Latest Articles
- The Critical Role and Evaluation of Community Mobilizers in Polio Eradication in Remote Settings in Africa and Asia
Critical community health worker criteria are important for all community programs, including those focused on a single disease. Areas of importance include community engagement, local adaptation, and linkage with the health system—critical areas for current and future epidemics.
- Mask Reuse in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Creating an Inexpensive and Scalable Ultraviolet System for Filtering Facepiece Respirator Decontamination
We outline a simple, low-cost design—both scalable and adaptable worldwide—to decontaminate filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) using ultraviolet bulbs and supplies found in most hardware stores. The setup will help health care workers safely reuse FFRs in light of the shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Are We Using the Right Approach to Change Newborn Care Practices in the Community? Qualitative Evidence From Ethiopia and Northern Nigeria
In Ethiopia, high community-level exposure to consistent messages and the perceptions of community health workers and relationships with them drove newborn care behavior change. In Nigeria, exposure to messages was limited, community health workers were less trusted, and behavior change was reported less frequently.
- Where Do Caregivers Take Their Sick Children for Care? An Analysis of Care Seeking and Equity in 24 USAID Priority Countries
Understanding whether and where parents take sick children for care is critical to improve child health and survival. Stakeholders should use this information to ensure that resources are programmed effectively and that sectors complement one another to increase equitable access to high quality integrated management approaches for sick child care.
- A Qualitative Exploration of Community Ownership of a Maternity Waiting Home Model in Rural Zambia
Community-based maternal child health programs should foster a sense of community ownership to promote sustainability. In rural Zambia, health interventions should be accessible to target communities and clear roles should be established among stakeholders for effective governance.
- What Makes a National Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System Succeed? Lessons From Turkey
Successful implementation of a pharmaceutical track and trace system depended on the political determination to eliminate reimbursement fraud, as well as establishing a pharmaceutical market dominated by a single payer, making reimbursement contingent on verified dispensing and prescription, and being flexible in adapting the system according to stakeholders’ needs.
- Integrating Calcium Into Antenatal Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation in Ethiopia: Women’s Experiences, Perceptions of Acceptability, and Strategies to Support Calcium Supplement Adherence
In household trials of improved practices, rural Ethiopian women were motivated to adhere to antenatal calcium supplementation regimens, and tailored home-based strategies helped them overcome barriers such as regimen complexity, forgetfulness, side effects, and discouragement from others.
- Factors That Influence Data Use to Improve Health Service Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
We identified factors that may influence the relationship between information generation and improvement of health service delivery: governance (leadership, participatory monitoring, regular review of data); production of information (presentation of findings, data quality, qualitative data); and health information system resources (electronic health management information systems, organizational structure, training).
- Determinants of Facility-Level Use of Electronic Immunization Registries in Tanzania and Zambia: An Observational Analysis
We provide a framework to quantify the use of electronic immunization registry systems at the facility level and results show the importance of behavioral and organizational factors in explaining their sustained use in Tanzania and Zambia.