Publication Date June 1, 2022 Research & Evidence

An Exploratory Study of Client and Provider Experience and Perceptions of Facility-Based Childbirth Care in Quiché, Guatemala

Respectful maternity care (RMC) is fundamental to women’s and families’ experience of care and their decision about where to give birth. Studies from multiple countries describe the mistreatment of women during facility-based childbirth, though only a small number of studies from Guatemala have been published. This study published in BMC Health Services Research, which began under USAID's Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), adds to the literature on women’s experience of institutional childbirth and factors that influence this experience by triangulating experience and perceptions of both women and health workers. This assessment highlights opportunities to address mistreatment of both women and health workers and to build on positive care attributes to strengthen RMC for all women.

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Research & Evidence

Effects of Local Faith-Actor Engagement in the Uptake and Coverage of Immunization in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Literature Review

This landscape review from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership, published in the Christian Journal for Global Health, found extensive evidence supporting the value of religious engagement for immunization promotion and acceptance in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet rigorous evidence and specific approaches for engaging local faith actors to strengthen immunization uptake in LMICs are limited. As countries urgently work to expand access to COVID-19 vaccinations, this study advances understanding of how to more effectively engage local faith actors in promoting immunization campaigns and addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Program & Technical Resources

How to Engage Men in Nurturing Care Across the Life Stages

Men caregivers play an important role in ensuring all children receive nurturing care. From supportive services to enabling policies and beyond, this infographic from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership shows how men can be supported to provide nurturing care for their children from pregnancy to early childhood.

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Training & Guidance

Summative Program Evaluations: Operational Guidance and Technical Brief

With this annex, MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership builds on its Adaptive Learning Toolkit to provide additional guidance on conducting summative program evaluations. Intended for program managers, technical advisors, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) staff, this operational guidance — and its related technical brief — outline approaches for conducting summative program evaluations, practical considerations for implementation, and guidance on modifying approaches.

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Webinars

Ensuring the Delivery of Essential Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic: WASH & IPC Response

On June 8, 2022, MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership convened a webinar to learn about and discuss successes, challenges, and recommendations from their work providing rapid technical and capacity development assistance to local health networks in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Sierra Leone, and Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presenters highlighted MOMENTUM’s use of virtual capacity strengthening processes and tools, open-source digital data collection platforms, and local partnerships.

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Research & Evidence

Study: Construction of the Couple Concordance Index and Its Relationship with Contraceptive Use

Norms and preferences for regulating fertility are continually changing, and contraceptive use—particularly modern contraceptive methods—are becoming more acceptable in many countries. MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership undertook a study to understand country-level differences in couples’ concordance and the relationship between concordance and country position on the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) S-curve. This package of materials from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership describes the study, presents case studies from Kenya and Togo, and discusses recommendations for how policymakers can use findings to create the space for movement from low prevalence of modern contraceptive use to rapid growth along the S-curve.

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Research & Evidence

Concept Note: Multi-Country Survey on Status of Policies, Practices, and Commodities Related to Postpartum Hemorrhage and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Preventable maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain unacceptably high, despite the fact that healthcare solutions to prevent and manage them are well known. This concept note from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership and MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery outlines a forthcoming global survey on national programs on the prevention and management of PPH and HDP in 33 countries. The survey takes stock of national-level policy, commodities, and practices that are either impeding or accelerating countries’ ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goals related to maternal health. 

Publication Date June 1, 2022 Training & Guidance

Technical Brief: 2018 WHO Intrapartum Care Guidelines for a Positive Childbirth Experience

More than a third of maternal deaths and a substantial proportion of pregnancy-related, life-threatening conditions are due to complications that arise during labor, childbirth, or the immediate postpartum period. Improving quality of care around the time of birth is essential for reducing stillbirths and maternal and newborn deaths. This technical brief from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership reviews 26 new recommendations from the WHO’s 2018 recommendations on intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience, and recommends policy and program considerations for countries adopting, adapting, and implementing the recommendations.

Publication Date May 1, 2022 Program & Technical Resources

Nutrition as a Health Vital Sign: Virtual Technical Consultant Meeting Report and Concept Note

Vital signs, such as temperature and blood pressure, provide critical information about a person’s health. The idea of including nutrition screening as a health vital sign, particularly for children and pregnant women, has been around for many years — but the concept remains underused and under-assessed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A report lays out the findings from an expert consultation held by MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership, detailing the challenges and opportunities for using nutrition assessments and screening measures in the context of antenatal and postnatal care in LMICS. A concept note presents further desk reviews, analyses, and next steps to move forward with the use of nutrition screening tools as a health vital sign in LMICs.

Publication Date May 1, 2022 Research & Evidence

MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics Learning Agenda

MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics, a five-year project (2020 to 2025) funded by the United States Agency for International Development, developed its learning agenda through the engagement of an international group of experts specializing in the project’s technical areas: surgical obstetric care, female genital fistula prevention and treatment, long-acting and permanent methods of family planning, as well as cross-cutting issues in safe surgery.