Health Topics
- Human-Centered Design and Sustainable Malaria Interventions
Human-centered design provides a method to adapt malaria control interventions to be more closely aligned with a family's convenience, comfort, and personal lifestyle, enabling a broader and more sustained culture of access and use.
- Using a Human-Centered Design Approach to Determine Consumer Preferences for Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets in Ghana
Through focus group discussions and human-centered design exercises, middle-class Ghanaians communicated the need to address convenience, comfort, and aesthetics when designing a bed net for their demographic. Illustrative attributes for consideration by private-sector manufacturers include a more convenient way to hang the net, a more attractive silhouette, and a zipper to provide ease of entry and exit while keeping the area sealed from mosquitos.
- Cell Phone Counseling Improves Retention of Mothers With HIV Infection in Care and Infant HIV Testing in Kisumu, Kenya: A Randomized Controlled Study
Tailored, one-on-one counseling delivered via cell phone was very effective in retaining mothers with HIV in care and in promoting infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care attendance. The highest risk of loss to follow-up among women with HIV accessing PMTCT services was prior to delivery and then after infant HIV testing at 6 weeks. Challenges include continued limited access to cell phones, difficulty with reaching participants on the phone, and poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy for a substantial percentage of the population.
- Alternative Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food Yields Less Recovery Than the Standard for Treating Acute Malnutrition in Children From Ghana
In Ghana, an alternative ready-to-use food (RUTF) formulation that met all specifications was not as good as standard RUTF in affecting recovery from acute malnutrition among children aged 6 to 59 months.
- Evaluating WHO-Recommended Interventions for Preterm Birth: A Mathematical Model of the Potential Reduction of Preterm Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa
Using the Maternal and Neonatal Directed Assessment of Technology (MANDATE) model, we estimate that WHO-recommended interventions could have saved nearly 300,000 lives in 2015. Combined interventions had the greatest impact. MANDATE can allow health officials to prioritize implementation strategies.
- Introduction of Community-Based Provision of Subcutaneous Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC) in Benin: Programmatic Results
Lay community health workers and facility-based health care providers in Benin were trained to administer DMPA-SC safely and effectively in 10 health zones. Community-based DMPA-SC was popular, particularly among new users of contraception, and could help the country achieve its family planning goals.
- Are Procured Quantities of Implants Adequate and Appropriate? Modeling Procurement, Inventory, and Consumption of Contraceptive Implants During Rapid Uptake
Recent rapid increases in implant procurement have not resulted in system overstocks to date. We found no standard factor for relating inventory quantities to consumption rates. Rather, that relationship requires specific understanding of the country supply chain, inventory control parameters, and current and future demand.
- The Challenges of Transition From Donor-Funded Programs: Results From a Theory-Driven Multi-Country Comparative Case Study of Programs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Supported by the Global Fund
Transitioning from donor funding toward domestic financing for HIV and TB programs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia presents major challenges. It will require a substantial multipronged approach through well-planned collective and coordinated responses from global, bilateral, and national partners.
- Efficacy of a Digital Health Tool on Contraceptive Ideation and Use in Nigeria: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Control Trial
A mobile digital health tool piloted in Kaduna City, Nigeria, was efficacious in promoting positive contraceptive attitudes and encouraging women to adopt a modern contraceptive method, thus showing potential for reducing unmet need in Nigeria.
- Adding a Question About Method Switching to the Method Information Index Is a Better Predictor of Contraceptive Continuation
Adding the question “Were you told about the possibility of switching to another method if the method you selected was not suitable?” to the Method Information Index (MII) was associated with better contraceptive continuation. This MIIplus variable includes another domain of quality of care, and thus better reflects voluntary contraceptive use and continuation.