Using Continuous Quality Improvement in Community-based Programming During Disasters: Lessons Learned from the 2015 Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone.

This paper describes the CQI (Continuous Quality Improvement) process of collecting and analyzing field level qualitative data in an ongoing cycle. This data can be used to guide decision-making for effective emergency response. When medical and community components are integrated from the earliest stages of the disaster, it allows for true collaboration and supports the CQI process to be responsive to evolving data.

COVID-19 and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and child marriage: An online multi-country cross sectional survey.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage are prevalent in many countries in Asia and Africa. These practices are a violation of human rights and have significant impacts on the physical and mental well-being of those affected. COVID-19 restrictions such as lockdowns and closure of schools may have influenced the occurrence of FGM/C and child marriage.

Content and design of respectful maternity care training packages for health workers in sub-Saharan Africa: Scoping review.

Background: Training health workers might facilitate respectful maternity care (RMC); however, the content and design of RMC training remain unclear.

Objective: To explore the content and design of RMC training packages for health workers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Search Strategy: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Complete, Web of Science Core Collections, SCOPUS, and grey literature sources (including websites of RMC-focused key organizations and Ministries of Health) were searched for journal papers, reports, and training guides from January 2006 up to August 2022.

Corrigendum: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women in Kilifi, Kenya from March 2020 to March 2022.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.

Diagnostic accuracy of a non-invasive spot-check hemoglobin meter, Masimo Rad-67® pulse CO-Oximeter®, in detection of anemia in antenatal care settings in Kenya.

Background: Point of care hemoglobin meters play key roles in increasing access to anemia screening in antenatal care especially in settings with limited access to laboratories. We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of a non-invasive spot-check hemoglobin (SpHb) meter, Masimo Rad-67® Pulse CO-Oximeter®, in the diagnosis of anemia in pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in Kilifi, Kenya.

Methods: This was a diagnostic accuracy study that retrospectively evaluated SpHb against a validated reference standard of laboratory assessed hemoglobin (Lab Hb) by a SYSMEX XN-330 automated hematology analyzer.

Vaccine decision-making among pregnant women: a protocol for a cross-sectional mixed-method study in Brazil, Ghana, Kenya and Pakistan.

Maternal immunization is a critical strategy to prevent both maternal and infant morbidity and mortality from several infectious diseases. When the first COVID-19 vaccines became available during the pandemic, there was mixed messaging and confusion amongst the broader public and among those associated with health care systems about the recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations in pregnancy in many countries. A multi-country, mixed-methods study is being undertaken to describe how vaccine decision-making occurs amongst pregnant and postpartum women, with a focus on COVID-19 vaccines.

Development and validation of a prognostic model to predict birth weight: individual participant data meta-analysis.

Objective: To predict birth weight at various potential gestational ages of delivery based on data routinely available at the first antenatal visit.

Design: Individual participant data meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Individual participant data of four cohorts (237 228 pregnancies) from the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications (IPPIC) network dataset.

The PRECISE-DYAD Neurodevelopmental substudy protocol: neurodevelopmental risk in children of mothers with pregnancy complications.

Background: Over 250 million children are not reaching their developmental potential globally. The impact of prenatal factors and their interplay with postnatal environmental factors on child neurodevelopment, is still unclear-particularly in low- and middle-income settings. This study aims to understand the impact of pregnancy complications as well as environmental, psychosocial, and biological predictors on neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Effect of male partners' involvement and support on reproductive, maternal and child health and well-being in East Africa: A scoping review.

Background And Aims: East African countries have high rates of maternal and child mortality and morbidity. Studies have shown that the involvement of male partners in reproductive health can benefit maternal and child health (MCH). This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the evidence across East Africa that describes male partner involvement and its effect on maternal, reproductive, and child well-being.

Baseline assessment of cervical cancer screening and treatment capacity in 25 counties in Kenya, 2022.

Background: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Kenya. In the context of the Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem, Kenya is currently implementing screening and treatment scale-up. For effectively tracking the scale-up, a baseline assessment of cervical cancer screening and treatment service availability and readiness was conducted in 25 priority counties.

Costs and cost drivers of comprehensive sexual reproductive health services to female sex workers in Kenya.

Background: Comprehensive sexual reproductive health (SRH) programs for female sex workers (FSW) offering clinical, behavioural, and structural interventions have contributed to declining rates of HIV in this population. However, data on costs and cost drivers is needed to support programs and their donors to better allocate resources, make an investment case for continued funding, and to identify areas of improvement in program design and implementation. We aimed to estimate the annual per-FSW costs of comprehensive services for a standalone FSW program in Kenya.

Postpartum recovery after severe maternal morbidity in Kilifi, Kenya: a grounded theory of recovery trajectories beyond 42 days.

Introduction: The burden of severe maternal morbidity is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and its relative contribution to maternal (ill) health may increase as maternal mortality continues to fall. Women's perspective of their long-term recovery following severe morbidity beyond the standard 42-day postpartum period remains largely unexplored.

Methods: This woman-centred, grounded theory study was nested within the Pregnancy Care Integrating Translational Science Everywhere (PRECISE) study in Kilifi, Kenya.

Women's health and rights in the twenty-first century.

In the twenty-first century, the complex relationship between women's health and rights has been influenced by a range of interconnected challenges, including gender inequity, reproductive health disparities, maternal mortality and morbidity, and women's inability to access life-saving, high-quality healthcare services including family planning. Going forward, the world needs to find ways to implement the unfinished agenda of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 1994 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus prioritizing health and rights for women and girls as essential not only to their survival but also to their progress, agency and empowerment. It is also important to consider the interconnection between women's health and rights and climate change, with its disproportionate impact on the well-being of girls and women, and to address the impact and opportunities afforded by digital technologies.

Two decades of research capacity strengthening and reciprocal learning on sexual and reproductive health in East Africa - a point of (no) return.

As the world is facing challenges such as pandemics, climate change, conflicts, and changing political landscapes, the need to secure access to safe and high-quality abortion care is more urgent than ever. On 27th of June 2023, the Swedish government decided to cut funding resources available for developmental research, which has played a fundamental role in the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally, including abortion care. Withdrawal of this funding not only threatens the fulfilment of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGS) - target 3.

Sexual satisfaction, an indicator of sexual health and well-being? Insights from STI/HIV prevention research in European men who have sex with men.

Introduction: Although sexual health has been holistically defined to include sexual satisfaction, it has been largely absent in health services and sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes in many parts of the world. We propose sexual satisfaction as a useful indicator, as one of the proxy measures for sexual health and well-being and as a component of well-being in general.

Methods: The Sialon II project is a multicentre biological and behavioural cross-sectional community-based survey implemented across 13 European cities during 2013-2014 among men who have sex with men.

The PRECISE-DYAD protocol: linking maternal and infant health trajectories in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: PRECISE-DYAD is an observational cohort study of mother-child dyads running in urban and rural communities in The Gambia and Kenya. The cohort is being followed for two years and includes uncomplicated pregnancies and those that suffered pregnancy hypertension, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, and/or stillbirth.

Methods: The PRECISE-DYAD study will follow up ~4200 women and their children recruited into the original PRECISE study.

Factors associated with late diagnosis of cervical cancer at two national referral hospitals, Kenya 2017: A case control study.

Background: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Kenya. Two thirds of cervical cancer cases in Kenya are diagnosed in advanced stages. We aimed to identify factors associated with late diagnosis of cervical cancer, to guide policy interventions.

Corrigendum: Microbiota dynamics, metabolic and immune interactions in the cervicovaginal environment and their role in spontaneous preterm birth.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.

Women in Health and their Economic, Equity and Livelihood statuses during Emergency Preparedness and Response (WHEELER) protocol: a mixed methods study in Kenya.

Introduction: Kenya reported its first COVID-19 case on 13 March 2020. Pandemic-driven health system changes followed and unforeseen societal, economic and health effects reported. This protocol aims to describe the methods used to identify the gender equality and health equity gaps and possible disproportional health and socioeconomic impacts experienced by paid and unpaid (community health volunteer) female healthcare providers in Kilifi and Mombasa Counties, Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Challenges and opportunities for improving access to adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health services and information in the coastal counties of Kenya: a qualitative study.

Background: Globally, adolescents and youth experience high unmet need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. In Kenya, evidence shows that more than half of teenage pregnancies are unintended and that half of all new HIV infections occur in people ages 15-24-year-olds, with the majority of those being female. The coastal counties in Kenya record a relatively high adolescent pregnancy rate and higher rates of unmet need for contraception for all women of reproductive age compared to the national average.

Prevalence and correlates of depressive disorders in commercially sexual exploited children: A cross-sectional study in Mombasa, Kenya.

Background: Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a global concern and is among the common forms of sexual violence against children. In Kenya, about 32 % of girls and 16 % of boys experience sexual violence before the age of 18 years. While much has been written about the impact of child sexual exploitation, there's little on the prevalence of depressive disorders among CSE children.

Pattern and determinants of contraceptive use among the muslim women in Wajir and Lamu counties in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Improving access to family planning (FP) is associated with positive health benefits that includes averting nearly a third of all maternal deaths and 10% of childhood deaths. Kenya has made great strides in improving access to family planning services. However, amid this considerable progress, regional variation has been noted which begs the need for a clearer understanding of the the patterns and determinants that drive these inconsistencies.

Exploring the willingness toward HIV immediate test and treat among MSM in Nairobi and its environs: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In the test and treat initiative, high-risk populations are screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and start early treatment if diagnosed positive. This study explores factors associated with willingness to initiate testing and immediate treatment among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Nairobi and its environs. The study was informed by a conceptual framework combining the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) and the Modified Social Ecological Model.

Microbiota dynamics, metabolic and immune interactions in the cervicovaginal environment and their role in spontaneous preterm birth.

Differences in the cervicovaginal microbiota are associated with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), a significant cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Although establishing a direct causal link between cervicovaginal microbiota and sPTB remains challenging, recent advancements in sequencing technologies have facilitated the identification of microbial markers potentially linked to sPTB. Despite variations in findings, a recurring observation suggests that sPTB is associated with a more diverse and less stable vaginal microbiota across pregnancy trimesters.