Access to public transportation and health facilities offering long-acting reversible contraceptives among residents of formal and informal settlements in two cities in Kenya.

Background: Despite improved health facility access relative to rural areas, distance and transportation remain barriers in some urban areas. Using household and facility data linked to residential and transportation geographic information we describe availability of health facilities offering long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods and measure access via matatus (privately owned mid-size vehicles providing public transport) in urban Kenya.

Methods: Study data were collected by the Measurement, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) Project.

Community-based intermittent mass testing and treatment for malaria in an area of high transmission intensity, western Kenya: development of study site infrastructure and lessons learned.

Background: Malaria transmission is high in western Kenya and the asymptomatic infected population plays a significant role in driving the transmission. Mathematical modelling and simulation programs suggest that interventions targeting asymptomatic infections through mass testing and treatment (MTaT) or mass drug administration (MDA) have the potential to reduce malaria transmission when combined with existing interventions.

Objective: This paper describes the study site, capacity development efforts required, and lessons learned for implementing a multi-year community-based cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of MTaT for malaria transmission reduction in an area of high transmission in western Kenya.