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Background: An essential component to improving maternal and newborn outcomes is antenatal care. A trial of group antenatal care was implemented in Ghana where 7 health care facilities were randomized to be intervention sites and 7 control sites continued traditional antenatal care. Group antenatal care, where 10-14 women with similar due dates meet together for visits, includes traditional components such as risk assessment with increased opportunity for education and peer support. The study aim was to assess and report the process evaluation of the implementation of a group antenatal care intervention., Methods: Process evaluation data were collected alongside intervention data and included both quantitative and qualitative data sources. Midwives at the health facilities which were randomized as intervention sites completed tracking logs to measure feasibility of the intervention. Research team members traveled to intervention sites where they conducted structured observations and completed fidelity and learning methods checklists to determine adherence to the model of group antenatal care delivery. In addition, midwives facilitating group antenatal care meetings were interviewed and focus groups were conducted with women participating in group antenatal care., Results: In the majority of cases, midwives facilitating group antenatal care completed all components of the meetings with fidelity, following best practices such as sitting with the group rather than standing. Across 7 intervention sites, 7 groups (622 pregnant women) were documented in the tracking logs and of these participants, the majority (74%) attended more than half of the meetings, with 32% attending all 8 group meetings. Three themes were identified in both the midwife interviews and focus groups with pregnant women: 1) information sharing, 2) sense of community, and 3) time management challenges. An additional theme emerged from the focus groups with the women: women who had already given birth noticed a disconnect between what they learned and treatment received during labor and birth., Conclusion: This process evaluation determined that group antenatal care can be implemented with fidelity in low and middle-income countries. Time management was the biggest challenge, however both midwives and pregnant women found the model of care not only acceptable, but preferable to traditional care. The knowledge shared and sense of community built during the meetings was a valuable addition to the individual model of antenatal care., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Zielinski et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The management of acute febrile illnesses places a heavy burden on clinical services in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Bacterial and viral aetiologies of acute fevers are often clinically indistinguishable and, in the absence of diagnostic tests, the 'just-in-case' use of antibiotics by many health workers has become common practice, which has an impact on drug-resistant infections. Our study aims to answer the following question: in patients with undifferentiated febrile illness presenting to outpatient clinics/peripheral health centres in LMICs, can we demonstrate an improvement in clinical outcomes and reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescription over current practice by using a combination of simple, accurate diagnostic tests, clinical algorithms, and training and communication (intervention package)?, Methods: We designed a randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the impact of our intervention package on clinical outcomes and antibiotic prescription rates in acute febrile illnesses. Available, point-of-care, pathogen-specific and non-pathogen specific (host markers), rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) included in the intervention package were selected based on pre-defined criteria. Nine clinical study sites in six countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Uganda), which represent heterogeneous outpatient care settings, were selected. We considered the expected seasonal variations in the incidence of acute febrile illnesses across all the sites by ensuring a recruitment period of 12 months. A master protocol was developed and adapted for country-specific ethical submissions. Diagnostic algorithms and choice of RDTs acknowledged current data on aetiologies of acute febrile illnesses in each country. We included a qualitative evaluation of drivers and/or deterrents of uptake of new diagnostics and antibiotic use for acute febrile illnesses. Sample size estimations were based on historical site data of antibiotic prescription practices for malarial and non-malarial acute fevers. Overall, 9 semi-independent studies will enrol a minimum of 21,876 patients and an aggregate data meta-analysis will be conducted on completion., Discussion: This study is expected to generate vital evidence needed to inform policy decisions on the role of rapid diagnostic tests in the clinical management of acute febrile illnesses, with a view to controlling the rise of antimicrobial resistance in LMICs., Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04081051 . Registered on 6 September 2019. Protocol version 1.4 dated 20 December 2019.

Introduction: Individuals and communities affected by NTDs are often the poorest and most marginalised; ensuring a gender and equity lens is centre stage will be critical for the NTD community to reach elimination goals and inform Universal Health Coverage (UHC). NTDs amenable to preventive chemotherapy have been described as a 'litmus test' for UHC due to the high mass drug administration (MDA) coverage rates needed to be effective and their model of community engagement. However, until now highly aggregated coverage data may have masked inequities in availability, accessibility and acceptability of medicines, slowing down the equitable achievement of elimination goals., Methods: We conducted qualitative programmatic analysis across different country contexts through the novel application of the Tanahashi Coverage Framework enhanced by gendered intersectional theory to interrogate different components of programme coverage: availability, accessibility, acceptability, contact and effective. Drawing on communities and health implementers perspectives (using focus groups, interviews, and participatory methods) from varying levels of the health system, across four African country contexts (Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria), we show who is left behind and provide recommendations for programmes to respond., Findings: We have unmasked inequities in programme delivery that repeatedly leave vulnerable populations underserved in relation to the prevention and treatment of PC NTDs across all components of coverage explored within the Tanahashi framework. Inequities are influenced by health systems challenges and limitations, due to lack of consideration of gender, power and equity issues. Effective treatment for individuals and communities is shaped by individual identities and the intersecting axes of inequity that converge to shape these positions including gender, age, disability, and geography. Health systems are inherently social and gendered thus they become mediators in managing the impact that social and structural processes have on individual health outcomes., Significance: To our knowledge this is the only paper which has combined a comprehensive equity framework with intersectional feminist theory, to establish a fuller understanding of who is left behind and why in MDA across countries and contexts. Ensuring the most vulnerable have continued access to future treatment options will contribute to the progressive realisation of UHC, allowing the NTD community to continue to support their vision of being a true 'litmus test'., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objective: Access to improved sanitation facilities is critical to the health and well-being of individuals and communities. However, globally, over 2.5 billion people live without access to safe sanitation facilities and more than 40% of the world population, do not use a toilet, but defecate in the open or in unsanitary places. In Ghana, only 14% of the population have access to improved sanitation facilities with great disparities between rural (8%) and urban (19%) dwellers. This paper sought to examine the determinants of access to improved sanitation facilities by households among rural dwellers in two districts in southern Ghana., Results: This study, which involved 16,353 household heads from the Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance System, found that sanitation facilities used by households were significantly influenced by age, gender, level of education, occupation, marital and socioeconomic status of household heads. It further revealed that a large proportion (85.94%) of the study participants did not have access to improved sanitation facilities. The study therefore recommends that the national sanitation laws must strictly be enforced to ensure each household in Ghana has decent and hygienic toilet facility.

Background: Maternal mortality is the subject of the United Nations' fifth Millennium Development Goal, which is to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters from 1990 to 2015. The giant strides made by western countries in dropping of their maternal mortality ratio were due to the recognition given to skilled attendants at delivery. In Ghana, nine in ten mothers receive antenatal care from a health professional whereas only 59 and 68% of deliveries are assisted by skilled personnel in 2008 and 2010 respectively. This study therefore examines the determinants of skilled birth attendant at delivery in rural southern Ghana., Methods: This study comprises of 1874 women of reproductive age who had given birth 2 years prior to the study whose information were extracted from the Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance System. The univariable and multivariable associations between exposure variables (risk factors) and skilled birth attendant at delivery were explored using logistic regression., Results: Out of a total of 1874 study participants, 98.29% of them receive antenatal care services during pregnancy and only 68.89% were assisted by skilled person at their last delivery prior to the survey. The result shows a remarkable influence of maternal age, level of education, parity, socioeconomic status and antenatal care attendance on skilled attendants at delivery., Conclusion: Although 69% of women in the study had skilled birth attendants at delivery, women from poorest households, higher parity, uneducated, and not attending antenatal care and younger women were more likely to deliver without a skilled birth attendants at delivery. Future intervention in the study area to bridge the gap between the poor and least poor women, improve maternal health and promote the use of skilled birth at delivery is recommended.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the major factors affecting child morbidity and mortality worldwide. It also results in substantial costs to the health sector and imposes a significant burden on the society as a whole. This study seeks to investigate the determinants of low birth weight and the incidence of LBW in southern rural Ghana., Methods: Pregnancy, birth, demographic and socioeconomic information of 6777 mothers who gave birth in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and information on their babies were extracted from a database. The database of Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance System is a longitudinal follow-up of over 24,000 households. The incidence of LBW was calculated and the univariable and multivariable associations between exposure variables and outcome were explored using logistic regression. STATA 11 was used for the analyses., Result: The results revealed that 40.21 % of the infants were not weighed at birth and the incidence of LBW for 2011 to 2013 was 8.72, 7.04 and 7.52 % respectively. Women aged 20-24, 25-29, 30-34 years were more than twice more likely to have babies weighing ≥2.5 kg compared to those <20 years (OR:2.32, 95 % CI:1.65-3.26, OR:2.73, 95 % CI:1.96-3.79, OR:2.87, 95 % CI:2.06-4.01) and mothers who were >34 years were more than three times more likely to have babies weighed ≥2.5 kg (OR: 3.59, 95 % CI:2.56-5.04). Mothers who were civil servants were 77 % more likely to have babies weighed ≥2.5 kg (OR: 1.77, 95 % CI: 1.99-2.87) compared to those who were unemployed. After adjusting for other explanation variables, mothers from poorer households were 30 % more likely to have babies who weighed ≥2.5 kg (OR: 1.30, 95 % CI: 1.01-1.66) compared to those from the poorest households. Women with parity2 and parity > 3 were 30 % and 81 % more likely to have babies weighing ≥2.5 kg (OR: 1.30, 95 % CI: 1.03-1.63, OR: 1.81, 95 % CI: 1.38-2.35) compared to those with parity1. Male infants were 52 % more likely to weigh ≥2.5 kg at birth (OR: 1.52, 95 % CI: 1.32-1.76) compared to females., Conclusion: Our study revealed that having infant birth weight ≥ 2.5 kg is highly associated with socioeconomic status of women household, the gender of an infant, parity, occupation and maternal age.

Background: Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQ) is one of five WHO recommended artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. However, little was known on its post-registration safety and effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa. DHA-PQ provides a long post-treatment prophylactic effect against re-infection; however, new infections have been reported within a few weeks of treatment, especially in children. This paper reports the clinical outcomes following administration of DHQ-PQ in real-life conditions in public health facilities in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania for the treatment of confirmed uncomplicated malaria., Methods: An observational, non-comparative, longitudinal study was conducted on 10,591 patients with confirmed uncomplicated malaria visiting public health facilities within seven health and demographic surveillance system sites in four African countries (Ghana, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Mozambique) between September 2013 and April 2014. Patients were treated with DHA-PQ based on body weight and followed up for 28 days to assess the clinical outcome. A nested cohort of 1002 was intensely followed up. Clinical outcome was assessed using the proportion of patients who reported signs and symptoms of malaria after completing 3 days of treatment., Results: A total of 11,097 patients were screened with 11,017 enrolled, 94 were lost to follow-up, 332 withdrew and 10,591 (96.1%) patients aged 6 months-85 years met protocol requirements for analysis. Females were 52.8 and 48.5% were <5 years of age. Malaria was diagnosed by microscopy and rapid diagnostic test in 69.8% and 29.9%, respectively. At day 28, the unadjusted risk of recurrent symptomatic parasitaemia was 0.5% (51/10,591). Most of the recurrent symptomatic malaria patients (76%) were children <5 years. The mean haemoglobin level decreased from 10.6 g/dl on day 1 to 10.2 g/dl on day 7. There was no significant renal impairment in the nested cohort during the first 7 days of follow-up with minimal non-clinically significant changes noted in the liver enzymes., Conclusion: DHA-PQ was effective and well tolerated in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria and provides an excellent alternative first-line ACT in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Data needed to estimate causes of death and the pattern of these deaths are scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. Such data are very important for targeting, monitoring, and evaluating health interventions., Objective: To estimate the mortality rate and determine causes of death among adults (aged 15 years and older) in a rural district of southern Ghana, using the InterVA-4 model., Design: Data used were generated from verbal autopsies conducted for registered adult members of the Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance System who died between 2006 and 2010. The InterVA-4 model was used to assign the cause of death., Results: Overall, the mortality rate for the period under review was 7.5/1,000 person-years (py) for the general population and 10.4/1,000 py for those aged 15 and older. The leading cause of death was communicable diseases (CDs), with a malaria-specific mortality rate of 1.06/1,000 py. Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB)-specific mortality rate was the next highest (1.01/1,000 py). HIV/AIDS attributed deaths were lower among males than females. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) contributed to 28.3% of the deaths with cause-specific mortality rate of 2.93/1,000 py. Stroke topped the list with cause-specific mortality rate of 0.69/1,000 py. As expected, young males (15-49 years) contributed to more road traffic accident (RTA) deaths; they had a lower RTA cause-specific mortality rate than older males (50-64 years)., Conclusions: Data indicate that CDs (e.g. malaria and TB) remain the major cause of death with NCDs (e.g. stroke) following closely behind. Verbal autopsy data can provide the causes of mortality in poorly resourced settings where access to timely and accurate data is scarce.

Background: Between May 2010 and October 2012, approximately 12.5 million long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) were distributed through a national universal mass distribution campaign in Ghana. The campaign included pre-registration of persons and sleeping places, door-to-door distribution of LLINs with 'hang-up' activities by volunteers and post-distribution 'keep-up' behaviour change communication activities. Hang-up activities were included to encourage high and sustained use., Methods: The cost and cost-effectiveness of the LLIN Campaign were evaluated using a before-after design in three regions: Brong Ahafo, Central and Western. The incremental cost effectiveness of the 'hang-up' component was estimated using reported variation in the implementation of hang-up activities and LLIN use. Economic costs were estimated from a societal perspective assuming LLINs would be replaced after three years, and included the time of unpaid volunteers and household contributions given to volunteers., Results: Across the three regions, 3.6 million campaign LLINs were distributed, and 45.5% of households reported the LLINs received were hung-up by a volunteer. The financial cost of the campaign was USD 6.51 per LLIN delivered. The average annual economic cost was USD 2.90 per LLIN delivered and USD 6,619 per additional child death averted by the campaign. The cost-effectiveness of the campaign was sensitive to the price, lifespan and protective efficacy of LLINs.Hang-up activities constituted 7% of the annual economic cost, though the additional financial cost was modest given the use of volunteers. LLIN use was greater in households in which one or more campaign LLINs were hung by a volunteer (OR=1.57; 95% CI=1.09, 2.27; p=0.02). The additional economic cost of the hang-up activities was USD 0.23 per LLIN delivered, and achieved a net saving per LLIN used and per death averted., Conclusion: In this campaign, hang-up activities were estimated to be net saving if hang-up increased LLIN use by 10% or more. This suggests hang-up activities can make a LLIN campaign more cost-effective.