Effect of training for care providers on practice of essential newborn care in hospitals in Sri Lanka. Newborn-care training and perinatal mortality in developing countries. Effect of newborn resuscitation training on health worker practices in Pumwani Hospital, Kenya. Training in complementary feeding counselling of healthcare workers and its influence on maternal behaviours and child growth: a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Lahore, Pakistan. Effect of community-based behaviour change management on neonatal mortality in Shivgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. A randomized controlled trial of communication training with primary care providers to improve patient-centeredness and health risk communication. Effect of community-based newborn-care intervention package implemented through two service-delivery strategies in Sylhet district, Bangladesh: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Cost-effectiveness and benefit of alternatives to improve training for prehospital trauma care in Mexico. Alma-Ata: Rebirth and Revision 6 Interventions to address maternal, newborn, and child survival: what difference can integrated primary health care strategies make?
To evaluate the effectiveness of a training program for care providers in improving practice of essential newborn care in obstetric units.
                Before-and-after study with an intervention and a control group.
                Five hospitals in the Puttalam district in Sri Lanka.
                Eight hundred and ninety-two mother-newborn pairs (446 before and 446 three months after).
                A 4-day training program on essential newborn care for doctors, nurses, and midwives of the obstetric units in two hospitals.
                By direct observation, practices of essential newborn care at delivery in the labor room on a subsample. By interviewing mothers, immediate skin-to-skin contact and early initiation of breastfeeding. From health records, "undesirable health events" of the newborns.
                Practices of cleanliness, thermal protection, and neonatal assessment improved significantly in the intervention group. The intervention was effective in improving skin-to-skin contact by 1.5 times and early initiation of breastfeeding by 3.4 times. Undesirable health events declined from 32 to 21 per 223 newborns in the intervention group and from 20 to 17 per 223 newborns in the control group.
                A comprehensive 4-day training program can be followed by a significant improvement in essential newborn care practices in obstetric units. Of the 3.7 million neonatal deaths and 3.3 million stillbirths each year, 98% occur in developing countries. An evaluation of community-based interventions designed to reduce the number of these deaths is needed.
                With the use of a train-the-trainer model, local instructors trained birth attendants from rural communities in six countries (Argentina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, India, Pakistan, and Zambia) in the World Health Organization Essential Newborn Care course (which focuses on routine neonatal care, resuscitation, thermoregulation, breast-feeding, "kangaroo" [skin-to-skin] care, care of the small baby, and common illnesses) and (except in Argentina) in a modified version of the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program (which teaches basic resuscitation in depth). The Essential Newborn Care intervention was assessed among 57,643 infants with the use of a before-and-after design. The Neonatal Resuscitation Program intervention was assessed as a cluster-randomized, controlled trial involving 62,366 infants. The primary outcome was neonatal death in the first 7 days after birth.
                The 7-day follow-up rate was 99.2%. After birth attendants were trained in the Essential Newborn Care course, there was no significant reduction from baseline in the rate of neonatal death from all causes in the 7 days after birth (relative risk with training, 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81 to 1.22) or in the rate of perinatal death; there was a significant reduction in the rate of stillbirth (relative risk with training, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.88; P=0.003). In clusters of births in which attendants had been randomly assigned to receive training in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, as compared with control clusters, there was no reduction in the rates of neonatal death in the 7 days after birth, stillbirth, or perinatal death.
                The rate of neonatal death in the 7 days after birth did not decrease after the introduction of Essential Newborn Care training of community-based birth attendants, although the rate of stillbirths was reduced. Subsequent training in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program did not significantly reduce the mortality rates. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00136708.)
                2010 Massachusetts Medical Society Birth asphyxia kills 0.7 to 1.6 million newborns a year globally with 99% of deaths in developing countries. Effective newborn resuscitation could reduce this burden of disease but the training of health-care providers in low income settings is often outdated. Our aim was to determine if a simple one day newborn resuscitation training (NRT) alters health worker resuscitation practices in a public hospital setting in Kenya.
                We conducted a randomised, controlled trial with health workers receiving early training with NRT (n = 28) or late training (the control group, n = 55). The training was adapted locally from the approach of the UK Resuscitation Council. The primary outcome was the proportion of appropriate initial resuscitation steps with the frequency of inappropriate practices as a secondary outcome. Data were collected on 97 and 115 resuscitation episodes over 7 weeks after early training in the intervention and control groups respectively. Trained providers demonstrated a higher proportion of adequate initial resuscitation steps compared to the control group (trained 66% vs control 27%; risk ratio 2.45, [95% CI 1.75-3.42], p<0.001, adjusted for clustering). In addition, there was a statistically significant reduction in the frequency of inappropriate and potentially harmful practices per resuscitation in the trained group (trained 0.53 vs control 0.92; mean difference 0.40, [95% CI 0.13-0.66], p = 0.004).
                Implementation of a simple, one day newborn resuscitation training can be followed immediately by significant improvement in health workers' practices. However, evidence of the effects on long term performance or clinical outcomes can only be established by larger cluster randomised trials.
                Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN92218092. Malnutrition is common among children aged 6-24 months in developing countries. It increases the risk of mortality. Interventions to improve infant-feeding hold the promise of reducing malnutrition among these children. A study in Brazil has shown the success of training in communication and counselling skills among health workers in improving the nutritional status of young children. Questions were raised whether the method used in the study in Brazil would also be effective when applied in other countries. The aim of the present study was to reduce growth faltering in young children through proper nutrition-promotion techniques. The objective of the study was to determine the efficacy of training health workers in nutrition counselling in enhancing their communication skills and performance, improving feeding practices, and reducing growth faltering in children aged 6-24 months. A cluster-randomized controlled trial was carried out. The method used in this study was a replica of the method in a similar study in Pelotas, Brazil. Forty health centres were paired, and one centre of each pair was randomly allocated to the intervention group, and the other to the control group. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) module-'Counsel the mother'-was used for training health workers in the health centres in the intervention group. Data from 36 paired health centres and 375 mothers and their children aged 6-24 months recruited from these health centres following consultation with health workers were included in analysis. Independent observers, masked to the intervention status, examined the performance of health workers within the first month after training. Mother-child pairs were visited at home within two weeks, 45 days, and 180 days after recruitment. Information was recorded on the feeding practices, recall of the recommendations of health workers, and sociodemographic variables at these home-visits. Weight and length of the child were measured at each contact. The communication skills and consultation performance of health workers were significantly better in the intervention group than in the control group. The mothers' recall of the recommendation of health workers and reported infant-feeding practices were also significantly better in the intervention group than in the control group, even 180 days after the recruitment consultation. Growth faltering was less in the intervention group, with the largest effect observed among children in the age-group of 12 + months. These results indicate that training in IMCI feeding counselling can enhance the communication skills and performance of health workers. Improved feeding practices of counselled mothers can, in turn, reduce growth faltering in their children. In rural India, most births take place in the home, where high-risk care practices are common. We developed an intervention of behaviour change management, with a focus on prevention of hypothermia, aimed at modifying practices and reducing neonatal mortality.
                We did a cluster-randomised controlled efficacy trial in Shivgarh, a rural area in Uttar Pradesh. 39 village administrative units (population 104,123) were allocated to one of three groups: a control group, which received the usual services of governmental and non-governmental organisations in the area; an intervention group, which received a preventive package of interventions for essential newborn care (birth preparedness, clean delivery and cord care, thermal care [including skin-to-skin care], breastfeeding promotion, and danger sign recognition); or another intervention group, which received the package of essential newborn care plus use of a liquid crystal hypothermia indicator (ThermoSpot). In the intervention clusters, community health workers delivered the packages via collective meetings and two antenatal and two postnatal household visitations. Outcome measures included changes in newborn-care practices and neonatal mortality rate compared with the control group. Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered as International Standard Randomised Control Trial, number NCT00198653.
                Improvements in birth preparedness, hygienic delivery, thermal care (including skin-to-skin care), umbilical cord care, skin care, and breastfeeding were seen in intervention arms. There was little change in care-seeking. Compared with controls, neonatal mortality rate was reduced by 54% in the essential newborn-care intervention (rate ratio 0.46 [95% CI 0.35-0.60], p<0.0001) and by 52% in the essential newborn care plus ThermoSpot arm (0.48 [95% CI 0.35-0.66], p<0.0001).
                A socioculturally contextualised, community-based intervention, targeted at high-risk newborn-care practices, can lead to substantial behavioural modification and reduction in neonatal mortality. This approach can be applied to behaviour change along the continuum of care, harmonise vertical interventions, and build community capacity for sustained development.
                USAID and Save the Children-US through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of training to improve primary care providers' patient-centered communication skills and proficiency in discussing their patients' health risks.
                twenty-eight primary care providers participated in a baseline simulated patient interaction and were subsequently randomized into intervention and control groups. Intervention providers participated in training focused on patient-centered communication about behavioral risk factors. Immediate efficacy of training was evaluated by comparing the two groups. Over the next 3 years, all providers participated in two more sets of interactions with patients. Longer term effectiveness was assessed using the interaction data collected at 6 and 18 months post-training.
                The intervention providers significantly improved in patient-centered communication and communication proficiencies immediately post-training and at both follow-up time points.
                this study suggests that the brief training produced significant and large differences in the intervention group providers which persisted 2 years after the training.
                the results of this study suggest that primary care providers can be trained to achieve and maintain gains in patient-centered communication, communication skills and discussion of adverse childhood events as root causes of chronic disease.
                2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Neonatal mortality accounts for a high proportion of deaths in children under the age of 5 years in Bangladesh. Therefore the project for advancing the health of newborns and mothers (Projahnmo) implemented a community-based intervention package through government and non-government organisation infrastructures to reduce neonatal mortality.
                In Sylhet district, 24 clusters (with a population of about 20 000 each) were randomly assigned in equal numbers to one of two intervention arms or to the comparison arm. Because of the study design, masking was not feasible. All married women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were eligible to participate. In the home-care arm, female community health workers (one per 4000 population) identified pregnant women, made two antenatal home visits to promote birth and newborn-care preparedness, made postnatal home visits to assess newborns on the first, third, and seventh days of birth, and referred or treated sick neonates. In the community-care arm, birth and newborn-care preparedness and careseeking from qualified providers were promoted solely through group sessions held by female and male community mobilisers. The primary outcome was reduction in neonatal mortality. Analysis was by intention to treat. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number 00198705.
                The number of clusters per arm was eight. The number of participants was 36059, 40159, and 37598 in the home-care, community-care, and comparison arms, respectively, with 14 769, 16 325, and 15 350 livebirths, respectively. In the last 6 months of the 30-month intervention, neonatal mortality rates were 29.2 per 1000, 45.2 per 1000, and 43.5 per 1000 in the home-care, community-care, and comparison arms, respectively. Neonatal mortality was reduced in the home-care arm by 34% (adjusted relative risk 0.66; 95% CI 0.47-0.93) during the last 6 months versus that in the comparison arm. No mortality reduction was noted in the community-care arm (0.95; 0.69-1.31).
                A home-care strategy to promote an integrated package of preventive and curative newborn care is effective in reducing neonatal mortality in communities with a weak health system, low health-care use, and high neonatal mortality. In Latin America, there is a preponderance of prehospital trauma deaths. However, scarce resources mandate that any improvements in prehospital medical care must be cost-effective. This study sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of several approaches to improving training for personnel in three ambulance services in Mexico.
                In Monterrey, training was augmented with PreHospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) at a cost of [US] dollar 150 per medic trained. In San Pedro, training was augmented with Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and a locally designed airway management course, at a cost of dollar 400 per medic. Process and outcome of trauma care were assessed before and after the training of these medics and at a control site.
                The training was effective for both intervention services, with increases in basic airway maneuvers for patients in respiratory distress in Monterrey (16% before versus 39% after) and San Pedro (14% versus 64%). The role of endotrachal intubation for patients with respiratory distress increased only in San Pedro (5% versus 46%), in which the most intensive Advanced Life Support (ALS) training had been provided. However, mortality decreased only in Monterrey, where it had been the highest (8.2% before versus 4.7% after) and where the simplest and lowest cost interventions were implemented. There was no change in process or outcome in the control site.
                This study highlights the importance of assuring uniform, basic training for all prehospital providers. This is a more cost-effective approach than is higher-cost ALS training for improving prehospital trauma care in environments such as Latin America. Several recent reviews of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and mortality have emphasised that a large range of interventions are available with the potential to reduce deaths and disability. The emphasis within MNCH varies, with skilled care at facility levels recommended for saving maternal lives and scale-up of community and household care for improving newborn and child survival. Systematic review of new evidence on potentially useful interventions and delivery strategies identifies 37 key promotional, preventive, and treatment interventions and strategies for delivery in primary health care. Some are especially suitable for delivery through community support groups and health workers, whereas others can only be delivered by linking community-based strategies with functional first-level referral facilities. Case studies of MNCH indicators in Pakistan and Uganda show how primary health-care interventions can be used effectively. Inclusion of evidence-based interventions in MNCH programmes in primary health care at pragmatic coverage in these two countries could prevent 20-30% of all maternal deaths (up to 32% with capability for caesarean section at first-level facilities), 20-21% of newborn deaths, and 29-40% of all postneonatal deaths in children aged less than 5 years. Strengthening MNCH at the primary health-care level should be a priority for countries to reach their Millennium Development Goal targets for reducing maternal and child mortality.
There is limited evidence that in-service neonatal emergency care courses improve health-workers’ practices when caring for a seriously ill newborn although there is some evidence of benefit. Rigorous trials evaluating the impact of refresher emergency care training on long-term professional practices are needed. To optimise appropriate policy decisions, studies should aim to collect data on resource use and costs of training implementation.