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Health campaign integration is a key implementation strategy outlined by the World Health Organization to achieve universal health coverage. This scoping review synthesizes the evidence on Integrated Health Campaigns (IHC) in the field of immunization in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) regarding the most common strategies, facilitators and barriers. Four reviewers followed a systematic approach to identify, screen and analyse relevant articles. The team used three search engines (PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar) to identify peer-reviewed journal articles as well as select institutional websites for grey literature publications. Full-text articles using any study design and across any time frame were included. Data were extracted following a predefined matrix, analysed deductively and presented in a narrative synthesis. Thirty articles (20 academic and 10 grey) were included in the final review. All studies included identified IHCs as effective when planning or implementation is integrated. The common strategies were: using resources efficiently in remote locations; using national immunization days to maximize impact; targeting specific age groups by selecting intervention sites that are frequented by that age group; building community ownership over the integrated program; and integrating programs that already share common elements. The key facilitators were: closing the gap between services and communities; planning, coordination and resource management both before and during integration; cost-effectiveness; and utilization of pre-existing infrastructure. The common barriers included seemingly optimized initial cost to appear feasible only in the short term and additional responsibilities on the field staff. This review finds IHCs a common practice in immunization and identifies gaps in evidence on evaluation; indicating the need for additional research. Strong evidence accounts IHCs to increase coverage, improve community acceptance of health services and strengthen the community models of health service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'continuum of care' is proposed as a key framework for the delivery of maternal, neonatal and child health services. This study examined the extent of dropout as well as factors associated with retention across the MNCH continuum from antenatal care (ANC), through skilled birth attendance (SBA), to postnatal care (PNC).We analyzed data from 1931 women who delivered in the preceding 2-14 months, from a two-stage cluster sampling household survey in four districts of Tanzania's Morogoro region. The survey was conducted in 2011 as a part of a baseline for an independent evaluation of a maternal health program. Using the Anderson model of health care seeking, we fitted logistic models for three transition stages in the continuum.Only 10% of women received the 'recommended' care package (4+ ANC visits, SBA, and 1+ PNC visit), while 1% reported not having care at any stage. Receipt of four ANC visits was positively associated with women being older in age (age 20-34 years-OR: 1.77, 95%CI: 1.22-2.56; age 35-49 years-2.03, 1.29-3.2), and knowledge of danger signs (1.75, 1.39 -2.1). A pro-rich bias was observed in facility-based deliveries (proxy for SBA), with women from the fourth (1.66, 1.12-2.47) and highest quintiles of household wealth (3.4, 2.04-5.66) and the top tertile of communities by wealth (2.9, 1.14-7.4). Higher rates of facility deliveries were also reported with antenatal complications (1.37, 1.05-1.79), and 4+ ANC visits (1.55, 1.14-2.09). Returning for PNC was highest among the wealthiest communities (2.25, 1.21-4.44); catchment areas of a new PNC program (1.89, 1.03-3.45); knowledge of danger signs (1.78, 1.13-2.83); community health worker counselling (4.22, 1.97-9.05); complicated delivery (3.25, 1.84-5.73); and previous health provider counselling on family planning (2.39, 1.71-3.35).Dropout from maternal care continuum is high, especially for the poorest, in rural Tanzania. Interactions with formal health system and perceived need for future services appear to be important factors for retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To quantify women's satisfaction with delivery care in informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, and to determine characteristics of women and delivery care associated with satisfaction.Design: Household survey data analysis of 1266 women who delivered in health facilities in 2004 or 2005.Setting: Two densely populated informal settlements 7 and 12 km from Nairobi's center, where residents work primarily in the nearby industrial area or in the informal sector. Outcome Satisfaction was assessed by whether women would recommend the delivery care facility and deliver there again.Results: Over half (56%) of women would both recommend and deliver again in the same facility. In multivariate analysis, women's satisfaction with delivery care was associated with greater provider empathy (OR = 3.68, 95% CI 2.27, 5.97). Women's satisfaction with delivery care was also associated with the pregnancy having been wanted (OR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.82, 4.14) or mistimed vs. unwanted. Women delivering at private facilities in the settlement near the industrial area were more satisfied than women delivering at private facilities in the more distant and marginalized settlement (OR = 2.12, 95% CI 1.45, 3.09). The association of women's satisfaction and provider empathy was stronger among women who experienced complications compared to those who did not.Conclusion: Health providers should be sensitized to the finding that unintended pregnancy is associated with lower satisfaction with delivery care. Maternal health programmes should focus on increasing provider empathy, especially for women who experience complications, in both private and government health facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]