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The aim of this study was to explore the reasons for preferring home as a birth delivery place and identify the socio-economic and cultural factors influencing the choice of delivery place in rural Bangladesh.

The data for the study come from a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 464 mothers in a rural sub-district of Bangladesh in 2019. Respondents were selected randomly from the frame listing all mothers with inclusion criteria, using a two-stage cluster sampling design. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview. Both descriptive and inferential statistics and logistic regression models were used for data analysis.

The results indicate a very high rate (58%) of home delivery. About 20% mothers never received ANC visit. Preference for home delivery was high (63%). Mothers with no education, aged 30 and above, multi-parity, low wealth status, lack of knowledge about institutional delivery, no or <4 ANC visits, received no advice about the delivery place, no pregnancy complications, decision about health care, and prior plan for home delivery were identified as significant predictors of home delivery. Cost of services, cultural practices and attitude towards health facility, lack of a female delivery assistant, perceived fear of caesarian section, poor quality of services, and lack of knowledge about maternity services appeared as important barriers for institutional delivery.

Based on primary data from a rural area, this study would help understand reasons and factors affecting home delivery and developing an appropriate strategy for the improvement of institutional delivery and maternity care services in Bangladesh.

Caesarean section (CS) is being used as a life-saving surgical tool when complications arise in the process of childbirth. CS rates have dramatically increased across the world, especially in recent decades. In this background, the purpose of this paper is to explore the CS rates and its determinants in Karnataka, India.

The study uses multiple rounds of the District Level Household Survey (DLHS) data to show the trends, differentials and determinants in CS deliveries. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been carried out, and the χ² test and logistic regression models were applied.

Result shows a sharp increase in CS rates across Karnataka; further, this is high and reaches an alarming level in southern parts of the state. Along with a huge rural–urban difference, significant biological and socio-economic differences were observed. Further, a very dramatic increase in the CS rate was observed in private health facilities, whereas it was stagnant or even decreased in public health facilities during recent years. Mothers age at birth, birth weight, birth order, multiple births, birth institution and place of residence were significantly associated with CS delivery. Unlike these biological factors, the social-economic factors like maternal education, caste, religion and below poverty line household were not found to be significant in determining CS deliveries.

A strong policy to address the dramatic increase in CS deliveries is the need of the hour. Further, there should be a proper mechanism at national, state and sub-state level to provide appropriate checks and monitoring for CS deliveries which are unnecessary.

The purpose of this paper is to explore an association between women experience lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) and women decision making with utilization of reproductive and maternal health services in Cambodia.

An analysis of secondary data of Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) 2014. The total number of sample size was 1,539 married women who had birth in the last five years prior to the time of interview and completed the domestic violence module in the CDHS 2014 questionnaire. χ² test and binary logistic regression were performed in this study.

Results give an evidence that emotional violence had significant impact on receiving sufficient antenatal care (ANC) (OR: 0.7, 95%CI: 0.43–0.86) while physical violence had significant association with deliver with skilled birth attendance (SBA) (OR: 0.5, 95%CI: 0.27–0.79). Further, women’s participation in household decision making played as important factor in enabling women revive sufficient ANC (OR: 1.7, 95%CI: 1.19–2.29), and utilization of modern contraceptive method (OR: 1.5, 95%CI: 1.09–1.97).

This study provides significant finding on the impact of IPV and women’s decision making on reproductive and maternal health in Cambodia. Result has drawn an attention to policy makers, related ministries and stakeholder to promulgate and effectiveness of policies and program implementation within the country.

This study aimed to analyze the role of community health workers (CHWs) called accredited social health activists (ASHAs) in improving maternal health outcomes in the rural community of Punjab, India. The study also examined the expectations of these workers from the community and identified the problems faced by them in carrying out their roles.

Using multistage sampling, a total of 28 villages were selected from seven districts of Punjab, and from these selected villages, a total of 57 ASHAs working as the interface between the rural community and the public health system and 420 women who had delivered a baby were interviewed.

Desire to earn money was the most prominent reason for joining the community work program, but ASHAs felt overburdened and underpaid compared to their work commitments. Not only was the incentive paid to these workers was insufficient and irregular but they also suffered at the hands of medical staff at public hospitals.

While exploring the problems experienced by the CHWs, this study recommends opting for a mix of monetary and nonmonetary incentives for acknowledging the work of CHWs. The study is the first of its kind for the state of Punjab battling with a worsening maternal mortality rate (MMR).

The under-5 mortality rate in Nepal remains high in comparison to neighboring countries and developed nations. The result of this problem on Nepal’s social, economic, political and cultural development makes it an urgent priority requiring the Nepalese Government to address this issue. The purpose of this paper is to find out if Nepal’s high female labor force participation (FLFP), the caste system and no paid maternity leave are contributing factors to under-5 deaths in Nepal.

Data for this study were taken from Nepal’s cross-sectional demographic health survey 2016–2017. The study sample included 5,060 children born to 3,074 mothers in the five years preceding the survey. Data were collected by interviewing respondents via a structured questionnaire selected through stratified random sampling methods.

The study found that the hazard ratio for FLFP, the caste of the mother and paid maternity were 1.145, 1.485 and 0.556, respectively, with a p-value <0.001. Therefore, the risk of death in children under-5 years for a working mother, a Terai caste mother and a mother who did not get paid maternity was 14, 45 and 48 percent, respectively, higher than for non-working mothers, mothers from other castes and mothers who got paid maternity.

This research demonstrated that FLFP, the caste of the mother and paid maternity leave are important factors for determining the risk of death in children under the age of 5.

The aim of administrative reform— a special public policy instrument of governments— is to improve the capacity of public service delivery systems. This study examines the reform-led service delivery situation of public institutions at the local level in South Asia. The study offers an in-depth qualitative study with gleaned data, focusing on primary education in the country in relation to MDGs basic education. Local administration in the country has been a ‘low modicum of self-governance to provide public services. Institutional capacity dealing with educational management has called into question. Primary education in the country is quantitatively discussed while qualitatively is in a state of disarray. As a thorough academic qualitative study with a country-specific case has by far not been explored yet, it fills the information gap. Little is known about the public service delivery capacity with primary education at the local level. This study implicates governments and development partners such as the UN SDGs for effective partnership in development in an era of post-CVID-19 crisis.

The paper aims to conceptualize how behavioral shifts in times of crisis drive the transformation of value co-creation.

Referencing two empirical contexts, the paper explores how digital service platforms facilitate changes in actors’ mental models and institutional arrangements (legal, social, technological) that drive transformation of value co-creation in service ecosystems.

The proposed conceptual framework contributes to existing research by identifying micro-level changes in actors’ mental models and macro-level changes in institutional arrangements enabled by digital service platforms in service ecosystems. In particular, the framework identifies motivation, agility and resistance as moderators of behavioral shifts in times of crisis. This account offers a finer-grained theorization of the moderating factors and underlying mechanisms of service ecosystem transformation but does not extend to the ensuing “new normal.”

The proposed framework indicates how digital platforms support shifts in actors’ behavior and contribute to the transformation of value co-creation. While the enablers are situation-specific and may therefore vary according to the prevailing conditions, the actor-related concepts advanced here seem likely to remain relevant when analyzing the transformation of value co-creation in other crisis situations.

The new conceptual framework advanced here clarifies how behavioral shifts during a crisis drive the transformation of value co-creation and suggests directions for future research.

Building on the concept of “impact literacy” established in a previous paper from Bayley and Phipps, here we extend the principles of impact literacy in light of further insights into sector practice. More specifically, we focus on three additions needed in response to the sector-wide growth of impact: (1) differential levels of impact literacy; (2) institutional impact literacy and environment for impact; and (3) issues of ethics and values in research impact. This paper invites the sector to consider the relevance of all dimensions in establishing, maintaining and strengthening impact within the research landscape. We explore implications for individual professional development, institutional capacity building and ethical collaboration to maximise societal benefit.

Change of climate is attributed to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere observed over comparable periods. The purpose of this paper is to explore smallholder farmers' perceptions of climate change and compare it with meteorological data, as well as to identify perceived adaptation barriers and examine the factors that influence the choice of adaptation options in eastern Ethiopia.

In total, 384 sample households were chosen from four districts of the zone. A cross-sectional survey was used to conduct the study. Primary data was acquired through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and semistructured interviews, whereas meteorological data was collected from the National Meteorological Service Agency of Ethiopia. A Mann–Kendall statistical test was used to analyze temperature and rainfall trends over 33 years. A multivariate probit (MVP) model was used to identify the determinants of farmers' choice of climate change adaptation strategies.

The result indicated that temperature was significantly increased, whereas rainfall was significantly reduced over the time span of 33 years. This change in climate over time was consistently perceived by farmers. Smallholder farmers use improved varieties of crops, crop diversification, adjusting planting dates, soil and water conservation practices, reducing livestock holdings, planting trees and small-scale irrigation adaptation strategies. Moreover, this study indicated that sex of the household head, landholding size, livestock ownership, access to extension, access to credit, social capital, market distance, access to climate change-related training, nonfarm income, agroecological setting and poverty status of the households significantly influence farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies.

Further research is required to evaluate the economic impact of each adaptation options on the livelihood of smallholder farmers.

Institutional variables significantly influenced how farmers adapted to climate change, and all of these issues might potentially be addressed by improving institutional service delivery. To improve farm-level adaptation, local authorities are recommended to investigate the institutional service provision system while also taking demographic and agroecological factors in to account.

This study compared farmers' perceptions with temperature and rainfall trend analysis, which has been rarely addressed by other studies. This study adopts an MVP model and indicated the adaptation strategies that complement/substitute strategies each other. Furthermore, this study discovered that the choice of adaptation options differed between poor and nonpoor households, which has been overlooked in previous climate change adaptation research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of governance and administration in Sri Lanka in light of current crises and the impact on the quality of governance.

The mixed method approach is employed to explore the problem based on secondary data and results from two major surveys.

This paper shows political and administrative commitment and quality of governance are two basic ingredients for rapid development and fighting administrative malpractices. Sri Lanka’s system of governance is a mixture of paternalism and alliance developed through political dynasty, kinship, ethnicity, caste, religion, and elitism.

This study fills the research gap as few studies have examined the recent crises of Sri Lanka’s governance and the impacts on governance quality.

Only by implementing administrative and policy reforms will not improve governance quality in the absence of strong political and bureaucratic commitment. Moreover, global anti-corruption measures are unlikely to work in the Sri Lankan context.