Global Health Gateway

Access to childbirth supplies in Africa and Asia

Healthcare workers in Africa and Asia report significantly reduced access to essential childbirth-related health technologies, including equipment, medicines, and consumable supplies, suggesting that childbirth resources are urgently needed to reduce maternal and newborn deaths in these areas.

Preventing global neonatal hypothermia

Evidence from a systematic review shows that neonatal hypothermia indirectly contributes to infant mortality, suggesting that hypothermia prevention measures should be employed to help reduce newborn deaths in resource-limited settings.

RAMESES: new publication standards

Geoff Wong, Trish Greenhalgh et al. propose new publication guidelines for realist synthesis and meta-narrative reviews. The ‘RAMESES’ (Realist and Meta-review Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards) statement provides researchers, institutes and journals with guidance on how to conduct these new forms of literature analysis, and adherence to the guidelines will lead to quality assurance and uniform reporting of studies.

Prediction of pediatric infections

Clinical prediction rules to recognize infections in children do not show perfect diagnostic accuracy in high and low prevalence ambulatory care settings, suggesting that additional laboratory tests should be used to increase certainty.

Sexual vulnerability in times of conflict

Adolescent girls within conflict-affected populations experience heightened sexual vulnerability due to the erosion of belief systems, lack of supervision, and inadequate access to health services, suggesting that gender-sensitive health strategies need to be developed for this population.