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Background: There is a growing global acknowledgement that improving child survival rates is no longer sufficient. Emphasis is shifting to the improvement of health and developmental trajectories in early childhood. Screening and measurement of these trajectories in low and middle income countries is difficult, however, as they currently rely on developmental tests standardised among populations of children growing up in resource rich environments.Methods: This paper presents a comparison of one such tool adapted for use with children living in Southern Africa to children from the United States, Norway, Korea and Spain. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire version 3 (ASQ-3) was adapted and administered to 853 children living in South Africa and Zambia.Results: Children in southern Africa were found to perform significantly better than children from other countries early in life, especially in the domains of communication, gross motor and fine motor skills. By the age of five, children in southern Africa were performing significantly worse than their peers in the domains of fine motor and problem-solving.Conclusion: The results indicate the applicability of the ASQ-3 in southern Africa and point to the importance of early interventions to protect the early good development of African children in order to promote positive life trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this paper was to investigate whether BMI and fat percentage classification criteria, would classify a sample of 7-13 year old boys from a rural background in similar nutritional categories.Methods: A cross-sectional study with a stratified random sampling included 601 rural boys (7-13 years old). Fat percentage criteria classification and BMI were calculated and compared. Maturity status, and age at peak height velocity (PHV) were indirectly determined. Statistical techniques included descriptive statistics, Pearson product correlation coefficients, the Kappa agreement test and the McNemar's test. The level of statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.Results: All age groups presented with statistically significant high correlations between BMI and fat percentage, and low to medium correlations between fat percentage and maturity age (MA). Measurement of agreement between BMI and fat percentage classifications showed poor to fair agreements for all age groups, with the exception of the eight-year old group which presented a moderate agreement.Conclusions: Classifications based on BMI and fat percentage, results in different classifications for the same population. Until further research has been done to determine the best classification for nutritional status, it is recommended that both classification methods be used for more accurate classification of nutritional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a high global burden of neonatal mortality, with many newborn babies dying of preventable and treatable conditions, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Improving quality of newborn care could save the lives of many thousands of babies. Quality of care (QoC) is a complex and multifaceted construct that is difficult to measure, but patients' experiences of care are an important component in any measurement of QoC. We report the findings of a qualitative study exploring observations and experiences of health workers (HWs) and mothers of babies in neonatal units in South Africa.Methods: A qualitative case study approach was adopted to explore care of newborn babies admitted to neonatal units in district hospitals. Observation data were collected by a registered nurse during working hours over a continuous five-day period. Doctors and nurses working in the neonatal unit and mothers of babies admitted during the observation period were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. All interviews were audio recorded. Observation data were transcribed from hand written notes. Audiotapes of interviews were transcribed verbatim and, where necessary, translated into English. A thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data.Results: Observations and interviews were conducted in seven participating hospitals between November 2015 and May 2016. Our findings highlight the importance of information sharing between HWs and mothers of babies, contrasting the positive communication reported by many mothers which led to them feeling empowered and participating actively in the care of their babies, with incidents of poor communication. Poor communication, rudeness and disrespectful behaviour of HWs was frequently described by mothers, and led to mothers feeling anxious, unwilling to ask questions and excluded from their baby's care. In some cases poor communication and misunderstandings led to serious mismanagement of babies with HWs delaying or withholding care, or to mothers putting their babies at risk by not following instructions.Conclusion: Good communication between mothers and HWs is critical for building mothers' confidence, promoting bonding and participation of mothers in the care of their baby and may have long term benefits for the health and well-being of the mother and her baby. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]