Private sector quality of care for maternal, new-born, and child health in low-and-middle-income countries: a secondary review.

Unlabelled: The private sector has emerged as a crucial source of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) care in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Quality within the MNCH private sector varies and has not been established systematically. This study systematically reviews findings on private-sector delivery of quality MNCH care in LMICs through the six domains of quality care (QoC) (i.

Engaging the private sector to deliver quality maternal and newborn health services for universal health coverage: lessons from policy dialogues.

The private health sector is becoming increasingly important in discussions on improving the quality of care for maternal and newborn health (MNH). Yet information rarely addresses what engaging the private sector for MNH means and how to do it. In 2019, the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (the Network) initiated exploratory research to better understand how to ensure that the private sector delivers quality care and what the public sector must do to facilitate and sustain this process.

Delivering quality care to all mothers and newborns requires governments to engage the private sector.

More structured engagement with the private sector will contribute to achieving universal health coverage with quality, argue

National learning systems to sustain and scale up delivery of quality healthcare: a conceptual framework.

All around the world, health systems fail to provide good quality of care (QoC). By developing learning systems, health systems are able to better identify good practices and to explain how to sustain and scale these good practices. To facilitate the operationalisation of national learning systems, the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (the Network) developed a conceptual framework for national learning systems to support QoC at scale.

Private sector delivery of maternal and newborn health care in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Recent studies have pointed to the substantial role of private health sector delivery of maternal and newborn health (MNH) care in low-/middle-income countries (LMICs). While this role has been partly documented, an evidence synthesis is missing. To analyse opportunities and challenges of private sector delivery of MNH care as they pertain to the new World Health Organization (WHO) strategy on engaging the private health service delivery sector through governance in mixed health systems, a more granular understanding of the private health sector's role and extent in MNH delivery is imperative.

Experiences of private sector quality care amongst mothers, newborns, and children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Background: Experience of care is a pillar of quality care; positive experiences are essential during health care encounters and integral to quality health service delivery. Yet, we lack synthesised knowledge of how private sector delivery of quality care affects experiences of care amongst mothers, newborns, and children. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review that examined quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies on the provision of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) care by private providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

History and scientific background on the economics of abortion.

Background: Approximately one quarter of all pregnancies globally end in abortion, making it one of the most common gynecological practices worldwide. Despite the high incidence of abortion around the globe, the synthesis of known economic outcomes of abortion care and policies is lacking. Using data from a systematic scoping review, we synthesized the literature on the economics of abortion at the microeconomic, mesoeconomic, and mesoeconomic levels and presented the results in a collection of studies.

The microeconomics of abortion: A scoping review and analysis of the economic consequences for abortion care-seekers.

Background: The economic consequences of abortion care and abortion policies for individuals occur directly and indirectly. We lack synthesis of the economic costs, impacts, benefit or value of abortion care at the micro-level (i.e.

The macroeconomics of abortion: A scoping review and analysis of the costs and outcomes.

Background: Although abortion is a common gynecological procedure around the globe, we lack synthesis of the known macroeconomic costs and outcomes of abortion care and abortion policies. This scoping review synthesizes the literature on the impact of abortion-related care and abortion policies on economic outcomes at the macroeconomic level (that is, for societies and nation states).

Methods And Findings: Searches were conducted in eight electronic databases.

The economics of abortion and its links with stigma: A secondary analysis from a scoping review on the economics of abortion.

Background: Although abortions are a common aspect of people's reproductive lives, the economic implications of abortion and the stigmas that surround abortion are poorly understood. This article provides an analysis of secondary data from a scoping review on the economic impact of abortion to understand the intersections between stigma and economics outcomes at the microeconomic (i.e.

The mesoeconomics of abortion: A scoping review and analysis of the economic effects of abortion on health systems.

Background: Despite the high incidence of abortion around the globe, we lack synthesis of the known economic consequences of abortion care and abortion policies at the mesoeconomic level (i.e. health systems and communities).

Implementation of the new WHO antenatal care model for a positive pregnancy experience: a monitoring framework.

Monitoring the implementation and impact of routine antenatal care (ANC), as described in the new World Health Organization (WHO) ANC model, requires indicators that go beyond the previously used global benchmark indicator of four or more ANC visits. To enable consistent monitoring of ANC content and care processes and to provide guidance to countries and health facilities, WHO developed an ANC monitoring framework. This framework builds on a conceptual framework for quality ANC and a scoping review of ANC indicators that mapped existing indicators related to recommendations in the new WHO ANC model.

Private sector delivery of quality care for maternal, newborn and child health in low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods systematic review protocol.

Introduction: To accelerate progress to reach the sustainable development goals for ending preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths, it is critical that both the public and private health service delivery systems invest in increasing coverage of interventions to sustainably deliver quality care for mothers, newborns and children at scale. Although various approaches have been successful in high-income countries, little is known about how to effectively engage and sustain private sector involvement in delivering quality care in low-income and middle-income countries. Our systematic review will examine private sector implementation of quality care for maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and the impact of this care.

Economics of abortion: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Abortion is a common feature of people's reproductive lives. However, the economic implications of abortion and policies affecting abortion provision are poorly understood. This scoping review aims to systematically review social science literature for studies that have investigated the impact of abortion care (ie, un/safe abortion, post-abortion care) or abortion policies on economic outcomes at the micro-levels (ie, abortion seekers and their households), meso-levels (ie, communities and health systems) and macro-levels (ie, societies and nation states).

Developing measures for WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience: a conceptual framework and scoping review.

Objectives: In response to the newest WHO recommendations on routine antenatal care (ANC) for pregnant women and adolescent girls, this paper identifies the literature on existing ANC measures, presents a conceptual framework for quality ANC, maps existing measures to specific WHO recommendations, identifies gaps where new measures are needed to monitor the implementation and impact of routine ANC and prioritises measures for capture.

Methods: We conducted searches in four databases and five websites. Searches and application of inclusion/exclusion criteria followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow approach for scoping reviews.

Puberty and menstruation knowledge among young adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.

Objectives: This study presents a scoping review of evidence relating to knowledge and experiences of puberty and menstruation among females aged 10-14 years in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: Forty-four items from 12 countries were identified from a systematic scoping review and screening of 8083 items. Included studies were quality assessed.

Priorities and Challenges Accessing Health Care Among Female Migrants.

Women's ability to access health care requires access to and control of resources as well as the ability to make personal health decisions. Female migrants may experience additional challenges in accessing health care due to marginalization and vulnerability resulting from both their gender and their migrant status. Rural-to-urban migrant women working in the informal sector, such as Ghana's head porters (), experience exclusion from the health system, risk of being uninsured, and poor health outcomes.

Health insurance and care-seeking behaviours of female migrants in Accra, Ghana.

People working in Ghana's informal sector have low rates of enrolment in the publicly funded National Health Insurance Scheme. Informal sector workers, including migrant girls and women from northern Ghana working as head porters (kayayei), report challenges obtaining insurance and seeking formal health care. This article analyses how health insurance status affects kayayei migrants' care-seeking behaviours.

Interventions to provide culturally-appropriate maternity care services: factors affecting implementation.

Background: The World Health Organization recently made a recommendation supporting 'culturally-appropriate' maternity care services to improve maternal and newborn health. This recommendation results, in part, from a systematic review we conducted, which showed that interventions to provide culturally-appropriate maternity care have largely improved women's use of skilled maternity care. Factors relating to the implementation of these interventions can have implications for their success.

Effectiveness of interventions to provide culturally appropriate maternity care in increasing uptake of skilled maternity care: a systematic review.

Addressing cultural factors that affect uptake of skilled maternity care is recognized as an important step in improving maternal and newborn health. This article describes a systematic review to examine the evidence available on the effects of interventions to provide culturally appropriate maternity care on the use of skilled maternity care during pregnancy, for birth or in the postpartum period. Items published in English, French and/or Spanish between 1 January 1990 and 31 March 2014 were considered.

Maternity care services and culture: a systematic global mapping of interventions.

Background: A vast body of global research shows that cultural factors affect the use of skilled maternity care services in diverse contexts. While interventions have sought to address this issue, the literature on these efforts has not been synthesised. This paper presents a systematic mapping of interventions that have been implemented to address cultural factors that affect women's use of skilled maternity care.

Improved maternal health since the ICPD: 20 years of progress.

Background: The 1994 Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was a turning point in the field of sexual and reproductive health--repositioning population and development programs globally in the context of reproductive rights, gender equity, and women's empowerment.

Progress Since Icpd: ICPD solidified the importance of women's health and safe motherhood alongside other health and development priorities while laying the groundwork for the Millennium Development Goals.

Challenges: Some goals envisioned by ICPD have been met.

Measuring coverage in MNCH: validating women's self-report of emergency cesarean sections in Ghana and the Dominican Republic.

Background: Cesarean section is the only surgery for which we have nearly global population-based data. However, few surveys provide additional data related to cesarean sections. Given weaknesses in many health information systems, health planners in developing countries will likely rely on nationally representative surveys for the foreseeable future.