Factors influencing place of delivery: Evidence from three south-Asian countries.

Background: High maternal mortality is still a significant public health challenge in many countries of the South-Asian region. The majority of maternal deaths occur due to pregnancy and delivery-related complications, which can mostly be prevented by safe facility delivery. Due to the paucity of existing evidence, our study aimed to examine the factors associated with place of delivery, including women's preferences for such in three selected South-Asian countries.

Mixed-method study to assess the feasibility, acceptability and early effectiveness of the Hospital to Home programme for follow-up of high-risk newborns in a rural district of Central Uganda: a study protocol.

Introduction: A follow-up programme designed for high-risk newborns discharged from inpatient newborn units in low-resource settings is imperative to ensure these newborns receive the healthiest possible start to life. We aim to assess the feasibility, acceptability and early outcomes of a discharge and follow-up programme, called Hospital to Home (H2H), in a neonatal unit in central Uganda.

Methods And Analysis: We will use a mixed-methods study design comparing a historical cohort and an intervention cohort of newborns and their caregivers admitted to a neonatal unit in Uganda.

Spousal Separation and Use of and Unmet Need for Contraception in Nepal: Results Based on a 2016 Survey.

Nepal is facing a large-scale labour migration-both internal and international-driven by economic and employment opportunities. There is sparse literature available at the national level which examines the link between migration and contraceptive use. This study aimed at identifying contraceptive use and the unmet need for family planning (FP) and exploring its correlates among the married women of reproductive age (MWRA) by their husbands' residence status, using data from Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016-a nationally representative cross-sectional survey.

A critical account of the policy context shaping perinatal survival in Nepal: policy tension of socio-cultural versus a medical approach.

Background: Nepal formulated a range of policies related to maternal and neonatal survival, especially after the year 2000. Nevertheless, Nepal's perinatal mortality remains high, particularly in disadvantaged regions. Policy analysis can uncover the underlying values, strategies and policy formulation processes that shape the potential to reduce in-country health inequities.

Prevalence of behavioral risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and associated socio-economic factors among pregnant women in a rural area in Southern Nepal.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have dramatically infiltrated populations living in abject poverty in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs), and poor maternal and child health outcomes have been frequently reported for those with CVD risk factors. However, few studies have explored the behavioral risk factors of CVDs among pregnant women in rural settings. This study aimed at determining the prevalence and identifying the socio-economic predictors of behavioral risk factors of CVDs among pregnant women in rural area in Southern Nepal.

Health system barriers influencing perinatal survival in mountain villages of Nepal: implications for future policies and practices.

Background: This paper aims to examine the health care contexts shaping perinatal survival in remote mountain villages of Nepal. Health care is provided through health services to a primary health care level-comprising district hospital, village health facilities and community-based health services. The paper discusses the implications for future policies and practice to improve health access and outcomes related to perinatal health.

A qualitative study about the gendered experiences of motherhood and perinatal mortality in mountain villages of Nepal: implications for improving perinatal survival.

Background: We aim to examine the gendered contexts of poor perinatal survival in the remote mountain villages of Nepal. The study setting comprised two remote mountain villages from a mid-western mountain district of Nepal that ranks lowest on the Human Development Index (0.304), and is reported as having the lowest child survival rates in the country.

Religio-cultural factors contributing to perinatal mortality and morbidity in mountain villages of Nepal: Implications for future healthcare provision.

Objective And The Context: This paper examines the beliefs and experiences of women and their families in remote mountain villages of Nepal about perinatal sickness and death and considers the implications of these beliefs for future healthcare provision.

Methods: Two mountain villages were chosen for this qualitative study to provide diversity of context within a highly disadvantaged region. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 42 women of childbearing age and their family members, 15 health service providers, and 5 stakeholders.

Is there new public health management (NPM) in Nepal? Arguments for and against NPM in Nepal.

This article is a reflection about whether new public management (NPM) styles of reforms seen in other developing countries are also seen in Nepal, and to substantiate these facts with the available evidence and findings. The author saw the emergence of NPM ideas in Western industrialized countries like the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Now it exists in several developing countries of Africa and Asia; but it is very hard to generalize the degree and scope of NPM elements' existence.

Social determinants that lead to poor knowledge about, and inappropriate precautionary practices towards, avian influenza among butchers in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Background: Avian influenza (AI) is a global public health threat. Understanding the knowledge that butchers have about it and the precautionary practices they take against it is crucial for designing future preparedness programs. This study aimed to identify the social determinants of knowledge and precautionary measures of AI among butchers in the Kathmandu district in Nepal.