RMNCH

Adolescence is one of life's most complex stages, associated with unique reproductive health requirements. Adolescents have individual sexual and reproductive health requirements (whether or not they are sexually active or married). Young and developing children have limited knowledge and awareness of the biological changes that occur through adolescence and the illnesses that affect them. We aim to discuss adolescent problems related to reproductive health, estimate the social security measures and associated factors among adolescents, and find why healthcare services are gravely limited in terms of accessibility and availability...

A full understanding of the pathways from efficacious interventions to population impact requires rigorous effectiveness evaluations conducted under realistic scale-up conditions at country level. In this paper, we introduce a deductive framework that underpins effectiveness evaluations. This framework forms the theoretical and conceptual basis for the 'Real Accountability: Data Analysis for Results' (RADAR) project, intended to address gaps in guidance and tools for the evaluation of projects being implemented at scale to reduce mortality among women and children...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the fertility intentions of young people after the announcement of the three-child policy in China and to determine whether knowledge about reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) services or support, childbearing- and childbirth-related anxiety, and parenthood-related anxiety influence fertility intentions. METHODS: A cross-sectional Internet-based survey was conducted on a nationwide sample of young people aged 18 to 28 years old in education institutions...

COVID-19 mitigation measures have disrupted the provision of essential health services. The goal of this study was to understand changes in reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) services during the pandemic in Pakistan. We conducted a qualitative study in November and December 2020 consisting of telephone in-depth interviews with women, healthcare providers, and community stakeholders. Interviews were analysed using a thematic, iterative approach. All health facilities had changed their routine procedures, including adjustments in service delivery time and staff hours to reduce crowding, and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as social distancing...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and response have the potential to disrupt access and use of reproductive, maternal, and newborn health (RMNH) services. Numerous initiatives aim to gauge the indirect impact of COVID-19 on RMNH. Methods: We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on RMNH coverage in the early stages of the pandemic using panel survey data from PMA-Ethiopia. Enrolled pregnant women were surveyed 6-weeks post-birth. We compared the odds of service receipt, coverage of RMNCH service indicators, and health outcomes within the cohort of women who gave birth prior to the pandemic and the COVID-19 affected cohort...

Background: COVID-19 is having many impacts on health, economy and social life; some due to the indirect effects of closure of health facilities to curb the spread. Closures were implemented in Pakistan from March 2020, affecting provision of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) services. Aims: To appraise the effects of containment and lockdown policies on RMNCH service utilization in order to develop an early response to avoid the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on RMNCH in Pakistan...

BACKGROUND: Monitoring health inequalities is an important task for health research and policy, to uncover who is being left behind - and where - and to inform effective and equitable policies and programmes to tackle existing inequities. The choice of which measure to use to monitor and analyse health inequalities is thereby not trivial. This article explores a new measure of socioeconomic deprivation status (SDS) to monitor health inequalities. METHODS: The SDS measure was constructed using the Alkire-Foster method...

Objective: Digital health technologies have contributed to the adoption of beneficial reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) behaviors through social and behavior change programming, including in hard-to-reach settings. On-demand digital health interventions rely on promotions to build awareness and increase use among target audiences. There is little research on preferred content and use of promotional approaches for RMNCH digital health activities. Methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis of Mobile for Reproductive Health (m4RH) data in Afghanistan to assess the use and changes in call volume via the 2-3-4 platform by promotional approaches over 23 months between October 2017 and August 2019...

Background: Maternal and child health implementation plan development in districts of India lacks systematic process and capacity resulting in suboptimal health improvements. There is ineffective and limited participation and lack of autonomy to effect changes in district priorities. Objectives: Primary objective was to demonstrate a systematic planning approach to develop evidence-based district implementation plans for mothers and children. Methods: A planning tool named RAASTA (RMNCH + A Action Agenda using Strategic Approach for evidence-based district work plans) adapted from WHO (World Health Organization) program review tools was used in the states of Uttarakhand and Jharkhand...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the provision of essential reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) services in sub-Saharan Africa to varying degrees. Original models estimated as many as 1,157,000 additional child and 56,700 maternal deaths globally due to health service interruptions. To reduce potential impacts to populations related to RMNCH service delivery, national governments in Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zimbabwe swiftly issued policy guidelines related to essential RMNCH services during COVID-19...

Rare diseases (RD) are conditions that affect a small number of people and hence do not get the focus on government health priorities in a resource-constrained setting such as India. Therefore, it is essential to focus on strengthening and utilizing the existing public health framework for the optimal usage of healthcare resources. In this regard, National Health Mission (NHM) is one of the crucial programs initiated by the government of India to address the health needs of the under-served. As Phase 1 of the NHM moves towards completion, we explored the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCH + A) program under NHM to assess their potential and limitations to aid RD care...

BACKGROUND: Globally, many countries are adopting evidence-based workforce planning that facilitates progress towards achieving sustainable development goals for reproductive, maternal newborn and child health. We reviewed case studies on workforce planning for reproductive maternal newborn child health services at primary care level facilities using workload indicators of staffing need in five countries. METHOD: Using available workload indicators for staffing need reports from Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Sultanate of Oman and Papua New Guinea, we generated descriptive statistics to explore comparable workload components and activity standards, health service delivery models with an emphasis on the primary care levels and the specific health occupations offering interventions associated with reproductive maternal, newborn and child health services...

Background: According to WHO, 536,000 women die every year in the world from causes relating to pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum. Ninety nine percent of these deaths occur in the developing countries. Primary health centres (in densely populated areas and in urban slums are also referred to as family welfare centres, since they provide the whole continuum of care, from birth through adolescent and delivery and thereafter. Aim: To evaluate the antenatal services under Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child plus Adolescent (RMNCHA) programme at a family welfare centre located in Central Delhi, India...

BACKGROUND: Diligent monitoring of inequalities in the coverage of essential reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health related (RMNCH) services becomes imperative to smoothen the journey towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this study, we aim to measure the magnitude of inequalities in the coverage of RMNCH services. We also made an attempt to divulge the relationship between the various themes of governance and RMNCH indices. METHODS: We used National Family Health Survey dataset (2015-16) and Public Affairs Index (PAI), 2016 for the analysis...

Introduction: Health Sector Development Plans (HSDPs) aim to accelerate movement towards achieving sustainable development goals for health, reducing inequalities, and ending poverty. Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) services are vulnerable to economic imbalances, including health insecurity, unmet need for healthcare, and low health expenditure. The same vulnerability influences the potential of a country to combat global outbreaks such as the COVID-19. We aimed to provide some important insights into the impacts of COVID-19 on RMNCH indicators and outcomes of the HSDP in Uganda...

BACKGROUND: Routinely collected health facility data usually captured and stored in Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) are potential sources of data for frequent and local disaggregated estimation of the coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health interventions (RMNCH), but have been under-utilized due to concerns over data quality. We reviewed methods for estimation of national or subnational coverage of RMNCH interventions using HMIS data exclusively or in conjunction with survey data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)...

OBJECTIVES: Group antenatal care (G-ANC) is an innovative model in which antenatal care is delivered to a group of 8-12 women of similar gestational age. Evidence from high-income countries suggests G-ANC is particularly effective for women from marginalized populations, including adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of Senegalese adolescents engaged in group antenatal care. METHODS: This convergent parallel mixed-methods study is derived from a larger effectiveness-implementation hybrid pilot study conducted in Kaolack district, Senegal...

INTRODUCTION: Very little is known and predictable on how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, even though dramatic preventive measures to flatten the curve and stop its transmission have been taken worldwide periodically since its start. These preventive measures coupled with people's fear of COVID-19, significantly altered people's health-seeking behavior and healthcare accessibility. This study aims to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the utilization of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) care services at primary health care (PHC) facilities in Pakistan...

Background: To assess the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) service coverage in Vietnam with trends in 2000-2014, projections and probability of achieving targets in 2030 at national and sub-national levels; and to analyze the socioeconomic, regional and urban-rural inequalities in RMNCH service indicators. Methods: We used national population-based datasets of 44,624 households in Vietnam from 2000 to 2014. We applied Bayesian regression models to estimate the trends in and projections of RMNCH indicators and the probabilities of achieving the 2030 targets...

Background: Reducing socioeconomic inequalities in access to good quality health care is key for countries to achieve Universal Health Coverage. This study aims to assess socioeconomic inequalities in effective coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: Using the most recent national health surveys from 39 LMICs (between 2014 and 2018), we calculated coverage indicators using effective coverage care cascade that consists of service contact, crude coverage, quality-adjusted coverage, and user-adherence-adjusted coverage...