria, Ethiopia and India.

Background: Despite progress toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, a large burden of maternal and neonatal mortality persists for the most vulnerable people in rural areas. We assessed coverage, coverage change and inequity for 8 maternal and newborn health care indicators in parts of rural Nigeria, Ethiopia and India.

Methods: We examined coverage changes and inequity in 2012 and 2015 in 3 high-burden populations where multiple actors were attempting to improve outcomes.

Applications of Molecular Structural Aspects of Gemini Surfactants in Reducing Nanoparticle-Nanoparticle Interactions.

Oppositely charged nanoparticle (NP)-nanoparticle (NP) interactions were studied by titrating sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) stabilized NPs with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) stabilized NPs at constant temperature with the help of UV-visible and dynamic light scattering measurements. CTAB stabilized NPs were systematically replaced with a series of cationic gemini surfactants to demonstrate the effect of head group and hydrocarbon tail modifications on the electrostatic interactions with SDS stabilized NPs. Introduction of the dimeric gemini head group (alkylammonium or imidazolium), spacer length, and double tail hydrocarbon length all significantly reduced the NP-NP interactions and delayed their salting-out process.

The effect of report cards on the coverage of maternal and neonatal health care: a factorial, cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: Report cards are a prominent strategy to increase the ability of citizens to express their view, improve public accountability, and foster community participation in the provision of health services in low-income and middle-income countries. In India, social accountability interventions that incorporate report cards and community meetings have been implemented at scale, attracting considerable policy attention, but there is little evidence on their effectiveness in improving health. We aimed to evaluate the effect of report cards, which contain information on village-level indicators of maternal and neonatal health care, and participatory meetings targeted at health providers and community members (including local leaders) on the coverage of maternal and neonatal health care in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Understanding intersections of social determinants of maternal healthcare utilization in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Objective: To explore intersections of social determinants of maternal healthcare utilization using the Classification and Regression Trees (CART) algorithm which is a machine-learning method used to construct prediction models.

Methods: Institutional review board approval for this study was granted from Public Health Service-Ethical Review Board (PHS-ERB) and from the Health Ministry Screening Committee (HMSC) facilitated by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). IRB review and approval for the current analyses was obtained from University of California, San Diego.

Process evaluation of a social franchising model to improve maternal health: evidence from a multi-methods study in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: A prominent strategy to engage private sector health providers in low- and middle-income countries is clinical social franchising, an organisational model that applies the principles of commercial franchising for socially beneficial goals. The Matrika programme, a multi-faceted social franchise model to improve maternal health, was implemented in three districts of Uttar Pradesh, India, between 2013 and 2016. Previous research indicates that the intervention was not effective in improving the quality and coverage of maternal health services at the population level.

Effect and cost-effectiveness of educating mothers about childhood DPT vaccination on immunisation uptake, knowledge, and perceptions in Uttar Pradesh, India: A randomised controlled trial.

Background: To assess the effect of health information on immunisation uptake in rural India, we conducted an individually randomised controlled trial of health information messages targeting the mothers of unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children through home visits in rural Uttar Pradesh, India.

Methods And Findings: The study tested a brief intervention that provided mothers face-to-face with information on the benefits of the tetanus vaccine. Participants were 722 mothers of children aged 0-36 months who had not received 3 doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine (DPT3).

Effect of a multifaceted social franchising model on quality and coverage of maternal, newborn, and reproductive health-care services in Uttar Pradesh, India: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: How to harness the private sector to improve population health in low-income and middle-income countries is heavily debated and one prominent strategy is social franchising. We aimed to evaluate whether the Matrika social franchising model-a multifaceted intervention that established a network of private providers and strengthened the skills of both public and private sector clinicians-could improve the quality and coverage of health services along the continuum of care for maternal, newborn, and reproductive health.

Methods: We did a quasi-experimental study, which combined matching with difference-in-differences methods.

Towards an understanding of the multilevel factors associated with maternal health care utilization in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: This paper explores the multilevel factors associated with maternal health utilization in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. 3 key utilization practices: registration of pregnancy, receipt of antenatal care, and delivery at home are examined for district and individual level predictors. The data is based on 5666 household surveys conducted as part of a baseline evaluation of the Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit (UPTSU.

Associations Between Mistreatment by a Provider during Childbirth and Maternal Health Complications in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Objectives This study assesses associations between mistreatment by a provider during childbirth and maternal complications in Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods Cross-sectional survey data were collected from women (N = 2639) who had delivered at 68 public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, participating in a quality of care study. Participants were recruited from April to July 2015 and surveyed on demographics, mistreatment during childbirth (measure developed for this study, Cronbach's alpha = 0.

Differential effects of community health worker visits across social and economic groups in Uttar Pradesh, India: a link between social inequities and health disparities.

Background: Uttar Pradesh (UP) accounts for the largest number of neonatal deaths in India. This study explores potential socio-economic inequities in household-level contacts by community health workers (CHWs) and whether the effects of such household-level contacts on receipt of health services differ across populations in this state.

Methods: A multistage sampling design identified live births in the last 12 months across the 25 highest-risk districts of UP (N = 4912).

Adding content to contacts: measurement of high quality contacts for maternal and newborn health in Ethiopia, north east Nigeria, and Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: Families in high mortality settings need regular contact with high quality services, but existing population-based measurements of contacts do not reflect quality. To address this, in 2012, we designed linked household and frontline worker surveys for Gombe State, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Uttar Pradesh, India. Using reported frequency and content of contacts, we present a method for estimating the population level coverage of high quality contacts.

Maternal methadone treatment and neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Objective: This article aims to describe neonatal outcomes, clinical correlates, and the rate for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) for women on methadone maintenance therapy.

Methods: This study is a retrospective review, which includes 119 mothers and 120 live newborns.

Results: Methadone mothers tends to be white, single, on government insurance, with increased tobacco use (73%) and hepatitis C (11%).

Effect of Chiranjeevi Yojana on institutional deliveries and neonatal and maternal outcomes in Gujarat, India: a difference-in-differences analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the Chiranjeevi Yojana programme, a public-private partnership to improve maternal and neonatal health in Gujarat, India.

Methods: A household survey (n = 5597 households) was conducted in Gujarat to collect retrospective data on births within the preceding 5 years. In an observational study using a difference-in-differences design, the relationship between the Chiranjeevi Yojana programme and the probability of delivery in health-care institutions, the probability of obstetric complications and mean household expenditure for deliveries was subsequently examined.

Inter-alpha inhibitor protein administration improves survival from neonatal sepsis in mice.

Inter-alpha inhibitor proteins (IaIp) are serine proteases inhibitors that modulate endogenous protease activity and have been shown to improve survival in adult models of sepsis. We evaluated the effect of IaIp on survival and systemic responses to sepsis in neonatal mice. Sepsis was induced in 2-d-old mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Escherichia coli, and group B Streptococci.