scholarly journals Assessing the impact of group antenatal care on gestational length in Rwanda: A cluster-randomized trial

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246442
Author(s):  
Felix Sayinzoga ◽  
Tiffany Lundeen ◽  
Sabine F. Musange ◽  
Elizabeth Butrick ◽  
David Nzeyimana ◽  
...  

Background Research on group antenatal care in low- and middle-income contexts suggests high acceptability and preliminary implementation success. Methods We studied the effect of group antenatal care on gestational age at birth among women in Rwanda, hypothesizing that participation would increase mean gestational length. For this unblinded cluster randomized trial, 36 health centers were pair-matched and randomized; half continued individual antenatal care (control), half implemented group antenatal care (intervention). Women who initiated antenatal care between May 2017 and December 2018 were invited to participate, and included in analyses if they presented before 24 weeks gestation, attended at least two visits, and their birth outcome was obtained. We used a generalized estimating equations model for analysis. Findings In total, 4091 women in 18 control clusters and 4752 women in 18 intervention clusters were included in the analysis. On average, women attended three total antenatal care visits. Gestational length was equivalent in the intervention and control groups (39.3 weeks (SD 1.6) and 39.3 weeks (SD 1.5)). There were no significant differences between groups in secondary outcomes except that more women in control sites attended postnatal care visits (40.1% versus 29.7%, p = 0.003) and more women in intervention sites attended at least three total antenatal care visits (80.7% versus 71.7%, p = 0.003). No harms were observed. Interpretation Group antenatal care did not result in a difference in gestational length between groups. This may be due to the low intervention dose. We suggest studies of both the effectiveness and costs of higher doses of group antenatal care among women at higher risk of preterm birth. We observed threats to group care due to facility staff shortages; we recommend studies in which antenatal care providers are exclusively allocated to group antenatal care during visits. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03154177

BMJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 350 (mar04 8) ◽  
pp. h1019-h1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. K. Ansah ◽  
S. Narh-Bana ◽  
H. Affran-Bonful ◽  
C. Bart-Plange ◽  
B. Cundill ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1185-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany A. Caruso ◽  
Matthew C. Freeman ◽  
Joshua V. Garn ◽  
Robert Dreibelbis ◽  
Shadi Saboori ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 861-884
Author(s):  
Myra Taylor ◽  
Benn Sartorius ◽  
Saloshni Naidoo ◽  
Hein de Vries

Youth violence is of public health and social concern. A South African cluster randomized trial (434 grade 10 students, 16 schools), used the Integrated Model for Behavior Change conceptual framework to implement a 20 module classroom-based intervention program. The study contributes to the literature and used a strong analytical technique since mixed effects linear regression assessed the impact of the intervention on physical violence endpoints and other socioeconomic confounders/factors. The intervention reduced students' experiencing physical violence compared to controls and social pressure for this, yet no differences were found for hitting others. Our results support findings that school programs against violence can reduce students' experience of physical violence, but translation of these findings to reduce the actual hitting of others may need further approaches and/or more time.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lívia Oliveira-Ciabati ◽  
Carolina Sales Vieira ◽  
Ana Carolina Arruda Franzon ◽  
Domingos Alves ◽  
Fabiani Spessoto Zaratini ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anca Vasiliu ◽  
Sabrina Eymard-Duvernay ◽  
Boris Tchounga ◽  
Daniel Atwine ◽  
Elisabete de Carvalho ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: There are major gaps in the management of pediatric tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation for rapid identification of active tuberculosis and initiation of preventive therapy. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a community-based intervention as compared to facility-based model for the management of children in contact with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB adults in low-resource high-burden settings.Methods/design: This multicenter cluster-randomized trial is composed of three phases: I, baseline phase in which retrospective data are collected, quality of data recording in facility registers is checked and expected acceptability and feasibility of the intervention is assessed; II, intervention phase with enrolment of index cases and contact cases in either facility- or community based models; and III, explanatory phase including endpoint data analysis, cost effectiveness analysis and post-intervention acceptability assessment by heath care providers and beneficiaries. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. The community-based intervention includes identification and screening of all household contacts, referral of contact with TB-suggestive symptoms to the facility for investigation, and household initiation of preventive therapy with follow-up of eligible child contacts by community healthcare workers, i.e. all young (<5 years) child contacts or older (5-14 years) child contacts living with HIV, and with no evidence of TB disease. Twenty clusters representing TB diagnostic and treatment facilities with their catchment areas are randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either the community-based intervention arm or the facility-based standard of care arm in Cameroon and Uganda. The primary endpoint is the proportion of eligible child contacts who initiate and complete the preventive therapy. The sample size is of 1500 child contacts to identify a 10% difference between the arms with the assumption that 60% of children will complete the preventive therapy in the standard of care arm.Discussion: This study will provide evidence of the impact of a community-based intervention on household child contact screening, and management of TB preventive therapy in order to improve care and prevention of childhood TB in high low resource high-burden settings.Trial registration: the study has been registered on the 6th of February 2019 on ClinicalTrials.gov with the number NCT03832023 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03832023?term=CONTACT&cond=Tuberculosis&cntry=UG&draw=2&rank=1 )


Author(s):  
Sania Ashraf ◽  
Cristina Bicchieri ◽  
Maryann G. Delea ◽  
Upasak Das ◽  
Kavita Chauhan ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionInconsistent toilet usage is a continuing challenge in India. Despite the impact of social expectations on toilet usage, few programs and studies have developed theoretically grounded norms-centric behavior change interventions to increase toilet use in low-income settings. This protocol details the rationale and design of an ex-ante, parallel cluster-randomized trial evaluating the impact of a demand-side, norms-centric behavior change intervention on exclusive toilet use and maintenance in peri-urban Tamil Nadu, India.Methods and AnalysisFollowing two years of formative research, we developed an evidence-based norm-centric behavior change intervention called Nam Nalavazhvu (Tamil for “Our wellbeing”). The multi-level intervention aims to shift collective beliefs by shifting empirical expectations or beliefs about other relevant people’s sanitation practices. It also provides action-oriented information to aid individuals to set goals and overcome barriers to build, consistently use and maintain their toilets. This trial includes 76 wards in Pudukkottai and Karur districts, where half were randomly assigned to receive the intervention and the remaining serve as counterfactuals. During baseline and endline (conducted one year after the initiation of intervention) assessments, we collect relevant data and compare results between study arms to determine the impacts of the Nam Nalavazhvu intervention on sanitation-related behavioral, health, wellbeing outcomes and potential moderators. This study is powered to detect differences in the prevalence of exclusive toilet use between study arms. We will also conduct a process evaluation to understand the extent to which the intervention was implemented, as designed.Ethics and DisseminationThe study protocol has been reviewed and approved by the ethics board at the University of Pennsylvania, USA and the Catalyst Foundation, India. Research findings will be disseminated through open access peer reviewed publications and presentations to stakeholders, government officials and conferences.Trial registrationNCT04269824.Strengths and limitations of this studyThis ex-ante, parallel cluster randomized trial assesses the impact of a norm-centric behavior change intervention strategy to improve sanitation practices. These behavior change techniques are novel to the sanitation sector but has been effective in changing a variety of behaviors, such as water use, drinking behavior, and energy consumption.The study outcomes include health, wellbeing outcomes, and a careful assessment of changes in social beliefs, expectations, and social determinants of collective sanitation behaviors.This study is being rolled out during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This can potentially impact the effectiveness of this intervention package that uses community and network-based group activities. However, through a detailed process monitoring and evaluation we will be able to assess the impact on delivery, and subsequent behavior change in this unique setting.


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