Introduction Despite the growing global application of mobile health (mHealth) technology in maternal and child health, the contextual factors and mechanisms by which interventional outcomes are generated have not been subjected to extensive review. In this study, we sought to identify context, mechanisms and outcome elements from implementation and evaluation studies of mHealth interventions to formulate theories or models explicating how mHealth interventions work (or not) both for health care providers and for pregnant women and new mothers. Method An electronic search of six online databases (Medline, Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Academic Search Premier and Health Systems Evidence) was performed. Using appropriate MeSH terms and selection procedure, 32 articles were considered for analysis. A theory-driven approach, narrative synthesis, was applied to synthesise the data. Thematic content analysis was used to delineate the elements of the intervention, including its context, actors, mechanism and outcomes. Retroduction was applied to link these elements using a realist evaluation heuristic to form generative theories. Results Mechanisms that promote the implementation of mHealth by community health workers/health care providers include motivation, perceived skill and knowledge improvement, improved self-e cacy, improved con dence, improved relationship between community health workers and clients, perceived support of community health workers, perceived ease of use and usefulness of mHealth, For pregnant women and new mothers, mechanisms that trigger the uptake of mHealth and use of maternal and child health services included: perceived service satisfaction, perceived knowledge acquisition, support and con dence, improved self-e cacy, encouragement, empowerment and motivation. Information overload was identi ed as a potential negative mechanism for the uptake of maternal and child health services. Conclusion The models developed in this study provide a detailed understanding of the implementation and uptake of mHealth interventions and how they improve maternal and child health services in low and middle income countries. These models provide a foundation for the 'white box' or theory-driven evaluation of mHealth intervention and can improve the rollout and implementation where required.

Frameworks can clarify concepts and improve understanding of underlying mechanisms in the domain of health systems research and strengthening. Many existing frameworks have a limited capacity to analyze interactions and equilibriums within a health system overlooking values as an underlying steering mechanism. This paper introduces the health system dynamics framework and demonstrates its application as a tool for analysis and modelling. The added value of this framework is: 1) consideration of different levels of a health system and tracing how interventions or events at one level influence other elements and other levels; 2) emphasizes the importance of values; 3) a central axis linking governance, human resources, service delivery and population, and 4) taking into account the key elements of complexity in analysis and strategy development. We urge  the analysis of individual health systems and meta-analysis, for a better understanding of their functioning and strengthening.

ABSTRACT.Objective. To acquire a deeper understanding of factors that influence adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in a pediatric population.Methods. We performed a qualitative study of adherence in children who receive HAART in a Belgian pediatric acquired immune deficiency syndrome referral center. Eleven primary caregivers were interviewed to assess their child's adherence and influencing factors. The interview guidelines were developed on the basis of an extensive literature review. Adherence to treatment was assessed using caregivers' self-report and laboratory results. Content analysis for common items was performed, and statements of adherent and less-adherent patients were compared.Results. Three main factors influenced adherence. Adherent patients were found to internalize the medical information to a stronger extent than less-adherent patients. Adherent patients showed stronger motivation to stick to the medical regimen on the basis of personal cost-benefit analyses, ie, perceived benefits outweighed the costs or difficulties experienced. Adherent patients developed greater problem-solving capacities, ie, ways to deal with practical complications of medication intake. The interviews revealed a fourth, more dynamic component: knowledge, motivation, and capacities evolved in a progressive way, related to individual stages of coping with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Conclusions. The data suggest that coping with HIV and the process of establishing good adherence may be interrelated. Caregivers who accept the disease may be more likely to internalize the received information and thus develop a stronger motivation to fight for the child's life. Problem-solving skills sustain this adherence, and medication becomes a priority in the adherent caregivers' daily lives. On the contrary, less-adherent caregivers may be situated at less advanced stages of the coping process. Thus, tailor-made approaches adapted to the individual HIV-related coping strategies need to be developed to improve adherence in children and caregivers. T he introduction of antiretroviral therapy has turned human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into a chronic, noncurable disease. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) causes viral suppression and favors immunologic reconstitution, which decreases opportunistic infections, the development of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and mortality. [1][2][3] Nevertheless, achieving and sustaining the required high level of adherence to a treatment regimen to control the disease remains a challenge. Dracup and Melais 4 defined adherence as "the extent to which an individual chooses behaviors that coincide with a clinical prescription achieved through negotiation between the health professional and the patient." In the case of HAART, this suggests introducing multiple, strictly timed doses of several drugs, some with a bad taste, into daily life. Moreover, adherence of Ͼ95% seems necessary to achieve viral suppression and to avoid development of viral resistance...

Adding zinc to iron treatment increases hemoglobin response, improves iron indexes, and has positive effects on diarrhea. No additional effect of vitamin A was found.

Summaryobjective Growth Monitoring and Promotion programs (GMP) have been intensively promoted to improve children's health in developing countries. It has been hoped that regularly weighing children would result in the early detection of growth falterers, and that the growth chart would serve as an educational tool to make that state apparent to both health workers and caretakers in order to trigger improved caring practices. Our objective was to review whether GMP answers the theoretical grounds of a screening and intervention program.method A systematic literature review was performed. The WHO framework developed by Wilson and Jungner for planning and evaluating screening programs guided the analysis.results Sixty-nine studies were retrieved. Overall, evidence is weak on the performance of GMP as a screening program for malnutrition through early detection of growth falterers. The main results are:(1) malnutrition remains a public health problem, but its importance is context specific; (2) the value of a low weight velocity to predict malnutrition is unknown and likely to vary in different contexts; (3) the performance of GMP for improving nutrition status of children and in reducing mortality and morbidity is unknown; (4) the performance of the screening is affected by the unreliability of weight measurements; (5) the promotional and educational effectiveness of GMP is low, in particular the growth chart is poorly understood by mothers; (6) the acceptability seems low in regards of low attendance rates; (7) evidence is lacking regarding cost-effectiveness.conclusions We conclude that there is too little scientific evidence to indiscriminately support international promotion of GMP. However GMP could constitute a valid strategy of public nutrition in specific situations. We indicate paths for further research and how prevention programs could be developed.