Desmond Klu

University of Health and Allied Sciences

63 publications · 4,020 citations · ORCID 0000-0002-2800-2943

Global Maternal and Child HealthMalaria Research and ControlAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthReproductive Health and ContraceptionChild Nutrition and Water Access

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Desmond Klu is a public health researcher specializing in reproductive health, malaria epidemiology, and maternal and child health in Ghana. Klu utilizes large-scale demographic survey data to investigate determinants of health outcomes, ranging from contraceptive use and abortion safety to malaria prevalence and anaemia in children. The research portfolio demonstrates a strong focus on gender dynamics, household characteristics, and health service utilization within the Ghanaian context.

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How do specific maternal microbiota profiles (gut, oral, or vaginal) during gestation correlate with the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent long-term metabolic health in offspring?

Why this gap exists: While recent reviews [8] confirm GDM alters maternal gut microbiota and neonatal health, and older studies [0] note dysbiosis across maternal sites, the retrieved evidence lacks direct, longitudinal studies correlating specific gestational maternal microbiota profiles with the *long-term* metabolic health of offspring, leaving the core question unresolved.

Sources

Dysbiosis of maternal and neonatal microbiota associated with gestational diabetes mellitus — Gut, 2018
Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in disease — Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 2015
Temporal development of the gut microbiome in early childhood from the TEDDY study — Nature, 2018
Microbiota in health and diseases — Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2022
Maternal Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Congenital Heart Disease in Offspring: A Meta-Analysis — Hormone and Metabolic Research, 2024
Perinatal phlorizin alleviates maternal high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in female mouse offspring and is associated with modulation of the gut microbiota. — Frontiers in nutrition, 2026
Offspring long-term infectious morbidity following pregnancies with cervical cerclage. — Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 2026
Interaction between microbiota and immunity in health and disease — Cell Research, 2020
Gestational diabetes mellitus and maternal-infant microbiome axis: mechanistic insights and therapeutic interventions. — Journal of translational medicine, 2026
Microbes in the Moonlight: How the Gut Microbiota Influences Sleep — arXiv preprint, 2025

To what extent does maternal access to improved water and sanitation facilities mediate the relationship between maternal undernutrition and child developmental outcomes during the first 1,000 days?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved papers confirm the individual importance of WASH access for child nutrition [0], maternal undernutrition for child development [5, 8], and the critical nature of the first 1,000 days [5], none of the provided abstracts directly analyze the specific mediating role of water and sanitation facilities in the relationship between maternal undernutrition and child developmental outcomes.

Sources

Household water, sanitation, and hygiene access and its impact on nutritional outcomes in children under five: evidence from Pakistan. — BMC public health, 2026
Early childhood development and stunting: Findings from the MAL‐ED birth cohort study in Bangladesh — Maternal and Child Nutrition, 2019
Policy and Structural Drivers of Malnutrition in Afghan Women: Evidence and Interventions. — International journal of women's health, 2026
COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation strategies: implications for maternal and child health and nutrition — American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2020
Maternal and child undernutrition 3: what works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival — Child: Care, Health and Development, 2008
Nutrition as the Foundation of Human Capital: Pathways to Holistic Development. — Maternal & child nutrition, 2026
The impacts of maternal iron deficiency and being overweight during pregnancy on neurodevelopment of the offspring. — The British journal of nutrition, 2017
Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study — The Lancet Global Health, 2020
Prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care service in public hospitals in Mogadishu, Somalia. — PloS one, 2026
Concurrent wasting and stunting among under‐five children in Niakhar, Senegal — Maternal & Child Nutrition, 2018

What are the long-term developmental and health outcomes in children born to mothers who experienced COVID-19-related mental health stressors compared to those who did not, controlling for socioeconomic status?

Why this gap exists: While recent studies [0, 5, 6] link pandemic-related maternal distress to child neurodevelopmental issues, the retrieved evidence focuses on general pandemic exposure rather than specifically isolating COVID-19 mental health stressors while controlling for socioeconomic status, leaving the specific comparison unresolved.

Sources

Disrupted beginnings: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 lockdowns in early childhood (Review). — Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 2026
Association of Birth During the COVID-19 Pandemic With Neurodevelopmental Status at 6 Months in Infants With and Without In Utero Exposure to Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection — JAMA Pediatrics, 2022
Moms Are Not OK: COVID-19 and Maternal Mental Health — Frontiers in Global Women s Health, 2020
Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality — Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 2020
Parenting stress and risk of child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic: A family stress theory-informed perspective — Developmental Child Welfare, 2020
Maternal internalizing symptoms as a mechanism linking pre- and postnatal COVID-19 pandemic exposure with preschool-aged children's neurodevelopment. — Archives of women's mental health, 2026
Maternal Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Changes in Young Children's Behavior. — Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP, 2026
Impact of the COVID‐19 Pandemic on Parent, Child, and Family Functioning — Family Process, 2021
Exploring factors influencing mother-infant interaction trajectories post-NICU discharge in low-birth-weight infants during COVID-19 in China: a longitudinal qualitative study. — BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2026
An Efficient Mixture of Deep and Machine Learning Models for COVID-19 and Tuberculosis Detection Using X-Ray Images in Resource Limited Settings — Artificial Intelligence for COVID-19. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 358. 2021, Springer, Cham, 2020

What is the comparative efficacy of household water treatment interventions versus improved water source infrastructure in reducing stunting among children under five in low- and middle-income countries?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved literature confirms associations between water quality and child growth (e.g., Abstracts 2, 5, 8), no study directly compares the efficacy of household water treatment interventions against improved water source infrastructure for reducing stunting, leaving the specific comparative question unresolved.

Sources

Determinants of stunting in Indonesian children: evidence from a cross-sectional survey indicate a prominent role for the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in stunting reduction — BMC Public Health, 2016
Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study — The Lancet Global Health, 2020
Effects of water quality, sanitation, handwashing, and nutritional interventions on diarrhoea and child growth in rural Kenya: a cluster-randomised controlled trial — The Lancet Global Health, 2018
Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health and Disease Heterogeneity: A Review — Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022
Associated factors with malnutrition among children under-5 years old in Somaliland: evidence from Somaliland health and demographic survey of 2020. — BMC public health, 2026
Safe Drinking Water and Its Impact on Children's Growth and Development: A Systematic Review. — International journal of environmental research and public health, 2026
Modelling the impact of dietary diversity on child nutrition in Pakistan: a machine learning analysis with Shapley Additive exPlanations and Boruta interpretability. — Journal of global health, 2026
Effectiveness of interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing with soap on risk of diarrhoeal disease in children in low-income and middle-income settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis — The Lancet, 2022
Effect of Household Source of Drinking Water on Malnutrition among under Five Children in Ethiopia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis — 2026
Water Bridging Dynamics of Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Gauge Theory Paradigm of Quantum Fields — Water 2017, 9, 339, 2018

How does the longitudinal trajectory of maternal stress and resilience during pregnancy specifically mediate the association between social determinants of health (e.g., socioeconomic status, structural inequality) and infant cognitive or emotional development outcomes?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved literature confirms associations between socioeconomic disadvantage, maternal stress, and infant neurodevelopment, it does not resolve the specific question of how longitudinal trajectories of maternal stress and resilience mediate these associations, as the studies focus on broad correlations or static measures rather than dynamic mediation pathways.

Sources

Maternal Depression During Pregnancy and the Postnatal Period — JAMA Psychiatry, 2013
Socioeconomic disadvantage, gestational immune activity, and neurodevelopment in early childhood — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017
Disrupted beginnings: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 lockdowns in early childhood (Review). — Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 2026
Pregnancy as a period of risk, adaptation, and resilience for mothers and infants — Development and Psychopathology, 2020
The influence of attachment and relational quality on developmental outcomes across the lifespan: a systematic review and meta-analytic insights (2014-2024). — Frontiers in psychology, 2026
Nutrition as the Foundation of Human Capital: Pathways to Holistic Development. — Maternal & child nutrition, 2026
Chronic stress may disrupt covariant fluctuations of vitamin D and cortisol plasma levels in pregnant sheep during the last trimester: a preliminary report — arXiv preprint, 2019
Resilience and Stress during Pregnancy: A Comprehensive Multidimensional Approach in Maternal and Perinatal Health — The Scientific World JOURNAL, 2021
Maternal Stress During Pregnancy and Infant and Child Outcome — Oxford Handbooks Online, 2014
Maternal Docosahexaenoic Acid Status During Pregnancy and Its Impact on Infant Neurodevelopment — 2020

How do specific cultural beliefs regarding 'insufficient milk' in rural South African communities mediate the relationship between maternal dietary diversity and the introduction of prelacteal feeds?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved papers discuss general breastfeeding barriers in South Africa [8] and cultural influences in other regions like Ethiopia [6] and Malaysia [9], none specifically address the mediation of 'insufficient milk' beliefs on the relationship between maternal dietary diversity and prelacteal feeds in rural South African communities.

Sources

African Political Systems. — American Sociological Review, 1940
Maternal nutrition counselling is associated with reduced stunting prevalence and improved feeding practices in early childhood: a post-program comparison study — Nutrition Journal, 2019
Trends and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding in Ethiopia from 2000 to 2016 — International Breastfeeding Journal, 2019
Marketing of commercial milk formula: a system to capture parents, communities, science, and policy — The Lancet, 2023
Facilitators, barriers, and factors determining the willingness to donate human milk among postpartum mothers in a tertiary women's hospital in Nepal: a cross-sectional study. — International breastfeeding journal, 2026
Assessment of Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices among Mothers Attending Maternal and Child Health Clinic at a Tertiary Hospital, North Karnataka, India - A Cross-sectional Study. — Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 2025
Sociocultural and structural influences on infant and young child feeding in pastoralist communities of Afar, Ethiopia: a qualitative phenomenological study. — BMJ open, 2026
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in East Africa: a systematic review — International Breastfeeding Journal, 2020
Facilitators and barriers associated with breastfeeding among mothers attending primary healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga, South Africa. — Frontiers in nutrition, 2023
Assessing the Influence of Cultural Beliefs and Practices on Early Breastfeeding Initiation Rates in Rural Sarawak Communities, Malaysia — Scientific Journal of Pediatrics, 2023

Publications

Household characteristics, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and malaria prevalence among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana: an analysis of the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey

Malaria Journal · 2026 · corresponding author · 1 citations

Additional file 3 of Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

Figshare · 2026

Additional file 2 of Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

Figshare · 2026

Additional file 1 of Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

Figshare · 2026

Additional file 1 of Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

Figshare · 2026

Additional file 2 of Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

Figshare · 2026

Additional file 3 of Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

Figshare · 2026

Facilitators and Barriers to the Uptake of the Med Safety App for Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions in Ghana: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Drugs & Therapy Perspectives · 2026

Adolescent pregnancy estimates, spatial distribution, and policy implications in the Volta Region, Ghana, 2019–2023

Scientific Reports · 2026

Acute respiratory infections and its associated risk factors among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana: a multinomial regression analysis of the 2022 demographic and health survey

Frontiers in Public Health · 2025 · corresponding author · 5 citations

A scoping review of acceptance and utilization of electronic health records among healthcare professionals in Ghana

Discover Public Health · 2025 · 2 citations

Stillbirth rates, trend and distribution in the Volta region, Ghana: findings from institutional data analysis, 2018–2022

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 2025 · 1 citations

Rural-urban disparity in induced abortion in Ghana: A multivariate non-linear decomposition analysis of the Ghana Maternal Health Survey

PLoS ONE · 2025 · corresponding author

Reproductive Justice: Factors Influencing Women’s Advocacy for Condom Use in Sexually Transmitted Infections Prevention—an Analysis of the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey

Sexuality & Culture · 2025 · corresponding author

Male involvement in maternal, child and reproductive health issues in Africa after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD):

Langaa RPCIG eBooks · 2025

Gender differences and factors affecting opinions on condom use and sexual experiences among adolescents in a high teenage pregnancy setting in the Volta Region, Ghana

Reproductive Health · 2025

Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and future intentions to use intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in southern Ghana

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 2025

Effect of female genital mutilation (FGM) experiences on pregnancy outcomes among reproductive aged women in the Gambia: a regression analysis of the 2019–2020 Gambia demographic and health survey

Discover Public Health · 2025 · corresponding author

Comparative analysis of the use of mobile applications versus other reporting channels for adverse events reporting during COVID-19 vaccine deployment in Ghana

Research Square · 2025

Media exposure and knowledge of the ovulation cycle among adolescent girls who experienced menarche in Ghana: Evidence from the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey

medRxiv · 2025

Multilevel predictors of anaemia among pregnant women in Ghana: New evidence from the 2019 Ghana Malaria Indicator Survey

PLOS Global Public Health · 2024 · 10 citations

Determinants of men’s perspectives on women contraceptive use in Ghana: an analysis of the 2022 Ghana demographic and health survey

Contraception and Reproductive Medicine · 2024 · corresponding author · 8 citations

Predictors of sexual and reproductive health knowledge and utilization of services among adolescents in Ghana’s Adaklu district

Ghana Medical Journal · 2024 · 7 citations

Assessing five-year trend and socio-demographic determinants of caesarean section delivery in Ghana

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 2024 · 5 citations

Factors Predicting Insecticide‐Treated Bednet Use among Children under Age Five in Female‐Headed Households in Ghana: An Analysis of the 2019 Malaria Indicator Survey

Advances in Public Health · 2024 · 4 citations

Age at first sex and other determinants of multiple sexual partnerships among sexually active adolescent girls in Ghana: a regression analysis of the 2022 Ghana demographic and health survey

Tropical Medicine and Health · 2024 · corresponding author · 2 citations

Individual and community-level factors associated with repeat induced abortion among women in Ghana: a multivariable complex sample logistic regression analysis of 2017 Ghana maternal health survey

BMC Public Health · 2024 · 2 citations

Health services delivery factors affecting HIV retesting among pregnant women at 34 weeks gestation in Saboba District, Northern region, Ghana

International Journal of STD & AIDS · 2024 · corresponding author · 1 citations

Assessing five-year trend and socio-demographic determinants of caesarean section delivery in Ghana

Research Square · 2024

Rural-Urban Disparity in Induced Abortion in Ghana: A Multivariate Non-Linear Decomposition Analysis of Ghana Maternal Health Survey

Preprints.org · 2024

Malaria Prevalence and Macroeconomic Output in Ghana, 1990 to 2019

INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing · 2024

Adolescent perception of sexual and reproductive health rights and access to reproductive health information and services in Adaklu district of the Volta Region, Ghana

BMC Health Services Research · 2023 · corresponding author · 16 citations

Multinomial logistic regression analysis of the determinants of anaemia severity among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana: new evidence from the 2019 Malaria Indicator Survey

BMC Pediatrics · 2023 · corresponding author · 7 citations

Factors affecting the uptake of optimal doses of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy using sulfadoxine pyrimethamine in Ghana: new evidence from the 2019 malaria indicator survey

Journal of Public Health · 2023 · corresponding author · 6 citations

Are fertility theories still relevant in explaining fertility behaviour in traditional and contemporary societies in sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review

Journal of Population Research · 2023 · corresponding author · 6 citations

Demographic and social determinants of stalled fertility among women in Ghana: evidence from Ghana demographic and health surveys 1998–2014

SN Social Sciences · 2023 · corresponding author · 1 citations

Correlations between Gender and Knowledge on Definition Causes, and acts of stigmatization towards Infertility in Ghana: A Prospective Cross-sectional Study at Ho Municipality in Volta Region of Ghana.

Research Square · 2023

Mixed effect analysis of factors influencing the use of insecticides treated bed nets among pregnant women in Ghana: evidence from the 2019 Malaria Indicator Survey

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 2022 · corresponding author · 24 citations

Determinants of willingness to accept child vaccination against malaria in Ghana

The International Journal of Health Planning and Management · 2022 · 23 citations

Determinants of communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents in the Adaklu district of the Volta region, Ghana: a multinomial logistic regression analysis

Reproductive Health · 2022 · corresponding author · 21 citations

Motivators and demotivators to accessing malaria in pregnancy interventions in sub-Saharan Africa: a meta-ethnographic review

Malaria Journal · 2022 · 16 citations

Sex of household head and other household determinants of childhood anaemia among households in Ghana: regression analysis of the 2019 Malaria Indicator Survey

Journal of Health Population and Nutrition · 2022 · corresponding author · 8 citations

Utilization of abortion services from an unsafe provider and associated factors among women with history of induced abortion in Ghana

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 2022 · 5 citations

Multilevel analysis of factors predicting pregnancy loss experiences among pregnant women in Ghana: a further analysis of nationally representative data

Global Reproductive Health · 2022 · corresponding author · 5 citations

Trajectories of lived experiences of people living with Diabetes Mellitus in Africa: An evidence mapping of conceptual framework

African journal of diabetes medicine/The African journal of diabetes medicine · 2022 · corresponding author · 2 citations

Factors Influencing Children Under-Five Immunization Coverage and Acceptance among Mothers and Caregivers in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana

Research Square · 2022 · 1 citations

Multinomial logistic regression analysis of the determinants of anaemia severity among children aged 6-59 months in Ghana: New evidence from the 2019 Malaria Indicator Survey

Research Square · 2022 · corresponding author · 1 citations

Motivators and demotivators to accessing malaria in pregnancy interventions in sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-ethnographic review

Research Square · 2022

Women’s knowledge of the legality of abortion and other determinants of abortion safety among women in Ghana: An Analysis of 2007 and 2017 Maternal Health Surveys

Research Square · 2022 · corresponding author

Determinants of sexual communication between adolescents and their parents in Adaklu district, Volta region, Ghana: A multinomial logistic regression analysis

Research Square · 2022 · corresponding author

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the adult population in Ghana: evidence from a pre-vaccination rollout survey

Tropical Medicine and Health · 2021 · 73 citations

Urban health nexus with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preparedness and response in Africa: Rapid scoping review of the early evidence

SAGE Open Medicine · 2021 · 19 citations

Health-seeking behaviour and cost of fever treatment to households in a malaria-endemic setting of northern Ghana: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open · 2021 · 15 citations

Additional file 1 of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the adult population in Ghana: evidence from a pre-vaccination rollout survey

Figshare · 2021

Determinants of Choice of Abortion Methods among Women in Ghana; Does Knowledge on legality of Abortion Matter?

medRxiv · 2020 · corresponding author · 2 citations

Influence Of Antenatal Health Care Visit On Modern Contraceptive Use Among Postpartum Women In Ghana

Reproductive Medicine Gynaecology & Obstetrics · 2020 · corresponding author

Components of contraceptive counselling postpartum women receive during antenatal and postnatal health care services: A qualitative approach

Journal of Gynecological Research and Obstetrics · 2019 · corresponding author · 1 citations

Antenatal and Postnatal Health Services Uptake and Contraceptive Use among Women in Ghana

2017 · corresponding author

Perception of Sex and its Influence on Reproductive Sexual Behaviour Among Young Adolescents in Poor Urban Communities in Accra

2013 · corresponding author