Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

What mechanisms drive uptake of family planning when integrated with childhood immunisation in Ethiopia? A realist evaluation

Maternal and child health are key priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals. Two components of maternal and child health are family planning (FP) and immunization. This study shares findings on how CHWs are providing integrated services that can increase the uptake of vaccines and modern contraceptive methods. … [Read more...] about What mechanisms drive uptake of family planning when integrated with childhood immunisation in Ethiopia? A realist evaluation

Maternal depression affects one in four women in sub-Saharan Africa, yet evidence on effective and scalable interventions is limited. The authors evaluate the effect of a community health worker (CHW) delivered home visit responsive stimulation, health and nutrition intervention, and conditional cash transfers (CCTs) for antenatal care and child growth monitoring attendance on … [Read more...] about Effects of a community health worker delivered intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Tanzania

Person-centered decision making for family planning care has been gaining increased attention, yet few interventions have measured associations between person-centered quality for family planning and family planning outcomes (uptake, continuation, etc.). In India, the first point of contact for family planning is often the community health care worker, in this case, Accredited … [Read more...] about A mixed-methods evaluation of the impact of a person-centered family planning intervention for community health workers on family planning outcomes in India

As a first point of contact for family planning, Indian ASHA workers must ensure that women receive accurate information and care that is sensitive to and respectful of individual needs. Nadia Diamond-Smith and colleagues evaluated the extent to which training ASHA workers in “person-centered care” has impacts on family planning outcomes. Although ASHAs reported increased … [Read more...] about A mixed-methods evaluation of the impact of a person-centered family planning intervention for community health workers on family planning outcomes in India

CHWs in low-income countries often provide postnatal care services in areas with limited access to formal health care. Yemane Tesfau and colleagues evaluated service area coverage and provision of care by CHWs in Ethiopia to assess health system needs. Health extension workers visited 15% of mothers within three days after childbirth and 24% within 42 days. The researchers call … [Read more...] about Postnatal home visits by health extension workers in rural areas of Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study design