Quality of outpatient hospital care for children under 5 years in Afghanistan.

Objective: To determine the quality of outpatient hospital care for children under 5 years in Afghanistan.

Design: Case management observations were conducted on 10-12 children under five selected by systematic random sampling in 31 outpatient hospital clinics across the country, followed by interviews with caretakers and providers.

Main Outcome Measures: Quality of care defined as adherence to the clinical standards described in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness.

Trends in the quality of health care for children aged less than 5 years in Afghanistan, 2004-2006.

Objective: To study trends in the quality of the health care provided to children aged less than 5 years in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2006. In particular, to determine the effect on such quality of a basic package of health services (BPHS), including Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), introduced in 2003.

Methods: In each year of the study, 500-600 health facilities providing the BPHS were selected by stratified random sampling in 29 provinces of Afghanistan.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding avian influenza (H5N1), Afghanistan.

From February through April 2007, avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed in poultry in 4 of 34 Afghan provinces. A survey conducted in 2 affected and 3 unaffected provinces found that greater knowledge about reducing exposure was associated with higher socioeconomic status, residence in affected provinces, and not owning backyard poultry.