SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2018
Systematic review of community participation interventions to improve maternal health outcomes in rural South Asia.
Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Belonging: a meta-theme analysis of women's community-making in group antenatal and postnatal care.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Understanding the needs and key determinants of maternal, newborn, and child health among migrants in transit: a scoping review.Global health action · 2026Article
- "There is a light that our wives had not seen before": community perspectives on a gender-responsive maternal health intervention in Western Kenya.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Population-oriented health promotion and disease prevention interventions in primary healthcare: a scoping review of reviews.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Understanding the community management of long-term physical and mental health conditions in Bolivia, Colombia and Guatemala: a situational analysis.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- A qualitative study to explore women's perceptions of pregnancy and antenatal care in Chizenga village, Chikwawa, Malawi.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Effects of a large-scale participatory learning and action programme in women's groups on knowledge and behaviour related to pregnancy and childcare: a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Bihar, India.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Strengthening midwifery and nursing interventions to reduce child mortality in South Asia: a policy and practice review.Journal of global health · 2025Review
- Community participation through women's health collectives promoted by India's National Urban Health Mission: a realist evaluation in Chhattisgarh state.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Engaging community groups to enhance healthcare access for persons with disabilities in rural Uganda: A qualitative exploration.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Cultural and religious structures influencing the use of maternal health services in Nigeria: a focused ethnographic research.Reproductive health · 2024Article
- Article
- Social norms and maternal health information-seeking behavior among adolescent girls: A qualitative study in a slum of Bangladesh.PloS one · 2024Article
- What's in a name? Unpacking 'CommunityBMJ global health · 2023Article
- Investigating Health Inequality Using Trend, Decomposition and Spatial Analyses: A Study of Maternal Health Service Use in Nepal.International journal of public health · 2023Article
- Strategies to increase rural maternal utilization of skilled health personnel for childbirth delivery in low- and middle-income countries: a narrative review.Global health action · 2022Review
- "I had to change my attitude": narratives of most significant change explore the experience of universal home visits to pregnant women and their spouses in Bauchi State, Nigeria.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2021Article
- Global stakeholder perspectives of home birth: a systematic scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis is a systematic review on the effectiveness of community interventions in improving maternal health care outcomes in South Asia.
methodsWe searched electronic databases to June 2017. Randomised or cluster randomised studies in communities within rural/remote areas of Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were included. Data were analysed as risk ratios (RR) or odds ratios (OR), and effects were adjusted for clustering. Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects and evidence quality was assessed.
resultsEleven randomised trials were included from 5440 citations. Meta-analysis of all community interventions combined compared with control showed a small improvement in the number of women attending at least one antenatal care visit (RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.33). Two community mobilisation sub groups: home care using both male and female mobilisers, and education by community mobilisers, improved the number of women attending at least one antenatal visit. There was no difference in the number of women attending at least one antenatal visit for any other subgroup. There was no difference in the number of women attending 3 or more antenatal visits for all community interventions combined, or any community subgroup. Likewise, there was no difference in attendance at birth between all community interventions combined and control. Health care facility births were modestly increased in women's education groups (adjusted RR (1.15, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.20; 2 studies)). Risk of maternal deaths after 2 years (RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.64; 5 studies), and 3 years (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.52 to 2.36; 2 studies), were no different between women's education groups and control. Community level mobilisation rather than health care messages at district level improved the numbers of women giving birth at health care facilities (RR1.09 (95%CI 1.06 to 1.13; 1 study)). Maternal health care knowledge scores improved in two community-based interventions, one involving education of male community members.
conclusionWomen's education interventions may improve the number of women seeking birth at a health care facility, but the evidence is of low quality. No impact on maternal mortality was observed Future research should explore the effectiveness of including male mobilisers.
trial registrationThis systematic review is registered with PROSPERO CRD42016033201 .
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.