Articles

BMC International Health and Human Rights Reviewer Acknowledgement 2014

The editors of BMC International health and human rights would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 14 (2014).

Authors: Giulia Mangiameli

Lessons learned from the development of a new methodology to assess missed opportunities for vaccination in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Pan American Health Organization recently developed a practical guide for evaluating missed opportunities for vaccination among children aged <5 years. A missed opportunity occurs when an individual eligib...

Authors: Martha Velandia-González, Silas Pierson Trumbo, José Luis Díaz-Ortega, Pamela Bravo-Alcántara, M Carolina Danovaro-Holliday, Vance Dietz and Cuauhtémoc Ruiz-Matus

Awareness of human papillomavirus and factors associated with intention to obtain HPV vaccination among Korean youth: quasi experimental study

This study aimed to determine the awareness among fifth-grade girls and boys of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), cancer, and human papillomavirus (HPV), and to determine the factors associated with intent...

Authors: Hae Won Kim

‘Disrespectful men, disrespectable women’: Men’s perceptions on heterosexual relationships and premarital sex in a Sri Lankan Free Trade Zone - a qualitative interview study

Gender norms have been challenged by unmarried rural women’s migration for employment to urban Sri Lankan Free Trade Zones (FTZ). Men are described as looking for sexual experiences among the women workers, wh...

Authors: Malin Jordal, Kumudu Wijewardena, Ann Öhman, Birgitta Essén and Pia Olsson

Health inequalities: an analysis of hospitalizations with respect to migrant status, gender and geographical area

The quality of care includes several aspects which may be influenced by social-economic status.

Authors: Chiara de Waure, Stefania Bruno, Giuseppe Furia, Luca Di Sciullo, Serena Carovillano, Maria Lucia Specchia, Salvatore Geraci and Walter Ricciardi

Steps on a journey to TB control in Solomon Islands: a cross-sectional, mixed methods pre-post evaluation of a local language DVD

In Solomon Islands many people with Tuberculosis (TB) have challenges in accessing services because of socio-cultural, geographic and health service reasons, resulting in delays in TB treatment and low detecti...

Authors: Peter D Massey, Rowena Asugeni, John Wakageni, Esau Kekeubata, John Maena’aadi, John Laete’esafi, Jackson Waneagea, Vunivesi Asugeni, David MacLaren and Richard Speare

Assessment of a couples HIV counseling and testing program for pregnant women and their partners in antenatal care (ANC) in 7 provinces, Thailand

Couples HIV testing and counseling (CHTC) at antenatal care (ANC) settings allows pregnant women to learn the HIV status of themselves and their partners. Couples can make decisions together to prevent HIV tra...

Authors: Rangsima Lolekha, Nareeluck Kullerk, Mitchell I Wolfe, Kanyarat Klumthanom, Thapanaporn Singhagowin, Sarika Pattanasin, Potjaman Sombat, Thananda Naiwatanakul, Chailai Leartvanangkul and Nipunporn Voramongkol

Thriving beyond survival: Understanding utilization of perinatal health services as predictors of birth registration: A cross-sectional study

There are an estimated 35 million unregistered children in Indonesia. To understand ways to best leverage existing health system-related resources and ensure greater protective measures for these vulnerable ch...

Authors: Michelle Jackson, Putu Duff, Santi Kusumanigrum and Lindsay Stark

Could international compulsory licensing reconcile tiered pricing of pharmaceuticals with the right to health?

The heads of the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance have recently promoted the idea of an international tiered pricing framework for medicines, despite objections from civil society groups who fear that this wo...

Authors: Gorik Ooms, Lisa Forman, Owain D Williams and Peter S Hill

Post-crisis Zimbabwe’s innovative financing mechanisms in the social sectors: a practical approach to implementing the new deal for engagement in fragile states

Donor engagement in transitional settings, complex emergencies and fragile states is increasing. Neither short-term humanitarian aid nor traditional development financing are well adapted for such environments...

Authors: Peter Salama, Wei Ha, Joel Negin and Samson Muradzikwa

From international health to global health: how to foster a better dialogue between empirical and normative disciplines

Public health recommendations are usually based on a mixture of empirical evidence and normative arguments: to argue that authorities ought to implement an intervention that has proven effective in improving p...

Authors: Gorik Ooms

Lessons from Africa: developing a global human rights framework for tuberculosis control and prevention

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease, and there has been a rise in recent years of drug-resistant cases no longer responding to standard treatment.

Authors: Tracy Slagle, Mehdi Ben Youssef, Golda Calonge and Yanis Ben Amor

Level of male involvement and associated factors in family planning services utilization among married men in Debremarkos town, Northwest Ethiopia

Men’s participation is crucial to the success of family planning programs and women’s empowerment and associated with better outcomes in reproductive health such as contraceptive acceptance and continuation, a...

Authors: Mihretie Kassa, Amanuel Alemu Abajobir and Molla Gedefaw

Maternal health development programs: comparing priorities of bilateral and private donors

The face of international aid for health and development is changing. Private donors such as foundations and corporations are playing an increasingly important role, working in international development as dir...

Authors: Cécile Deleye and Achim Lang

Exploring the relevance of male involvement in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV services in Blantyre, Malawi

Male involvement (MI) in Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services remains low despite the progress registered in the implementation of the PMTCT program...

Authors: Alinane Linda Nyondo, Angela Faith Chimwaza and Adamson Sinjani Muula

Eyes wide open: an essay on developing an engaged awareness in global medicine and public health

There is a growing understanding of the role social determinants such as poverty, gender discrimination, racial prejudice, and economic inequality play on health and illness. While these determinants and effec...

Authors: William B Ventres and Meredith P Fort

Investing in health systems for universal health coverage in Africa

This study focused on the 47 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. The specific objectives were to prepare a synthesis on the situation of health systems components, to analyse t...

Authors: Luis Gomes Sambo and Joses Muthuri Kirigia

Ethical considerations of providers and clients on HIV testing campaigns in Burkina Faso

Campaigns have been conducted in a number of low HIV prevalence African settings, as a strategy to expand HIV testing, and it is important to assess the extent to which individual rights and quality of care ar...

Authors: Alice Desclaux, Odette Ky-Zerbo, Jean-François Somé and Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer

Disease patterns and clinical outcomes of patients admitted in intensive care units of tertiary referral hospitals of Tanzania

In sub-Saharan Africa the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) services is limited by a variety of factors, including lack of financial resources, lack of available technology and well-trained staff. Tanz...

Authors: Hendry R Sawe, Juma A Mfinanga, Salum J Lidenge, Boniventura CT Mpondo, Silas Msangi, Edwin Lugazia, Victor Mwafongo, Michael S Runyon and Teri A Reynolds

The government of Kenya cash transfer for orphaned and vulnerable children: cross-sectional comparison of household and individual characteristics of those with and without

The ‘Cash Transfer to Orphans and Vulnerable Children’ (CT-OVC) in Kenya is a government-supported program intended to provide regular and predictable cash transfers (CT) to poor households taking care of OVC....

Authors: David Ayuku, Lonnie Embleton, Julius Koech, Lukoye Atwoli, Liangyuan Hu, Samuel Ayaya, Joseph Hogan, Winstone Nyandiko, Rachel Vreeman, Allan Kamanda and Paula Braitstein

Socio-economic and demographic determinants of under-five mortality in rural northern Ghana

In spite of global decline in under-five mortality, the goal of achieving MDG 4 still remains largely unattained in low and middle income countries as the year 2015 closes-in. To accelerate the pace of mortali...

Authors: Edmund Wedam Kanmiki, Ayaga A Bawah, Isaiah Agorinya, Fabian S Achana, John Koku Awoonor-williams, Abraham R Oduro, James F Phillips and James Akazili

Community perceptions of rape and child sexual abuse: a qualitative study in rural Tanzania

Rape of women and children is recognized as a health and human rights issue in Tanzania and internationally. Exploration of the prevailing perceptions in rural areas is needed in order to expand the understand...

Authors: Muzdalifat Abeid, Projestine Muganyizi, Pia Olsson, Elisabeth Darj and Pia Axemo

Demand and access to mental health services: a qualitative formative study in Nepal

Nepal is experiencing a significant ‘treatment gap’ in mental health care. People with mental disorders do not always receive appropriate treatment due to a range of structural and individual issues, including...

Authors: Natassia F Brenman, Nagendra P Luitel, Sumaya Mall and Mark J D Jordans

Injection practices in Nepal: health policymakers’ perceptions

The unnecessary and unsafe use of injections is common in developing countries like Nepal. Policymakers have an important role in promoting rational and safe injection use. Hence, the present study was carried...

Authors: Sudesh Gyawali, Devendra Singh Rathore, Pathiyil Ravi Shankar, Manisha Maskey and Vikash Kumar KC

A qualitative assessment of health seeking practices among and provision practices for men who have sex with men in Malawi

In the context of a generalized epidemic and criminalization of homosexuality, men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malawi have a disproportionate burden of HIV compared to other adults. Past research has docume...

Authors: Andrea L Wirtz, Dunker Kamba, Vincent Jumbe, Gift Trapence, Rehana Gubin, Eric Umar, Susanne K Strömdahl, Chris Beyrer and Stefan D Baral

Erratum to: Correlates of out-of-pocket and catastrophic health expenditures in Tanzania: results from a national household survey

Authors: Ethel Mary Brinda, Antonio Rodríguez Andrés and Ulrika Enemark

A community-based cluster randomized survey of noncommunicable disease and risk factors in a peri-urban shantytown in Lima, Peru

An estimated 863 million people–a third of the world’s urban population–live in slums, yet there is little information on the disease burden in these settings, particularly regarding chronic preventable diseases.

Authors: Kristen Heitzinger, Silvia M Montano, Stephen E Hawes, Jorge O Alarcón and Joseph R Zunt

Local understandings of care during delivery and postnatal period to inform home based package of newborn care interventions in rural Ethiopia: a qualitative study

Despite a substantial decrease in child mortality in Ethiopia over the past decade, neonatal mortality remains unchanged (37/1000 live-births). This paper describes a qualitative study on beliefs and practices...

Authors: Tedbabe Degefie, Yared Amare and Brian Mulligan

“If you do vasectomy and come back here weak, I will divorce you”: a qualitative study of community perceptions about vasectomy in Southern Ghana

Male involvement in contraceptive use is increasingly becoming a global reproductive health issue. Vasectomy is one of the two male modern contraceptive methods espoused by the National Family Planning Policy ...

Authors: Philip Baba Adongo, Placide Tapsoba, James F Phillips, Philip Teg-Nefaah Tabong, Allison Stone, Emmanuel Kuffour, Selina F Esantsi and Patricia Akweongo

Health and human rights in eastern Myanmar prior to political transition: a population-based assessment using multistaged household cluster sampling

Myanmar/Burma has received increased development and humanitarian assistance since the election in November 2010. Monitoring the impact of foreign assistance and economic development on health and human rights...

Authors: Parveen K Parmar, Jade Benjamin-Chung, Linda S Smith, Saw Nay Htoo, Sai Laeng, Aye Lwin, Mahn Mahn, Cynthia Maung, Daniel Reh, Eh Kalu Shwe Oo, Thomas Lee and Adam K Richards

Factors associated with non-utilisation of health service for childbirth in Timor-Leste: evidence from the 2009-2010 Demographic and Health Survey

Timor-Leste is a young developing country in Asia. Most of its infrastructure was destroyed after a long armed conflict for independence. Despite recent expansion of health facilities and investment in healthc...

Authors: Vishnu Khanal, Andy H Lee, Jonia Lourenca Nunes Brites da Cruz and Rajendra Karkee

Female genital cutting (FGC) and the ethics of care: community engagement and cultural sensitivity at the interface of migration experiences

Female Genital Cutting (FGC) anchored in a complex socio-cultural context becomes significant at the interface of access of health and social services in host countries. The practice of FGC at times, understoo...

Authors: Bilkis Vissandjée, Shereen Denetto, Paula Migliardi and Jodi Proctor

Umbilical cord care in Ethiopia and implications for behavioral change: a qualitative study

Infections account for up to a half of neonatal deaths in low income countries. The umbilicus is a common source of infection in such settings. This qualitative study investigates practices and perspectives re...

Authors: Yared Amare

Overcoming language barriers in community-based research with refugee and migrant populations: options for using bilingual workers

Although the challenges of working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups can lead to the exclusion of some communities from research studies, cost effective strategies to encourage access and promo...

Authors: Susan K Lee, Cheryl R Sulaiman-Hill and Sandra C Thompson

The impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Família conditional cash transfer program on children’s health care utilization and health outcomes

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs provide poor families with cash conditional on investments in health and education. Brazil’s Bolsa Família program began in 2003 and is currently the largest CCT progra...

Authors: Amie Shei, Federico Costa, Mitermayer G Reis and Albert I Ko

Models of care for orphaned and separated children and upholding children’s rights: cross-sectional evidence from western Kenya

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to approximately 55 million orphaned children. The growing orphan crisis has overwhelmed many communities and has weakened the ability of extended families to meet traditional care-t...

Authors: Lonnie Embleton, David Ayuku, Allan Kamanda, Lukoye Atwoli, Samuel Ayaya, Rachel Vreeman, Winstone Nyandiko, Peter Gisore, Julius Koech and Paula Braitstein

Child neglect in one-child families from Suzhou City of Mainland China

The one-child policy introduced in China in 1979 has led to far-reaching changes in socio-demographic characteristics. Under this policy regime, each household has few children. This study aims to describe the...

Authors: Jing Hua, Zhe Mu, Bright I Nwaru, Guixiong Gu, Wei Meng and Zhuochun Wu

HIV testing among pregnant women living with HIV in India: are private healthcare providers routinely violating women’s human rights?

In India, approximately 49,000 women living with HIV become pregnant and deliver each year. While the government of India has made progress increasing the availability of prevention of mother-to-child transmis...

Authors: Purnima Madhivanan, Karl Krupp, Vinay Kulkarni, Sanjeevani Kulkarni, Neha Vaidya, Reshma Shaheen, Sean Philpott and Celia Fisher

Adverse childhood experiences, psychosocial well-being and cognitive development among orphans and abandoned children in five low income countries

Development policymakers and child-care service providers are committed to improving the educational opportunities of the 153 million orphans worldwide. Nevertheless, the relationship between orphanhood and ed...

Authors: Maya Escueta, Kathryn Whetten, Jan Ostermann and Karen O’Donnell

Correlates of out-of-pocket and catastrophic health expenditures in Tanzania: results from a national household survey

Inequality in health services access and utilization are influenced by out-of-pocket health expenditures in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Various antecedents such as social factors, poor health...

Authors: Ethel Mary Brinda, Rodriguez Antonio Andrés and Ulrika Enemark

The emergence of a global right to health norm – the unresolved case of universal access to quality emergency obstetric care

The global response to HIV suggests the potential of an emergent global right to health norm, embracing shared global responsibility for health, to assist policy communities in framing the obligations of the d...

Authors: Rachel Hammonds and Gorik Ooms

Is universal health coverage the practical expression of the right to health care?

The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is now being discussed within the international community. With regards to health, the World Health Organization prop...

Authors: Gorik Ooms, Laila A Latif, Attiya Waris, Claire E Brolan, Rachel Hammonds, Eric A Friedman, Moses Mulumba and Lisa Forman

Public stigma against family members of people with mental illness: findings from the Gilgel Gibe Field Research Center (GGFRC), Southwest Ethiopia

Public stigma against family members of people with mental illness is a negative attitude by the public which blame family members for the mental illness of their relatives. Family stigma can result in self so...

Authors: Eshetu Girma, Anne Maria Möller-Leimkühler, Norbert Müller, Sandra Dehning, Guenter Froeschl and Markos Tesfaye

Reviewer acknowledgement 2013

The editors of BMC International Health and Human Rights would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed their time to the journal in Volume 13 (2013).

Authors: Irene Pala

Barriers to using skilled birth attendants’ services in mid- and far-western Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Skilled birth attendants (SBAs) provide important interventions that improve maternal and neonatal health and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. However, utilization and coverage of services by SBAs remai...

Authors: Bishnu Choulagai, Sharad Onta, Narayan Subedi, Suresh Mehata, Gajananda P Bhandari, Amod Poudyal, Binjwala Shrestha, Matthews Mathai, Max Petzold and Alexandra Krettek

What could a strengthened right to health bring to the post-2015 health development agenda?: interrogating the role of the minimum core concept in advancing essential global health needs

Global health institutions increasingly recognize that the right to health should guide the formulation of replacement goals for the Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015. However, the right to he...

Authors: Lisa Forman, Gorik Ooms, Audrey Chapman, Eric Friedman, Attiya Waris, Everaldo Lamprea and Moses Mulumba

Factors in the management of feeding in nursery school children as perceived by their mothers in rural Bondo County, Kenya

The effects of malnutrition on health status and survival of children has been the subject of extensive research for several decades. Malnutrition affects physical growth, cognitive development of children, mo...

Authors: Allan R Were, Felix N Kioli, Kennedy Onkware, Elizabeth O Onyango, Sussy Gumo and Collins Ouma

Gender norms and economic empowerment intervention to reduce intimate partner violence against women in rural Côte d’Ivoire: a randomized controlled pilot study

Gender-based violence against women, including intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pervasive health and human rights concern. However, relatively little intervention research has been conducted on how to red...

Authors: Jhumka Gupta, Kathryn L Falb, Heidi Lehmann, Denise Kpebo, Ziming Xuan, Mazeda Hossain, Cathy Zimmerman, Charlotte Watts and Jeannie Annan

Evaluating traditional healers knowledge and practices related to HIV testing and treatment in South Africa

In a context of inadequate human resources for health, this study investigated whether traditional healers have the knowledge and skill base which could be utilised to assist in the scaling up of HIV preventio...

Authors: Gavin George, Ethel Chitindingu and Jeff Gow

Willingness to pay for a 4% chlorhexidine (7.1% chlorhexidine digluconate) product for umbilical cord care in rural Bangladesh: a contingency valuation study

Recent trials in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan have shown that chlorhexidine is an effective antiseptic for umbilical cord care compared to existing community-based cord care practices. Because of the aggreg...

Authors: Patricia S Coffey, Mutsumi Metzler, Ziaul Islam and Tracey P Koehlmoos