Closing the Implementation Gap in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 40969
Special Issue Editors
Interests: global maternal and child health; growth and nutrition; access and equity; urban slums
Interests: qualitative health policy and systems research; scale up and sustainability of global maternal and newborn health innovations
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of IJERPH aims to present a collection of studies related to the estimation and reduction of the disparity gap in maternal and child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
Despite considerable progress in reaching the SDG3 targets for maternal and child health worldwide, the disparity gap has increased. Globally, in these cohorts, most deaths take place in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, and a high proportion of these can be attributed to preventable or treatable causes. While undernutrition and poverty are often underlying causes, many low- and middle-income countries are now also faced with a simultaneous rise in childhood and maternal obesity which impacts pregnancy complications as well as the risk of the offspring developing (non-communicable diseases) NCDs later in life.
Within low- and middle-income countries, health indicators vary considerably between disadvantaged and wealthier population groups as well as between urban and rural areas. However, with fast urbanization rates in many low- and middle-income countries, the urban health advantage is disappearing. Health status has become far worse for mothers, newborn babies, and children living in urban slums compared with non-slum populations. Many women and children do not have access to high-quality essential care, which is important to ensure good maternal health and healthy growth of the child.
Although there is considerable evidence about what works in terms of improving maternal, newborn, and child health, effective, high-quality interventions often do not reach those who need them most. While national policies and guidelines are often in place, commonly, these are not effectively implemented at the local level and often do not reach those at highest risk of maternal, newborn, and child death. Additionally, externally funded health interventions that are shown to be effective are rarely adopted, scaled, and sustained within country health systems.
For this Special Edition of IJERPH, we welcome authors to submit high-quality primary research articles that address the topic of bridging the ''knowledge-do'' gap to improve maternal and child health in low- and middle-income countries. In particular, we welcome studies related to health systems, policy research, and implementation science with a focus on the period of (pre)pregnancy until five years of life.
Possible themes include (but are not restricted to)
- Differences across geographic areas (including rural and urban areas);
- Issues related to accessing health services and medicines/vaccines across the reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health continuum of care;
- Initiatives aimed at improving the quality of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and health services;
- Evidence on the scaling-up of processes and sustainability of existing evidence-based interventions introduced in new contexts;
- Integrated population, health, and environmental approaches to address the needs and rights of vulnerable communities;
- Policy analyses on using evidence in decision-making and practice.
Dr. Regien Biesma
Dr. Neil Spicer
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.