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Key Features The Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (urban HDSS) in selected slums of Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur City Corporations is a population-based cohort that initially aimed to monitor the primary health care services provided by non-government organizations and urban local bodies of the Local Government Division of Bangladesh. Urban HDSS data can also be used in response to the global call for policy-relevant data on health outcomes, health systems and other dimensions in urban areas relevant to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. [Extracted from the article]

This study aimed to assess completeness of antenatal care coverage following implementation of a voucher scheme for maternal health in Bangladesh. The investigation used interview data from a survey conducted in Bangladesh in 2017 of 2400 randomly selected women aged 15–49 with children aged 0–23 months in four geographical areas where voucher scheme implementation was underway. Of these women, 1944 had attended at least one antenatal clinic visit so were included in the analysis. A 'completeness index' for antenatal visits was constructed as an outcome variable based on recall of thirteen elements of care. Bivariate analysis against independent variables of interest was carried out and multivariate linear regression models developed to examine the influence of voucher scheme participation on completeness of antenatal care adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Voucher scheme membership was associated with higher 'completeness index' scores, with a mean score of 185.2±101.0 for voucher recipients and 139.6 ± 93.3 for non-recipients (p<0.001). Scheme membership reduced the differentials associated with health facility type and socioeconomic status. Women from the lowest socioeconomic group who were voucher recipients received substantially more components of antenatal care (mean score: 159.6±82.1) compared with non-recipients (mean score: 115.7±83.0). This favourable effect of voucher scheme membership on the most vulnerable socioeconomic group remained significant after adjusting for educational status. The Bangladesh voucher scheme model has the potential to maximize gains in maternal and newborn health through enhancing the completeness of service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]