Can We Use Routine Data for Strategic Decision Making? A Time Trend Comparison Between Survey and Routine Data in Mali.

Background: Countries with scarce resources need timely and high-quality data on coverage of health interventions to make strategic decisions about where to allocate investments in health. Household survey data are generally regarded as "gold standard," high-quality data. This study assessed the comparability of intervention coverage time trends from routine and survey data at national and subnational levels in Mali.

Comparability of family planning quality of care measurement tools in low-and-middle income country settings: a systematic review.

Background: In low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), accurate measures of the elements of quality care provided by a health worker through family planning services (also known as process quality) are required to ensure family's contraceptives needs are being met. There are many tools used to assess family planning process quality of care (QoC) but no one standardized method. Those measuring QoC in LMICs should select an appropriate tool based the program context and financial/logistical parameters, but they require data on how well each tool measures routine clinical care.

Zinc Supplementation with or without Additional Micronutrients Does Not Affect Peripheral Blood Gene Expression or Serum Cytokine Level in Bangladeshi Children.

Preventive zinc supplementation provided as a stand-alone dispersible tablet, or via home fortification as multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs), has been considered a potential strategy to prevent zinc deficiency and improve health (including immune) outcomes among children in low- and middle-income countries. However, the impact of zinc supplementation on immune profiles has not been well characterized. We sought to define the effect of zinc supplementation on peripheral blood gene expression and cytokine levels among young children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Season of Data Collection of Child Dietary Diversity Indicators May Affect Conclusions About Longer-Term Trends in Peru, Senegal, and Nepal.

Background: The WHO-UNICEF minimum dietary diversity (MDD) indicator for children aged 6-23 mo is a global monitoring indicator used to track multi-year population-level changes in dietary quality, but the influence of seasonality on MDD estimates remains unclear.

Objectives: To examine how seasonality of data collection may influence population-level MDD estimates and inferences about MDD changes over multiple survey years.

Methods: We selected countries with 3 or more consecutive years of MDD data collection, including continuous national Demographic Health Surveys in Senegal (2012-2017;  = 12,183) and Peru (2005-2016;  = 35,272) and the Policy and Science for Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition sentinel site seasonal surveys (covering 3 seasons/y) in Nepal (2013-2016;   = 1309).

Impact of imprecise household location on effective coverage estimates generated through linking household and health provider data by geographic proximity: a simulation study.

Background: Geographic proximity is often used to link household and health provider data to estimate effective coverage of health interventions. Existing household surveys often provide displaced data on the central point within household clusters rather than household location. This may introduce error into analyses based on the distance between households and providers.

Delivering health and nutrition interventions for women and children in different conflict contexts: a framework for decision making on what, when, and how.

Existing global guidance for addressing women's and children's health and nutrition in humanitarian crises is not sufficiently contextualised for conflict settings specifically, reflecting the still-limited evidence that is available from such settings. As a preliminary step towards filling this guidance gap, we propose a conflict-specific framework that aims to guide decision makers focused on the health and nutrition of women and children affected by conflict to prioritise interventions that would address the major causes of mortality and morbidity among women and children in their particular settings and that could also be feasibly delivered in those settings. Assessing local needs, identifying relevant interventions from among those already recommended for humanitarian settings or universally, and assessing the contextual feasibility of delivery for each candidate intervention are key steps in the framework.

The effects of armed conflict on the health of women and children.

Women and children bear substantial morbidity and mortality as a result of armed conflicts. This Series paper focuses on the direct (due to violence) and indirect health effects of armed conflict on women and children (including adolescents) worldwide. We estimate that nearly 36 million children and 16 million women were displaced in 2017, on the basis of international databases of refugees and internally displaced populations.

Verbal/social autopsy analysis of causes and determinants of under-5 mortality in Tanzania from 2010 to 2016.

Background: Tanzania has decreased its child mortality rate by more than 70 percent in the last three decades and is striving to develop a nationally-representative sample registration system with verbal autopsy to help focus health policies and programs toward further reduction. As an interim measure, a verbal and social autopsy study was conducted to provide vital information on the causes and social determinants of neonatal and child deaths.

Methods: Causes of neonatal and 1-59 month-old deaths identified by the 2015-16 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey were assessed using the expert algorithm verbal autopsy method.

Using propensity scores to estimate the effectiveness of maternal and newborn interventions to reduce neonatal mortality in Nigeria.

Background: Nigeria is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, with one of the highest neonatal mortality rates and the second highest number of neonatal deaths in the world. There is broad international consensus on which interventions can most effectively reduce neonatal mortality, however, there is little direct evidence on what interventions are effective in the Nigerian setting.

Methods: We used the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) and the follow-up 2014 Verbal and Social Autopsy study of neonatal deaths to estimate the association between neonatal survival and mothers' and neonates' receipt of 18 resources and interventions along the continuum of care with information available in the NDHS.

National, regional, and state-level pneumonia and severe pneumonia morbidity in children in India: modelled estimates for 2000 and 2015.

Background: The absolute number of pneumonia deaths in India has declined substantially since 2000. However, pneumonia remains a major cause of morbidity in children in the country. We used a risk factor-based model to estimate pneumonia and severe pneumonia morbidity in Indian states in 2000 and 2015.

Challenges and facilitators to evidence-based decision-making for maternal and child health in Mozambique: district, municipal and national case studies.

Background: The need for evidence-based decision-making in the health sector is well understood in the global health community. Yet, gaps persist between the availability of evidence and the use of that evidence. Most research on evidence-based decision-making has been carried out in higher-income countries, and most studies look at policy-making rather than decision-making more broadly.

Using health facility deaths to estimate population causes of neonatal and child mortality in four African countries.

Background: Verbal autopsy is the main method used in countries with weak civil registration systems for estimating community causes of neonatal and 1-59-month-old deaths. However, validation studies of verbal autopsy methods are limited and assessment has been dependent on hospital-based studies, with uncertain implications for its validity in community settings. If the distribution of community deaths by cause was similar to that of facility deaths, or could be adjusted according to related demographic factors, then the causes of facility deaths could be used to estimate population causes.

Validating a GPS-based approach to detect health facility visits against maternal response to prompted recall survey.

Introduction: Common approaches to measure health behaviors rely on participant responses and are subject to bias. Technology-based alternatives, particularly using GPS, address these biases while opening new channels for research. This study describes the development and implementation of a GPS-based approach to detect health facility visits in rural Pune district, India.

Associations between growth from birth to 18 years, intelligence, and schooling in a Brazilian cohort.

Background: Growth faltering in the first 1000 d is associated with lower human capital among adults. The existence of a second window of opportunity for nutritional interventions during adolescence has been postulated.

Objectives: We aimed to verify the associations between growth from birth to 18 y and intelligence and schooling in a cohort.

Determinants and patterns of care-seeking for childhood illness in rural Pune District, India.

Background: An estimated 1.2 million children under five years of age die each year in India, with pneumonia and diarrhea among the leading causes. Increasing care-seeking is important to reduce mortality and morbidity from these causes.

Prevention of child wasting: Results of a Child Health & Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) prioritisation exercise.

Background: An estimated 49.5 million children under five years of age are wasted. There is a lack of robust studies on effective interventions to prevent wasting.

The impact of adding community-based distribution of oral contraceptives and condoms to a cluster randomized primary health care intervention in rural Tanzania.

Background: Efforts to expand access to family planning in rural Africa often focus on the deployment of community health agents (CHAs).

Methods: This paper reports on results of the impact of a randomized cluster trial of CHA deployment on contraceptive uptake among 3078 baseline and 2551 endline women of reproductive age residing in 50 intervention and 51 comparison villages in Tanzania. Qualitative data were collected to broaden understanding of method preference, reasons for choice, and factors that explain non-use.

Estimating the global impact of poor quality of care on maternal and neonatal outcomes in 81 low- and middle-income countries: A modeling study.

Background: In low-resource settings where disease burdens remain high and many health facilities lack essentials such as drugs or commodities, functional equipment, and trained personnel, poor quality of care often results and the impact can be profound. In this paper, we systematically quantify the potential gain of addressing quality of care globally using country-level data about antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal care interventions.

Methods And Findings: In this study, we created deterministic models to project health outcomes if quality of care was addressed in a representative sample of 81 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Factors associated with the decline in under five diarrhea mortality in Tanzania from 1980-2015.

Background: Tanzania has made great progress in reducing diarrhea mortality in under- five children. We examined factors associated with the decline and projected the impact of scaling up interventions or reducing risk factors on diarrhea deaths.

Methods: We reviewed economic, health, and diarrhea-related policies, reports and programs implemented during 1980 to 2015.

Drivers of the progress achieved by Peru in reducing childhood diarrhoea mortality: a country case study.

Background: Childhood diarrhoea mortality has declined substantially in Peru in recent decades. We documented trends in childhood diarrhoea mortality from 1980 to 2015, along with trends in coverage of diarrhoea-related interventions and risk factors, to identify the main drivers of mortality reduction.

Methods: We conducted desk reviews on social determinants, policies and programmes, and diarrhoea-related interventions implemented during the study period.