Suchergebnisse

Evidence regarding the effects of health status on migration are mixed, with some concluding that there is a positive relation while others conclude a negative relation. This study examines the analytical bases for conflicting findings and proposes a model of the health-migration relation which allows for age selectivity, nonlinearities, interactions, and dynamic effects.

Bridging the Gap details the role, lessons, and effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) in bringing health care to underserved immigrant communities. Combining education, advocacy, and local cultural acumen, CHWs have proven successful in New York City and abroad, improving community health and establishing an evidence base for how CHW programs can work for immigrants.

The Upper Senegal River Valley stretching from Matam, Senegal to Diamou, Mali is one of the more underdeveloped river regions of the western Sahel. Perhaps due to the lack of economic alternatives in the region, the Senegal River Valley has long been the source of African labour migrations. In the late 1950s, there were massive shifts in the migration away from Africa towards France. In this paper, the men who migrate to France are contrasted with those who go to African destinations. The analysis concentrates on the differences in the families and communities involved in the alternative migrant circuits, consistent with earlier analyses of migration patterns, especially the international migration patterns, that family and community factors determine the patterns of migration adopted by members of the impoverished peasantry. (DÜI-Hff)

Maternal mortality is one of the major challenges to health systems in sub Saharan Africa. This paper estimates the lifetime risk of maternal death and maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in four states of Northern Nigeria. Data from a household survey conducted in 2011 were utilized by applying the "sisterhood method" for estimating maternal mortality. Female respondents (15–49 years) were interviewed thereby creating a retrospective cohort of their sisters who reached the reproductive age of 15 years. A total of 3,080 respondents reported 7,731 maternal sisters of which 593 were reported dead and 298 of those dead were maternal-related deaths. This corresponded to a lifetime risk of maternal death of 9% (referring to a period about 10.5 years prior to the survey) and an MMR of 1,271 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births; 95% CI was 1,152–1,445 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The study calls for improvement of the health system focusing on strategies that will accelerate reduction in MMR such as availability of skilled birth attendants, access to emergency obstetrics care, promotion of facility delivery, availability of antenatal care, and family planning. An accelerated reduction in MMR in the region will contribute towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal of maternal mortality reduction in Nigeria.

Background: This paper describes early results of an integrated maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) program in Northern Nigeria where child mortality rates are two to three times higher than in the southern states. The intervention model integrated critical health systems changes needed to reinvigorate MNCH health services, together with community-based activities aimed at mobilizing and enabling women to make changes in their MNCH practices. Control Local Government Areas received less-intense statewide policy changes. Methods: The impact of the intervention was assessed using a quasi-experimental design, comparing MNCH behaviors and outcomes in the intervention and control areas, before and after implementation of the systems and community activities. Stratified random household surveys were conducted at baseline in 2009 (n = 2,129) and in 2011 at follow-up (n = 2310), with women with births in the five years prior to household surveys. Chi-square and t-tests were used to document presence of significant improvements in several MNCH outcomes. Results: Between baseline and follow-up, anti-tetanus vaccination rates increased from 69.0% to 85.0%, and early breastfeeding also increased, from 42.9% to 57.5%. More newborns were checked by trained health workers (39.2% to 75.5%), and women were performing more of the critical newborn care activities at follow-up. Fewer women relied on the traditional birth attendant for health advice (48.4% to 11.0%, with corresponding increases in advice from trained health workers. At follow-up, most of these improvements were greater in the intervention than control communities. In the intervention communities, there was less use of anti-malarials for all symptoms, coupled with more use of other medications and traditional, herbal remedies. Infant and child mortality declined in both intervention and control communities, with the greatest declines in intervention communities. In the intervention communities, infant mortality rate declined from 90 at baseline to 59 at follow-up, while child mortality declined from 160 to 84. Conclusions: These results provide evidence that in the context of ongoing improvements to the primary health care system, the participatory and community-based interventions focusing on improved newborn and infant care were effective at changing infant care practices and outcomes in the intervention communities.