Decomposing socio-economic inequality in catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditures in Malawi.

Reducing health inequalities and inequities is one of the key goals that health systems aspire to achieve as it ensures improvement in health outcomes among all population groups. Addressing the factors contributing to inequality in catastrophic health expenditures is important to reducing inequality in the burden of health expenditures. However, there are limited studies to explain the factors contributing to inequalities in catastrophic health expenditures.

Spatial disparities in impoverishing effects of out-of-pocket health payments in Malawi.

Background: Out-of-pocket health payments as a means of financing health services are a cause of concern among households in low and middle-income countries. They prevent households from accessing health care services, can disrupt households' living standards by reducing consumption of other basic needs and push households into poverty. Previous studies have reported geographical variations in impoverishing effects of out-of-pocket health payments.

Correction: Examining the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures and its determinants using multilevel logistic regression in Malawi.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Examining the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures and its determinants using multilevel logistic regression in Malawi.

Background: Despite a free access to public health services policy in most sub-Saharan African countries, households still contribute to total health expenditures through out-of-pocket expenditures. This reliance on out-of-pocket expenditures places households at a risk of catastrophic health expenditures and impoverishment. This study examined the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures, impoverishing effects of out-of-pocket expenditures on households and factors associated with catastrophic expenditures in Malawi.

Assessment of implementation of the health management information system at the district level in southern Malawi.

Background: Despite Malawi's introduction of a health management information system (HMIS) in 1999, the country's health sector still lacks accurate, reliable, complete, consistent and timely health data to inform effective planning and resource management.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted wherein qualitative and quantitative data were collected through in-depth interviews, document review, and focus group discussions. Study participants comprised 10 HMIS officers and 10 district health managers from 10 districts in the Southern Region of Malawi.

Care-Seeking for Diarrhoea in Southern Malawi: Attitudes, Practices and Implications for Diarrhoea Control.

This paper examined care-seeking behaviour and its associated risk factors when a family member had diarrhoea. Data was obtained from a survey conducted in Chikwawa, a district in Southern Malawi. Chikwawa is faced with a number of environmental and socioeconomic problems and currently diarrhoea morbidity in the district is estimated at 24.

The Pattern of Variation between Diarrhea and Malaria Coexistence with Corresponding Risk Factors in, Chikhwawa, Malawi: A Bivariate Multilevel Analysis.

Developing countries face a huge burden of infectious diseases, a number of which co-exist. This paper estimates the pattern and variation of malaria and diarrhea coexistence in Chikhwawa, a district in Southern Malawi using bivariate multilevel modelling with Bayesian estimation. A probit link was employed to examine hierarchically built data from a survey of individuals (n = 6,727) nested within households (n = 1,380) nested within communities (n = 33).

Spatial quantile regression using INLA with applications to childhood overweight in Malawi.

Analyses of childhood overweight have mainly used mean regression. However, using quantile regression is more appropriate as it provides flexibility to analyse the determinants of overweight corresponding to quantiles of interest. The main objective of this study was to fit a Bayesian additive quantile regression model with structured spatial effects for childhood overweight in Malawi using the 2010 Malawi DHS data.

Knowledge, awareness and practice of the importance of hand-washing amongst children attending state run primary schools in rural Malawi.

A study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of hygiene practices in 2 primary schools in Malawi. The study determined: (1) presence of Escherichia coli on the hands of 126 primary school pupils, (2) knowledge, awareness and hygiene practices amongst pupils and teachers and (3) the school environment through observation. Pupil appreciation of hygiene issues was reasonable; however, the high percentage presence of E.

Pattern of maternal knowledge and its implications for diarrhoea control in Southern Malawi: multilevel thresholds of change analysis.

A survey was conducted in Southern Malawi to examine the pattern of mothers' knowledge on diarrhoea. Diarrhoea morbidity in the district is estimated at 24.4%, statistically higher than the national average at 17%.

Household and community variations and nested risk factors for diarrhoea prevalence in southern Malawi: a binary logistic multi-level analysis.

This paper examines household and community-level influences on diarrhoeal prevalence in southern Malawi. A Bayesian multi-level modelling technique is used in the estimation of hierarchically built data from a survey of individuals nested within households nested within communities. Households have strong unobserved influence on diarrhoeal illness (sigma(2)(u) = 4.