Improving Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Among Pregnant Women: An Implementation Science Approach in East-Central Uganda.

Introduction: To address maternal iron-deficiency anemia and low uptake of iron and folic acid supplementation (IFAS) among antenatal care (ANC) clinic attendees in East-Central Uganda, the Anemia Implementation Science Initiative embedded enhanced quality improvement (QI) activities into an integrated health project utilizing QI methodologies.

Methods: To address 2 bottlenecks of stock-outs and inadequate health education for pregnant women during ANC, an enhanced QI intervention was implemented from July 2019 to September 2020 in 2 districts. We conducted a mixed-methods effectiveness quasi-experimental study to assess whether the intervention increased the availability of IFAS in the intervention districts.

Factors that influence the satisfaction of people living with HIV with differentiated antiretroviral therapy delivery models in east Central Uganda: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Uganda Ministry of Health recommend differentiated service delivery models (DSDMs) as patient-centered antiretroviral therapy (ART) mechanisms for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) with undetectable viral loads. We studied patient satisfaction with ART services, and its associated factors amongst PLHIV enrolled in DSDMs in Uganda.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved a random sample of PLHIV accessing DSDM-related ART at nine facilities in East Central Uganda.

Operationalizing Implementation Science in Nutrition: The Implementation Science Initiative in Kenya and Uganda.

Background: Implementation science (IS) has the potential to improve the implementation and impact of policies, programs, and interventions. Most of the training, guidance, and experience has focused on implementation research, which is only 1 part of the broader field of IS. In 2018, the Society for Implementation Science in Nutrition borrowed concepts from IS in health to develop a broader and more integrated conceptual framework, adapted to the particular case of nutrition and with language and concepts more familiar to the nutrition community: it is called the IS in Nutrition (ISN) framework.

Misperceptions, misinformation and myths about modern contraceptive use in Ghana.

Objective: Ghana, like the rest of West Africa, has very low contraceptive prevalence and is one of a few nations that reports declines in contraceptive use over time based on two of the most recent national surveys. Fear of side effects is a leading cause of non-use of contraception, based on national surveys. The objective of this study was to gain a more holistic understanding of why Ghanaian women are not using contraception.

Demons, nature, or God? Witchcraft accusations and the French disease in early modern Venice.

In early modern Venice, establishing the cause of a disease was critical to determining the appropriate cure: natural remedies for natural illnesses, spiritual solutions for supernatural or demonic ones. One common ailment was the French disease (syphilis), widely distributed throughout Venice's neighborhoods and social hierarchy, and evenly distributed between men and women. The disease was widely regarded as curable by the mid-sixteenth century, and cases that did not respond to natural remedies presented problems of interpretation to physicians and laypeople.

Which patients first? Setting priorities for antiretroviral therapy where resources are limited.

The availability of limited funds from international agencies for the purchase of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in developing countries presents challenges, especially in prioritizing who should receive therapy. Public input and the protection of human rights are crucial in making treatment programs equitable and accountable. By examining historical precedents of resource allocation, we aim to provoke and inform debate about current ARV programs.