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Background Dual-method use is known as the most reliable protection against unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. However, it is not commonly used in sub-Sharan Africa, especially among women using highly effective contraceptives. This article describes a protocol to evaluate the effect of an intervention formulated under the positive deviance approach for promoting dual-method use in Uganda. Methods A total of 150 women will be interviewed using a structured questionnaire to find those practicing dual-method use. In-depth interviews will then be conducted with all women using the dual method and 10 women using only highly effective contraceptives to identify their unique practice. Then, a cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted to examine the effect of an intervention formulated under the positive deviance approach on dual-method uptake and adherence. Twenty health facilities will be randomized to an intervention or control arm and 480 women will be enrolled in each group. The participants will be followed up for 8 months. Discussion This trial focuses on women who already adapted dual-method use and identifies their unique solutions to promote dual-method use. This trial could tackle barriers for dual-method use, which expert outsiders may fail to recognize, by analyzing and promulgating their unique behaviors. This study could provide evidence that the positive deviance approach can address unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections as well as other health problems which usual approaches have failed to address. Trial registration UMIN-CTR Clinical Trial, UMIN000037065. Registered on 14 June 2019.

Background Feeding practices and child undernutrition can be improved when trained health workers provide proper nutrition counseling to caregivers. However, this important management component is difficult to achieve in countries where trained health workers are limited; Tanzania is no exception. In rural and semi-urban areas, mid-level providers (MLPs) are left to manage diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Training health workers in nutrition has been shown to be an effective intervention among HIV-negative children elsewhere, but no studies have been conducted among HIV-positive children. Furthermore, in Tanzania and other countries with MLPs, no evidence currently exists demonstrating an improvement in nutrition among children who receive health services given by MLPs. This study thus aims to examine the efficacy of nutrition training of MLPs on feeding practices and the nutrition status of HIV-positive children in Tanga, Tanzania. Methods/Design We will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial in care and treatment centers (CTCs) in Tanga, Tanzania. The CTCs will be the unit of randomization. We will select 16 CTCs out of 32 for this study, of which we will randomly assign 8 to the intervention arm and 8 to the control arm by coin flipping. From the selected CTCs we will attempt to recruit a total of 800 HIV-positive children aged 6 months to 14 years, half of whom will be receiving care and/or treatment in the CTCs of the intervention arm, and the other half of whom will be receiving care and/or treatment in the CTCs of the control arm (400 children in each condition). We will provide nutrition training to MLPs of the CTCs selected for the intervention arm. In this intervention, we will use the World Health Organization guidelines on nutrition training of health workers for HIV-positive children aged 6 months to 14 years. The trained MLPs will then provide tailored nutrition counseling to caregivers of children being treated at the 8 CTCs of the intervention arm. We will measure nutrition status and child feeding practices monthly for a total of six months. Conclusions Results of this trial will help expanding undernutrition interventions among HIV-positive children in Tanzania and other countries. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN65346364.

Background The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals call for improving maternal and child health status. Their progress, however, has been minimal and uneven across countries. The continuum of care is a key to strengthening maternal, newborn, and child health. In this context, the Japanese government launched the Ghana Ensure Mothers and Babies Regular Access to Care (EMBRACE) Implementation Research Project in collaboration with the Ghanaian government. This study aims to evaluate the implementation process and effects of an intervention to increase the continuum of care for maternal, newborn, and child health status in Ghana. Methods/Design We will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial using an effectiveness-implementation hybrid design in Dodowa, Kintampo, and Navrongo, Ghana. We will provide an intervention package to women living in randomly allocated intervention clusters. The study population is women of reproductive age between the ages of 15 and 49 years. The package includes: 1) use of a new continuum of care card, 2) continuum of care orientation for health workers, 3) 24-hour health facility retention of mothers and newborns after delivery, and 4) postnatal care by home visits. We will measure maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes for both intervention and implementation impacts. The intervention outcomes are continuum of care completion rate, rate of postnatal care within 48 hours, complication rate requiring mothers' and newborns' hospitalizations, and perinatal and neonatal mortality. The implementation outcomes are intervention coverage of the target population, intervention adoption and fidelity, implementation cost, and sustainability. Discussion In this trial, we will investigate how successful continuum of care can contribute to improving maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes. If successful, this model will then be implemented further in Ghana and other neighboring countries. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN90618993. Registered on 3 September 2014.