Toll-Like Receptor-Induced Immune Responses During Early Childhood and Their Associations With Clinical Outcomes Following Acute Illness Among Infants in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract Severely ill children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience high rates of mortality from a broad range of infectious diseases, with the risk of infection-related death compounded by…
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Childhood mortality during and after acute illness in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia – The CHAIN cohort study
Abstract Objectives Mortality during acute illness among children in low- and middle-income settings remain unacceptably high and there is increasing recognition of the importance of post-discharge mortality. A comprehensive understanding of…
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Gender-related influences on adherence to advice and treatment-seeking guidance for infants and young children post-hospital discharge in Bangladesh
Abstract Background: Post-hospital discharge mortality risk is high among young children in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The available literature suggests that child, caregiver and health care provider gender all…
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Model for developing context-sensitive responses to vulnerability in research: managing ethical dilemmas faced by frontline research staff in Kenya
Abstract Health research in low-resource settings often involves individuals and populations defined as 'vulnerable'. There is growing attention in the literature to the ethical dilemmas that frontline research staff face…
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Vulnerability, Agency, and the Research Encounter: Family Members’ Experiences and Perceptions of Participating in an Observational Clinical Study in Kenya
Abstract Pediatric clinical research in low-resourced countries involves individuals defined as "vulnerable" in research ethics guidance. Insights from research participants can strengthen the design and oversight of studies. We share…
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Strengthening the role of community health workers in supporting the recovery of ill, undernourished children post hospital discharge: qualitative insights from key stakeholders in Bangladesh and Kenya
Abstract Background: Undernourished children in low- and middle-income countries remain at elevated risk of death following hospital discharge, even when treated during hospitalisation using World Health Organisation recommended guidelines. The role…
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Applying a gender lens to understand pathways through care for acutely ill young children in Kenyan urban informal settlements
Abstract Background: In many African settings, gender strongly influences household treatment-seeking and decision-making for childhood illnesses. While mothers are often the primary engagers with health facilities, their independence in illness-related decisions…
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Vulnerability and agency across treatment-seeking journeys for acutely ill children: how family members navigate complex healthcare before, during and after hospitalisation in a rural Kenyan setting.
Abstract Background: Child mortality rates during hospitalisation for acute illness and after discharge are unacceptably high in many under-resourced settings. Childhood vulnerability to recurrent illness, and death, is linked to…
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Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) Network: a protocol for a multi-site prospective cohort study to identify modifiable risk factors for mortality among acutely ill children in Africa and Asia
The Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition Network Introduction Children admitted to hospitals in resourcepoor settings remain at risk of both inpatient and postdischarge mortality. While known risk factors such as…
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The impact of malnutrition on childhood infections
Judd L. Walson and James A. Berkley Purpose of review Almost half of all childhood deaths worldwide occur in children with malnutrition, predominantly in sub- Saharan Africa and South Asia.…
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Severe childhood malnutrition
AUTHORS: Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, James A. Berkley, Robert H. J. Bandsma, Marko Kerac, Indi Trehan and André Briend Use the term ‘severe malnutrition’ to describe these conditions to better reflect the…
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Knowledge of, and attitudes to giving expressed breastmilk to infants in rural coastal Kenya; focus group discussions of first time mothers and their advisers.
AUTHORS: Talbert AW, Tsofa B, Mumbo E, Berkley JA, Mwangome M Explored knowledge of, and attitudes to, the practice of giving expressed breastmilk in a mixed methods observational study of breastfeeding in rural Kenyan mothers.
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The impact of rickets on growth and morbidity during recovery among children with complicated severe acute malnutrition in Kenya: A cohort study.
AUTHORS: Ngari MM, Thitiri J, Mwalekwa L, Timbwa M, Iversen PO, Fegan GW, Berkley JA Investigated the associations of clinically diagnosed rickets with life-threatening events and anthropometric recovery during 1 year following inpatient treatment for complicated SAM. This…
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Severe malnutrition in infants aged <6 months-Outcomes and risk factors in Bangladesh: A prospective cohort study.
AUTHORS: Munirul Islam M, Arafat Y, Connell N, Mothabbir G, McGrath M, Berkley JA, Ahmed T, Kerac M. argue that severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects ~4 million infants under 6 months (u6m) worldwide, but evidence underpinning their care is…
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Featured PUBLICATIONS
New technology to help unravel why millions of undernourished children die
CHAIN's Dr. James Njunge is one of the 6 finalists in the Wellcome/WHO Early Career Researcher competition. He writes about a new technology that can help us understand why millions…
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