BackgroundThis qualitative study aimed to investigate the health seeking behaviour of rural women in northern Tajikistan, with specific focus on antenatal and obstetric complications as a result of delayed access to health services. Due to the unprecedented level of labour migration among men in the border region of Tajikistan, Isfara, the study specifically focused on migrants’ wives residing with their in-laws.MethodsUsing an adapted “Three delays” model which suggests three major causes of delayed access to maternity services - decision to seek care, reaching a healthcare facility and receiving necessary care – we conducted 29 in-depth interviews with labour migrants’ wives, 16 semi-structured interviews with healthcare service providers and 2 focus-group discussions with 16 mothers-in-law in Isfara district.ResultsOur study demonstrated that the most crucial and conditioned factor of access to maternity services for labour migrants’ wives is a decision to seek care. While reaching a healthcare facility (geographical accessibility, time and transportation costs) and receiving necessary care (availability of services, financial affordability and perceived quality of care) were rarely reported as obstacles towards timely access to maternity services, decision to seek care was found to be an intricate interplay of several factors: traditional gender and family roles (particularly in the absence of the husband), the age of the mother-in-law, cultural beliefs and perceptions about pregnancy and maternity, and widely spread myths about certain health conditions and services.ConclusionsOur study concludes that the traditional pattern of seeking health care among women in northern Tajikistan may often cause delays in accessing necessary maternity services and result in adverse health outcomes for women. We suggest that effective strategies to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in rural Tajikistan should, along with strengthening healthcare structures, embark on community education and awareness raising with special focus on mothers-in-law and other traditional decision-makers in households.

BackgroundGood clinical practice (GCP) guidelines have been the source of improvement in the quality of clinical trials; however, there are limitations to the application of GCP in the conduct of health research beyond industry-sponsored clinical trials. The UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Disease is promoting good practice in all health research involving human through the Good Health Research Practice (GHRP) training program initiative.ObjectiveTo report the results of piloting the GHRP training program and formulate further steps to harness GHRP for promoting good practices in all health research involving human, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).DesignThe objective of this training is to impart knowledge and skills for the application of ethical and quality principles to the design, conduct, recording, and reporting of health research involving human participants based on the level of risk, to ensure a fit-for-purpose quality system. This has been formulated into five sequential modules to be delivered in a 4-day course. Four courses have been organized in the pilot phase (2014–2015). The courses have been evaluated and assessed based on course feedback (quantitative and qualitative data) collected during course implementation and qualitative email-based pre- and post-course evaluation.ResultsParticipants were highly satisfied with the course content and its organization. The relevance and applicability of the course content resulted in positive feedback and an articulated willingness to adapt and disseminate the course. Action points to strengthen the training program have been identified, and showed the imminent need to develop a consensus with a broader range of key stakeholders on the final set of GHRP standards and means for implementation.ConclusionsThere is an urgent need to harness the momentum to promote high-quality and ethical health research in LMICs through scaling up GHRP training and further development of GHRP principles into international standards.

(1) Background: Thailand is a major migrant receiving country and pioneer of migrant health policy in the ASEAN region. However, on the ground, coverage of migrants is faced with multiple barriers. (2) Objectives: We aim to scope and analyse the types of available evidence on migrant health coverage in Thailand and identify knowledge gaps. Specifically, we characterise the literature along year of publication, migrant subpopulation, health domain, scope of coverage, methods, study design, objectives and results. (3) Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Database, Worldwide Science and the Asian Citation Index for peer-reviewed and grey literature in October 2021 for studies analysing original data on health coverage of migrants in Thailand. To conceptualise health coverage, we used the three dimensions availability, accessibility and acceptability. (4) Results: 101 articles were included in the final analysis. Sixty-three were published after 2016, 39 focused on migrant workers and 18 on migrants in general. Forty-two concentrated on health in broader terms, followed by reproductive and maternal health (n = 31). Thirty-eight assessed coverage of specific services and 36 health coverage in general. Migrants themselves and key informants were the main data sources in 80 and 43 of the articles, respectively. Forty publications were qualitative, while 38 applied quantitative methods (22% descriptive; 7% analytical). Among the health coverage components, 79 articles included aspects of accessibility, followed by acceptability (n = 59) and availability (n = 30). (5) Conclusions: While there is a high number and broad range of studies on migrant health coverage in Thailand, we found that research on migrant subgroups, such as victims of trafficking and migrant children, as well as on the health domains, non-communicable diseases and occupational and mental health is neglected.