BMC global and public health最新文献

{"title":"Impact of indoor residual spraying and insecticide-treated nets on malaria burden in 8 districts in West Nile and Acholi regions, Uganda: a quasi-experimental study.","authors":"Jane F Namuganga, Daniel P McDermott, Adrienne Epstein, Joaniter I Nankabirwa, Samuel Gonahasa, Jimmy Opigo, Isaiah Nabende, Catherine Maiteki-Sebuguzi, Moses R Kamya, Martin J Donnelly, Grant Dorsey, Sarah G Staedke","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00268-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-026-00268-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Uganda, where malaria transmission is high, insecticide treated nets (ITNs) have been distributed nationwide every 3 years since 2013. In West Nile, northern Uganda, indoor residual spraying (IRS) was first implemented with clothianidin-deltamethrin (Fludora Fusion®) in 2022, followed by pirimiphos-methyl (Actellic® 300CS) in 2023. We utilised a quasi-experimental study to assess the impact of IRS + ITNs on malaria incidence in West Nile.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were collected from three malaria reference centres (MRCs) in West Nile (IRS + ITNs, intervention) and five MRCs in neighbouring Acholi (ITNs only, control) over 4 years: (1) Baseline (December 2020-November 2022), prior to IRS; (2) IRS-1 (December 2022-December 2023) following IRS with clothianidin-deltamethrin; (3) IRS-2 (January 2024-December 2024) following IRS with pirimiphos-methyl. The primary outcome was monthly malaria incidence from each MRC target area per 1000 person-years. Data were analysed using negative binomial regression models with a difference-in-difference approach, comparing pre-post trends in malaria incidence between arms. Adjusted models accounted for 2-month lagged rainfall and seasonality.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During IRS-1, mean observed malaria incidence fell from baseline in both arms (intervention: 720.9 to 547.9; and control: 523.4 to 455.2 per 1000 person-years). We detected a 15% difference in predicted mean incidence between arms during IRS-1 relative to baseline, but this was not significant (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) = 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-1.04, p = 0.11). During IRS-2, incidence in the intervention arm declined by 79.3% compared to baseline (720.9 to 149.1), and by 24.3% (523.4 to 396.2) in the control arm. We detected a 73% reduction in predicted mean malaria incidence in the intervention arm compared to control relative to baseline (aIRR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.22-0.34, p < 0.001). During IRS-2, there was strong evidence of an immediate and sustained reduction in incidence in the intervention arm over 1 year.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In West Nile, the reduction in malaria incidence after clothianidin-based IRS (plus ITNs) was modest and non-significant. Subsequent IRS with pirimiphos-methyl (plus ITNs) substantially reduced malaria incidence. These results highlight the importance of selecting context-specific insecticides for vector control programmes and the potential synergistic effect of dual interventions in areas of high pyrethroid resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13141431/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147848543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cured but not healed: the mental health crisis in leprosy we continue to ignore.","authors":"Anil Fastenau, Alexandra Asboeck, Daniel Egbule, Issa Ally Garimo, Fabian Schlumberger, Hamideh Ebrahimi","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00273-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s44263-026-00273-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13137712/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147825580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating differences in common mental health symptom expression and co-occurrence across ethnicities.","authors":"Henry Delamain, Jonas Haslbeck, Madiha Shaikh, Joshua Eusty Jonathan Buckman, Renuka Jena, Rob Saunders, Joshua Stott, Jae Won Suh, Stephen Pilling, Ciarán O'Driscoll","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00274-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-026-00274-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ethnic inequalities exist in the prevalence of mental disorders and their associated treatment outcomes. Cultural variation may influence psychological symptom expression; understanding this might inform care and ultimately reduce care disparities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were analysed from 147,037 individuals referred to psychological treatment services in London, England. Moderated network analysis was used to examine the expression and co-occurrence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and social functioning. Age and gender were included as covariates, and ethnicity (11 categories) was entered as the moderating variable. Symptom-level differences and differences in symptom-to-symptom relationships were estimated across all ethnic group comparisons.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There was substantial variation in symptom networks between ethnic groups. White British individuals showed the most differences compared to other ethnic groups, particularly with higher endorsement of anxiety-related symptoms (e.g. nervousness and excessive worry) and greater reported functional impairment in work and social domains. Differences in symptom co-occurrence (the relationships between symptoms) were less frequent than differences in individual symptom levels. Across groups, several symptoms showed consistent relationships, suggesting shared aspects of distress alongside culturally patterned variation in symptom expression.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The influence of ethnicity on both symptom levels and symptom co-occurrence underscores the importance of culturally informed assessment. These findings highlight the need for services to consider culturally relevant symptom presentations to promote more equitable and appropriate mental health care.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134100/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147825529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in low- and middle-income countries: a narrative review of implementation and education strategies.","authors":"Nicole Kim, Edoghogho Ighodaro, Madison Temple, Aaron Cleveland, Diva Kc, James C Dickerson","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00269-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s44263-026-00269-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a safe and cost-effective strategy for preventing cervical cancer, yet uptake remains low worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Numerous interventional studies in LMICs have attempted to improve vaccine uptake or knowledge, with mixed success. In this narrative review, we synthesize the evidence on implementation and education strategies and highlight best practices to guide future vaccination efforts. School-based vaccination programs have the strongest evidence for achieving high coverage, but alternative approaches are required to reach out-of-school youth and high-risk adult populations. While access to the HPV vaccine remains the most critical determinant of uptake, coupling this with education and awareness campaigns is essential to drive uptake. The most effective educational strategies are culturally adapted and grounded in learning theory. Overall, the evidence suggests that simply providing the HPV vaccine along with culturally relevant education will lead to broad vaccine acceptance across most populations. Future research should prioritize rigorous evaluation of unique educational and implementation strategies, such as mother-daughter approaches or culture-specific educational formats, with a focus on quantifying the impact these strategies have on endline vaccination status and not surrogate outcomes. Such studies will advance the evidence base, strengthen HPV vaccination strategies, and help reduce the global burden of HPV-associated cancers.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13126926/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147794196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex-specific biological susceptibility and sexual mixing patterns in herpes simplex virus type 2 transmission: a mathematical modeling study.","authors":"Hassan Hachem, Houssein H Ayoub, Laith J Abu-Raddad","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00270-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-026-00270-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection is a lifelong sexually transmitted infection with substantial disease and economic burdens. Despite its global impact, key features of its transmission dynamics-including sex-specific biological susceptibility (the inherent likelihood of acquiring infection upon exposure, independent of behavioral factors) and sexual mixing patterns (how individuals form sexual partnerships across age and risk groups)-remain poorly quantified.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A population-level mathematical model of HSV-2 transmission dynamics was applied to heterosexual transmission in the USA and calibrated to nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) conducted between 1988 and 2016. Bayesian inference was used to estimate: (1) relative biological susceptibility of women compared to men, (2) degree of assortativity in age group mixing, and (3) degree of assortativity in sexual risk behavior group mixing. Assortativity reflects the tendency of individuals to form partnerships with others who share similar characteristics, such as age or level of sexual risk behavior, and was quantified on a scale from 0 (no preferential mixing) to 1 (exclusive within-group mixing).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The model demonstrated robust fits to sex-specific, age-specific, and temporal trends in HSV-2 prevalence across NHANES rounds, supporting the validity of the inferred transmission dynamics. Women were estimated to be 7.12 times (95% credible interval (Crl) 4.36-10.17) more biologically susceptible to HSV-2 infection than men, indicating a substantially higher likelihood of acquiring infection upon exposure. The degree of assortativity in age group mixing was high at 0.83 (95% Crl 0.75-0.88), indicating that most transmission occurs between individuals of similar age. In contrast, assortativity in sexual risk behavior group mixing was moderate at 0.49 (95% Crl 0.43-0.55), indicating that transmission frequently occurs across different risk groups rather than being confined within the same group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Women are much more biologically susceptible to HSV-2 infection than men. HSV-2 transmission mostly occurs within similar age groups but often crosses different sexual risk groups, reflecting strong age-assortative and moderate risk-assortative mixing patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13107675/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147794193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Validation of a mobile application for prehospital transport time data collection in Kigali, Rwanda.","authors":"Teresa Bell, Jean Marie Uwitonze, Michael Oravic, Rebecca Maine, Jeanne d'Arc Nyinawankusi, Andrea N Davis, Jean Nepomuscene Sindikubwabo, Robert Rickard, Melissa H Watt, Justine Davies, Menelas Nkeshimana, Sudha Jayaraman","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00271-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-026-00271-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Emergency medical services (EMS) are critical for patient outcomes during emergencies. Organised EMS systems that can promptly locate patients, deliver on-scene care, and transport patients to appropriate facilities are lacking in low- and middle-income countries. Through a long-standing partnership with Rwanda's Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence (SAMU), we developed and implemented an electronic application to capture prehospital times in Kigali, Rwanda. This study validates the accuracy of electronically captured data and establishes baseline response times for emergencies in Kigali.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Prospective data on prehospital transport times in Kigali collected from July 2022 to December 2023 were captured using a novel electronic application custom-built by Rwanda Build program (RWB), a local software accelerator in Kigali. RWB data were compared to SAMU's manually collected data to validate the accuracy of the electronically captured data. Datasets were deterministically linked using patient identifications (ID). Cases with missing patient ID were probabilistically linked using RWB deploy time compared to the paper dataset's leave time. The primary outcome was total prehospital time, from ambulance deployment to healthcare facility arrival. Secondary outcomes included time intervals of deployment to scene, on scene, scene to healthcare facility, and handoff times. Additional analyses compared response times of subgroups captured by RWB, including emergency type, severity, and prehospital delays.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After SAMU and RWB data linkage, 6209 patients were included. The primary outcome, total time of ambulance deployment to hospital arrival, took an average of 54.5 min (standard deviation (SD) = 22.2) with a 0.53-min difference between paper records and the electronically captured dataset. The 30-s difference suggests the newly implemented electronic collection system is consistent with data recorded manually on EMS run reports. Trauma represented the most common emergency (65.2%), with an average prehospital time of 52.2 min (SD = 21.4). \"Severe\" emergencies took an average of 20 min longer to reach hospitals than \"mild\" cases (p < 0.001). Transit delays and districts with fewer transports were also associated with longer prehospital times.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>EMS is critical to healthcare systems. This study validated an electronic data-collection system to improve EMS services in Rwanda. This is one of the first studies to document EMS quality benchmarks in a sub-Saharan African country.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13104385/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147794209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High acceptability of a national platform for public health genomic data sharing and surveillance in Australia: a mixed methods study.","authors":"Callum McEwan, Donya Eghrari, Angeline S Ferdinand","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00265-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s44263-026-00265-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Pathogen genomics has increasingly been integrated into infectious disease surveillance, outbreak detection, and response globally. However, formal evaluation of pathogen genomic surveillance systems has been a major gap. In Australia, the AusTrakka platform was established and deployed nationally to address barriers to genomic data sharing across jurisdictions, enhance interoperability and usability, and improve governance of public health genomic data. Here we present our evaluation of AusTrakka and examine how its utilisation and impact shifted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We utilised the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems to guide assessment of the AusTrakka platform. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach consisting of a quantitative analysis of AusTrakka utilisation data throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and a qualitative component comprised key informant interviews and analysis of investigation reports produced by the AusTrakka National Analysis Team. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently between June 2020 and October 2022. Semi-structured individual and group interviews were held with key informants (n = 63) representing all jurisdictions across Australia and New Zealand. These included individuals representing public health laboratories and health departments, infectious disease physicians, genomic epidemiologists, and bioinformaticians.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>AusTrakka users reported that the platform had a very high degree of usefulness as a centralised platform to enable sharing sequence data across jurisdictions, facilitate multijurisdictional outbreak investigations, and clarify transmission chains. Acceptability was a key system that contributed to the usefulness of the platform, enhanced through collective design of data governance frameworks. Integration of epidemiological data with the pathogen genomic data was an ongoing challenge in data completeness.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Robust evaluation of pathogen genomics surveillance systems is critical to identify contextual and system elements that impact the capacity of these systems to accomplish their objectives. Our findings demonstrate the importance of strong stakeholder engagement in developing data governance mechanisms for pathogen genomics in ultimately ensuring the capacity of surveillance systems to detect outbreaks and support public health utility, and reinforce the value of a nationally developed, purpose-built approach in Australia.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13088858/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147701515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understandings of ultra-processed foods among adults with responsibility for household food activities in the United Kingdom: a qualitative study.","authors":"Michael Essman, Jennie C Parnham, Kiara Chang, Mike Etkind, Prisha Shah, Deb Smith, Milica Vasiljevic, Emma Boyland, Steven Cummins, Eszter P Vamos, Martin White, Jean Adams","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00263-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s44263-026-00263-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There is accumulating evidence that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are associated with many non-communicable diseases. In the United Kingdom (UK), UPFs account for more than half of mean daily energy intake. There is limited evidence describing how individuals make sense of UPFs in their daily lives. In this study, we aim to explore public perceptions of UPFs and their relationship to health; how these are shaped by different information sources; whether perceptions influence purchasing and consumption; and proposed solutions for reducing UPF consumption.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We undertook 30 qualitative, one-to-one interviews with people living in the UK, aged 18 years or older, with household responsibility for food activities recruited using social media advertisements. Interviews followed a semi-structured topic guide reflecting the aims. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Members of a Public Involvement and Engagement group helped interpret emergent findings.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Reflexive thematic analysis identified five interconnected themes: (1) understanding of UPFs, (2) influences on understanding, (3) decision-making around UPFs, (4) barriers and enablers to reducing UPF consumption, and (5) proposed solutions. Food processing often made more sense to participants as a continuum rather than ordinal categories. There was particular confusion regarding the boundary between processed and ultra-processed food. Participants described an overwhelming food-related information environment. Personal and anecdotal experience was particularly powerful. While industry-sponsored information was met with scepticism, the personal testimonies of social media influencers were seen as relatable or helpful. Participants' perceptions of UPFs sometimes influenced their purchasing and consumption. However, cost, convenience, taste, and family practices were often as or more important. Suggestions to help reduce UPF consumption ranged from education to fiscal policies.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest that the public may benefit from support in navigating a complex food information landscape, including clearer and more actionable communication about UPFs and related topics. Policy approaches that modify the food environment are also likely to be useful, particularly those that make less processed options more affordable, available, and convenient for people with limited time.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13085418/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147694529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Venereology and the transformation of sexually transmitted infection services in Beirut, with lessons for the Eastern Mediterranean.","authors":"Moubadda Assi, Ismael Maatouk","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00267-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s44263-026-00267-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13081622/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147694591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors influencing implementation of point-of-care tests for maternal and newborn screening and diagnosis in low-resource settings: a systematic review.","authors":"Natalie Grace Shaetonhodi, Lindsey de Vos, Peya Brock, Dvora Joseph Davey, Alex de Voux, Andrew Medina-Marino","doi":"10.1186/s44263-026-00261-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s44263-026-00261-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite the potential of point-of-care (POC) tests to improve maternal and newborn health, implementation in low- and middle-income countries remains inconsistent. POC testing enables rapid, decentralized screening, but barriers across health system, facility, and individual levels may undermine uptake. This review synthesizes evidence on factors influencing the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of POC tests within maternal-child health programmes in low-resourced settings.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A comprehensive search was performed across major bibliographic databases and grey literature sources using Boolean combinations of terms related to POC testing, maternal and newborn health, implementation, and low-resourced settings. Studies were eligible if they reported on adoption, implementation, or sustainability of POC tests for maternal or infant screening or diagnosis in low-resourced contexts. Data were extracted using a structured form capturing study characteristics, test types, and implementation determinants. Thematic analysis combined deductive coding using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) domains with inductive identification of cross-cutting themes. Methodological quality was appraised using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty studies from 19 low-resourced settings were included, with most evaluating POC testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), syphilis, and early infant HIV diagnosis, highlighting limited implementation evidence for other essential maternal and newborn diagnostics. Key facilitators of implementation included rapid turnaround time, portability, ease of use, perceived clinical benefit, supportive policy environments, and compatibility with existing workflows. Task-shifting, bundled testing, and integration with routine maternal-child health services supported sustainability. However, common barriers included weak supply chains, vertical funding, limited political will, training gaps, workforce shortages, and fragmented programme delivery. Sociocultural barriers, such as stigma and limited decision-making power among pregnant women, also constrained uptake.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Effective implementation of POC tests in low-resourced maternal-child health settings requires system-adapted and people-centred approaches. Strengthened domestic ownership, cross-sector coordination, and integrated service delivery, will be critical to ensure equitable access and achieve global targets, including elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B. Expanded implementation research across a broader range of essential POC diagnostics and diverse geographic and infrastructure contexts is needed.</p><p><strong>Systematic review registration: </strong>PROSPERO CRD420251008480.</p>","PeriodicalId":519903,"journal":{"name":"BMC global and public health","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13069759/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147655650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}