Availability of priority maternal and newborn health indicators: Cross-sectional analysis of pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care registers from 21 countries.

Data from national health information systems are essential for routinely tracking progress, programmatic decision-making and to improve quality of services. Understanding the data elements captured in patient registers which are building blocks of national HMIS indicators, enables us to standardize data collection and measurement of key indicators for tracking progress towards achieving maternal and newborn health goals. This analysis was done through a review of antenatal care (ANC), childbirth and postnatal care (PNC) registers from 21 countries across five geographic regions.

Impact of group antenatal care (G-ANC) versus individual antenatal care (ANC) on quality of care, ANC attendance and facility-based delivery: A pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial in Kenya and Nigeria.

Background: Low quality and frequency of antenatal care (ANC) are associated with lower uptake of facility-based deliveries-a key intervention to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. We implemented group ANC (G-ANC), an alternative service delivery model, in Kenya and Nigeria, to assess its impact on quality and attendance at ANC and uptake of facility-based delivery.

Methods: From October 2016‒January 2018, we conducted a facility-based, pragmatic, cluster-randomized controlled trial with 20 clusters per country.

Group versus individual antenatal and first year postpartum care: Study protocol for a multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial in Kenya and Nigeria.

Antenatal care (ANC) in many low- and middle-income countries is under-utilized and of sub-optimal quality. Group ANC (G-ANC) is an intervention designed to improve the experience and provision of ANC for groups of women (cohorts) at similar stages of pregnancy. A two-arm, two-phase, cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) (non-blinded) is being conducted in Kenya and Nigeria.

Client satisfaction determinants in four Kenyan slums.

Purpose: In Kenya, gaps exist in health service provision to slum residents, especially service availability and access to quality care. There is also little information on the health status of people living in slums other than in Nairobi. The purpose of this paper is to generate evidence for use in designing interventions to improve health services in four mid-sized slums in Embu, Nyeri and Thika, Kenya.

Mortality and clinical outcomes in HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy in Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

Objective: To determine mortality and immune status improvement in HIV-infected pediatric patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged <12 years at ART initiation at 3 sites in sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2009. Twelve-month and overall mortality were estimated, and factors associated with mortality and immune status improvement were evaluated.

Inadequate coordination of maternal and infant HIV services detrimentally affects early infant diagnosis outcomes in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Objective: To assess the continuity of care and outcome of pediatric HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services, focusing on early infant diagnosis with DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Design: A retrospective observational cohort.

Methods: Maternal HIV antibody, infant HIV DNA PCR test results, and outcome data from HIV-infected infants from the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, early infant diagnosis, and pediatric HIV treatment programs operating in Lilongwe, Malawi, between 2004 and 2008 were collected, merged, and analyzed.

Discontinuation of standard first-line antiretroviral therapy in a cohort of 1434 Malawian children.

The standard first-line antiretroviral (ART) regimen in Malawi for both adults and children is a fixed-dose combination tablet containing stavudine (d4T), lamivudine (3TC) and nevirapine (NVP). This regimen has been shown to yield satisfactory virologic and immunologic outcomes in children. Published studies have described insights into discontinuation of first-line regimen and toxicities of ART in adults, but similar studies in paediatric populations are lacking.

Task shifting routine inpatient pediatric HIV testing improves program outcomes in urban Malawi: a retrospective observational study.

Background: This study evaluated two models of routine HIV testing of hospitalized children in a high HIV-prevalence resource-constrained African setting. Both models incorporated "task shifting," or the allocation of tasks to the least-costly, capable health worker.

Methods And Findings: Two models were piloted for three months each within the pediatric department of a referral hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi between January 1 and June 30, 2008.

Growth in HIV-infected children receiving antiretroviral therapy at a pediatric infectious diseases clinic in Uganda.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves growth and survival of HIV-infected individuals. We designed a retrospective cohort study to assess clinical factors associated with growth in HIV-infected children on ART in Uganda between July 2003 and March 2006. Height and weight measurements taken pre- and post-ART initiation for at least 6 months were age- and gender-standardized to CDC 2000 reference.