Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jun 21:14:634.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-634.

What interventions are effective on reducing inequalities in maternal and child health in low- and middle-income settings? A systematic review

Beibei Yuan  1 , Mats Målqvist, Nadja Trygg, Xu Qian, Nawi Ng, Sarah Thomsen
Affiliations

What interventions are effective on reducing inequalities in maternal and child health in low- and middle-income settings? A systematic review

Beibei Yuan et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The deadline for achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 is approaching, but inequalities between disadvantaged and other populations is a significant barrier for progress towards achieving these goals. This systematic review aims to collect evidence about the differential effects of interventions on different sociodemographic groups in order to identify interventions that were effective in reducing maternal or child health inequalities.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE and other relevant databases. The reference lists of included reviews were also screened to find more eligible studies. We included experimental or observational studies that assessed the effects of interventions on maternal and child health, but only studies that report quantitative inequality outcomes were finally included for analysis.

Results: 22 articles about the effectiveness of interventions on equity in maternal and child health were finally included. These studies covered five kinds of interventions: immunization campaigns, nutrition supplement programs, health care provision improvement interventions, demand side interventions, and mixed interventions. The outcome indicators covered all MDG 4 and three MDG 5 outcomes. None of the included studies looked at equity in maternal mortality, adolescent birth rate and unmet need for family planning. The included studies reported inequalities based on gender, income, education level or comprehensive socioeconomic status. Stronger or moderate evidence showed that all kinds of the included interventions may be more effective in improving maternal or child health for those from disadvantaged groups.

Conclusion: Studies about the effectiveness of interventions on equity in maternal or child health are limited. The limited evidence showed that the interventions that were effective in reducing inequity included the improvement of health care delivery by outreach methods, using human resources in local areas or provided at the community level nearest to residents and the provision of financial or knowledge support to demand side.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study screening flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Feng XL, Zhu J, Zhang L, Song L, Hipgrave D, Guo S, Ronsmans C, Guo Y, Yang Q. Socio-economic disparities in maternal mortality in China between 1996 and 2006. BJOG. 2010;117(12):1527–1536. - PubMed
    1. Government of Viet Nam. 2009 Population and Housing Census: Major Findings. Hanoi: General Statistics Office; 2010.
    1. Hoa DP, Nga NT, Målqvist M, Persson LA. Persistent neonatal mortality despite improved under-five survival: a retrospective cohort study in northern Vietnam. Acta Paediatr. 2008;97(2):166–170. - PubMed
    1. Målqvist M, Nga NT, Eriksson L, Wallin L, Hoa DP, Persson LÅ. Ethnic inequity in neonatal survival: a case-referent study in northern Vietnam. Acta Paediatr. 2011;100(3):340–346. - PubMed
    1. Zere E, Kirigia JM, Duale S, Akazili J. Inequities in maternal and child health outcomes and interventions in Ghana. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:252. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types