Maternity as a life event, components of care with potential effects on newborn survival, and 11 possible delivery strategies.

<p>Maternity as a life event, components of care with potential effects on newborn survival, and 11 possible delivery strategies.</p

Components of interventions and key features of controlled trials of community-based approaches to improve newborn survival.

a<p>Intervention 2 added liquid crystal thermometry by community health workers.</p>b<p>Rate ratio.</p>c<p>Comparison was pre-post intervention, not intervention-control.</p><p>CI, confidence interval; RCT, randomised controlled trial.</p

Characteristics of and outcomes assessed in adolescent cohorts in low and middle income countries in South America and Caribbean.

<p>Characteristics of and outcomes assessed in adolescent cohorts in low and middle income countries in South America and Caribbean.</p

Adolescent cohorts assessing growth, cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes in low and middle-income countries

<div><p>Introduction</p><p>Life-course studies are needed to explore how exposures during adolescence, particularly puberty, contribute to later cardiovascular risk and cognitive health in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), where 90% of the world’s young people live. The extent of any existing cohorts investigating these outcomes in LMIC has not previously been described.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We performed a systematic literature review to identify population cohort studies of adolescents in LMIC that assessed anthropometry <i>and</i> any of cardiovascular risk (blood pressure, physical activity, plasma glucose/lipid profile and substance misuse), puberty (age at menarche, Tanner staging, or other form of pubertal staging) or cognitive outcomes. Studies that recruited participants on the basis of a pre-existing condition or involved less than 500 young people were excluded.</p><p>Findings</p><p>1829 studies were identified, and 24 cohorts fulfilled inclusion criteria based in Asia (10), Africa (6) and South / Central America (8). 14 (58%) of cohorts identified were based in one of four countries; India, Brazil, Vietnam or Ethiopia. Only 2 cohorts included a comprehensive cardiovascular assessment, tanner pubertal staging, <i>and</i> cognitive outcomes.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Improved utilisation of existing datasets and additional cohort studies of adolescents in LMIC that collect contemporaneous measures of growth, cognition, cardiovascular risk and pubertal development are needed to better understand how this period of the life course influences future non-communicable disease morbidity and cognitive outcomes.</p></div

Inclusion criteria.

<p>Inclusion criteria.</p

Characteristics of and outcomes assessed in adolescent cohorts in low and middle income countries in Asia.

<p>Characteristics of and outcomes assessed in adolescent cohorts in low and middle income countries in Asia.</p

Literature review search strategy.

<p>Literature review search strategy.</p

Additional file 1: of Maternal antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation for long-term health benefits in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The search strategy, micronutrient constituents, PRISMA flow chart, sub-group analyses and funnel plots. (PDF 305 kb

Do Participatory Learning and Action Women’s Groups Alone or Combined with Cash or Food Transfers Expand Women’s Agency in Rural Nepal?

<p>Participatory learning and action women’s groups (PLA) have proven effective in reducing neonatal mortality in rural, high-mortality settings, but their impacts on women’s agency in the household remain unknown. Cash transfer programmes have also long targeted female beneficiaries in the belief that this empowers women. Drawing on data from 1309 pregnant women in a four-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial in Nepal, we found little evidence for an impact of PLA alone or combined with unconditional food or cash transfers on women’s agency in the household. Caution is advised before assuming PLA women’s groups alone or with resource transfers necessarily empower women.</p

The long-term impact of community mobilisation through participatory women's groups on women's agency in the household: A follow-up study to the Makwanpur trial

<div><p>Women’s groups practicing participatory learning and action (PLA) in rural areas have been shown to improve maternal and newborn survival in low-income countries, but the pathways from intervention to impact remain unclear. We assessed the long-term impact of a PLA intervention in rural Nepal on women’s agency in the household. In 2014, we conducted a follow-up study to a cluster randomised controlled trial on the impact of PLA women’s groups from 2001–2003. Agency was measured using the Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) and its subdomains. Multi-level regression analyses were performed adjusting for baseline socio-demographic characteristics. We additionally adjusted for potential exposure to subsequent PLA groups based on women’s pregnancy status and conduct of PLA groups in areas of residence. Sensitivity analyses were performed using two alternative measures of agency. We analysed outcomes for 4030 mothers (66% of the cohort) who survived and were recruited to follow-up at mean age 39.6 years. Across a wide range of model specifications, we found no association between exposure to the original PLA intervention with women’s agency in the household approximately 11.5 years later. Subsequent exposure to PLA groups was not associated with greater agency in the household at follow-up, but some specifications found evidence for reduced agency. Household agency may be a prerequisite for actualising the benefits of PLA groups rather than a consequence.</p></div