Dataset Information

Quality of Kangaroo Mother Care services in Ethiopia: Implications for policy and practice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Providing high-quality kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a strategy proven to improve outcomes in premature babies. However, whether KMC is consistently and appropriately provided in Ethiopia is unclear. This study assesses the quality of KMC services in Ethiopia and the factors associated with its appropriate initiation among low birth weight neonates.

Methods

We used data from the 2016 national Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) assessment which contains data on all health facilities providing delivery care services in Ethiopia (N = 3,804). We described the quality of KMC services provided to low-birth weight (LBW) babies in terms of infrastructure, processes and outcomes (survival status at discharge). We also explored the factors associated with appropriate KMC initiation using multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

The quality of KMC services in Ethiopia was poor. The facilities included scored only 59.0% on average on a basic index of service readiness. KMC was initiated for only 46.4% of all LBW babies included in the sample. Among those who received KMC, 66.7% survived, 13.3% died and 20.4% had no data on survival status at discharge. LBW babies born in health centers were twice more likely to receive KMC compared to those born in hospitals (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3-3.0). Public facilities, those with a staff rotation policy in place for newborn care, and those with separate newborn corners were also more likely to initiate KMC for LBW babies.

Conclusions

We found low levels of appropriate KMC initiation, inadequate infrastructure and staffing, and poor survival among LBW babies in Ethiopia. Efforts must be made to improve the adoption of this life saving technique, particularly in hospitals and in the private sector where KMC remains underutilized. Facilities should also dedicate specific spaces for newborn care that enables mothers to provide KMC. In addition, improving record keeping and data quality for routine health data is a priority.

SUBMITTER: Weldearegay HG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6874352 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Quality of Kangaroo Mother Care services in Ethiopia: Implications for policy and practice.

Weldearegay Haftom Gebrehiwot HG Medhanyie Araya Abrha AA Abrha Mulugeta Woldu MW Tadesse Lisanu L Tekle Ephrem E Yakob Bereket B Girma Tsinuel T Arsenault Catherine C

PloS one 20191122 11

<h4>Background</h4>Providing high-quality kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a strategy proven to improve outcomes in premature babies. However, whether KMC is consistently and appropriately provided in Ethiopia is unclear. This study assesses the quality of KMC services in Ethiopia and the factors associated with its appropriate initiation among low birth weight neonates.<h4>Methods</h4>We used data from the 2016 national Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) assessment which contains data on ...[more]

PMID: 31756225

Similar Datasets

Project description:Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is an evidence-based approach to reducing mortality and morbidity in preterm infants. Although KMC is a key intervention package in newborn health initiatives, there is limited systematic information available on the barriers to KMC practice that mothers and other stakeholders face while practicing KMC. This systematic review sought to identify the most frequently reported barriers to KMC practice for mothers, fathers, and health practitioners, as well as the most frequently reported enablers to practice for mothers. We searched nine electronic databases and relevant reference lists for publications reporting barriers or enablers to KMC practice. We identified 1,264 unique publications, of which 103 were included based on pre-specified criteria. Publications were scanned for all barriers / enablers. Each publication was also categorized based on its approach to identification of barriers / enablers, and more weight was assigned to publications which had systematically sought to understand factors influencing KMC practice. Four of the top five ranked barriers to KMC practice for mothers were resource-related: "Issues with the facility environment / resources," "negative impressions of staff attitudes or interactions with staff," "lack of help with KMC practice or other obligations," and "low awareness of KMC / infant health." Considering only publications from low- and middle-income countries, "pain / fatigue" was ranked higher than when considering all publications. Top enablers to practice were included "mother-infant attachment" and "support from family, friends, and other mentors." Our findings suggest that mother can understand and enjoy KMC, and it has benefits for mothers, infants, and families. However, continuous KMC may be physically and emotionally difficult, and often requires support from family members, health practitioners, or other mothers. These findings can serve as a starting point for researchers and program implementers looking to improve KMC programs.

Project description:IntroductionKangaroo mother care is known to help save the lives of preterm and low birthweight infants, particularly in resource-limited health settings, yet barriers to implementation have been documented. Mothers and their families are very involved in the process of providing kangaroo mother care and the impact on their well-being has not been well explored. The objective of this research was to investigate the perspectives and experiences of a mother's quality of life while delivering facility-based kangaroo mother care.MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of the qualitative data collected within the "Integrating a neonatal healthcare package for Malawi" project. Twenty-seven health workers and 24 caregivers engaged with kangaroo mother care at four hospitals in southern Malawi were interviewed between May-August 2019. All interviews were face-to-face and followed a topic guide. Content analysis was conducted on NVivo 12 (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia) based on the six World Health Organization Quality of Life domains (physical, psychological, level of independence, social relationships, environment, spirituality).ResultsFifty-one interviews were conducted with 24 caregivers and 14 health workers. Mothers experienced multidimensional challenges to their quality of life while delivering facility-based KMC. Though kangaroo mother care was considered a simple intervention, participants highlighted that continuous kangaroo mother care was difficult to practice. Kangaroo mother care was an exhausting experience for mothers due to being in one position for prolonged periods, compromised sleep, restricted movement, boredom, and isolation during their stay at the hospital as well as poor support for daily living needs such as food.DiscussionA heavy burden is placed on mothers who become the key person responsible for care during kangaroo mother care, especially in resource-limited health settings. More focus is needed on supporting caregivers during the delivery of kangaroo mother care through staff support, family inclusion, and conducive infrastructure.

Project description:BackgroundKangaroo mother care (KMC) reduces mortality among stable neonates ≤2000 g. Lack of data tracking coverage and quality of KMC in both surveys and routine information systems impedes scale-up. This paper evaluates KMC measurement as part of the Every Newborn Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study.MethodsThe EN-BIRTH observational mixed-methods study was conducted in five hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania from 2017 to 2018. Clinical observers collected time-stamped data as gold standard for mother-baby pairs in KMC wards/corners. To assess accuracy, we compared routine register-recorded and women's exit survey-reported coverage to observed data, using different recommended denominator options (≤2000 g and ≤ 2499 g). We analysed gaps in quality of provision and experience of KMC. In the Tanzanian hospitals, we assessed daily skin-to-skin duration/dose and feeding frequency. Qualitative data were collected from health workers and data collectors regarding barriers and enablers to routine register design, filling and use.ResultsAmong 840 mother-baby pairs, compared to observed 100% coverage, both exit-survey reported (99.9%) and register-recorded coverage (92.9%) were highly valid measures with high sensitivity. KMC specific registers outperformed general registers. Enablers to register recording included perceptions of data usefulness, while barriers included duplication of data elements and overburdened health workers. Gaps in KMC quality were identified for position components including wearing a hat. In Temeke Tanzania, 10.6% of babies received daily KMC skin-to-skin duration/dose of ≥20 h and a further 75.3% received 12-19 h. Regular feeding ≥8 times/day was observed for 36.5% babies in Temeke Tanzania and 14.6% in Muhimbili Tanzania. Cup-feeding was the predominant assisted feeding method. Family support during admission was variable, grandmothers co-provided KMC more often in Bangladesh. No facility arrangements for other family members were reported by 45% of women at exit survey.ConclusionsRoutine hospital KMC register data have potential to track coverage from hospital KMC wards/corners. Women accurately reported KMC at exit survey and evaluation for population-based surveys could be considered. Measurement of content, quality and experience of KMC need consensus on definitions. Prioritising further KMC measurement research is important so that high quality data can be used to accelerate scale-up of high impact care for the most vulnerable.

Project description:Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mother and infant, commonly referred to as Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), is recommended as an intervention for procedural pain. Evidence demonstrates its consistent efficacy in reducing pain for a single painful procedure. The purpose of this study is to examine the sustained efficacy of KMC, provided during all routine painful procedures for the duration of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) hospitalization, in diminishing behavioral pain response in preterm neonates. The efficacy of KMC alone will be compared to standard care of 24% oral sucrose, as well as the combination of KMC and 24% oral sucrose.Infants admitted to the NICU who are less than 36 6/7 weeks gestational age (according to early ultrasound), that are stable enough to be held in KMC, will be considered eligible (N?=?258). Using a single-blinded randomized parallel group design, participants will be assigned to one of three possible interventions: 1) KMC, 2) combined KMC and sucrose, and 3) sucrose alone, when they undergo any routine painful procedure (heel lance, venipuncture, intravenous, oro/nasogastric insertion). The primary outcome is infant's pain intensity, which will be assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP). The secondary outcome will be maturity of neurobehavioral functioning, as measured by the Neurobehavioral Assessment of the Preterm Infant (NAPI). Gestational age, cumulative exposure to KMC provided during non-pain contexts, and maternal cortisol levels will be considered in the analysis. Clinical feasibility will be accounted for from nurse and maternal questionnaires.This will be the first study to examine the repeated use of KMC for managing procedural pain in preterm neonates. It is also the first to compare KMC to sucrose, or the interventions in combination, across time. Based on the theoretical framework of the brain opioid theory of attachment, it is expected that KMC will be a preferred standard of care. However, current pain management guidelines are based on minimal data on repeated use of either intervention. Therefore, regardless of the outcomes of this study, results will have important implications for guidelines and practices related to management of procedural pain in preterm infants.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01561547.

Project description:Background"Kangaroo mother care," a type of newborn care involving skin-to-skin contact with the mother or other caregiver, reduces mortality in infants with low birth weight (<2.0 kg) when initiated after stabilization, but the majority of deaths occur before stabilization. The safety and efficacy of kangaroo mother care initiated soon after birth among infants with low birth weight are uncertain.MethodsWe conducted a randomized, controlled trial in five hospitals in Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania involving infants with a birth weight between 1.0 and 1.799 kg who were assigned to receive immediate kangaroo mother care (intervention) or conventional care in an incubator or a radiant warmer until their condition stabilized and kangaroo mother care thereafter (control). The primary outcomes were death in the neonatal period (the first 28 days of life) and in the first 72 hours of life.ResultsA total of 3211 infants and their mothers were randomly assigned to the intervention group (1609 infants with their mothers) or the control group (1602 infants with their mothers). The median daily duration of skin-to-skin contact in the neonatal intensive care unit was 16.9 hours (interquartile range, 13.0 to 19.7) in the intervention group and 1.5 hours (interquartile range, 0.3 to 3.3) in the control group. Neonatal death occurred in the first 28 days in 191 infants in the intervention group (12.0%) and in 249 infants in the control group (15.7%) (relative risk of death, 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.89; P = 0.001); neonatal death in the first 72 hours of life occurred in 74 infants in the intervention group (4.6%) and in 92 infants in the control group (5.8%) (relative risk of death, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.58 to 1.04; P = 0.09). The trial was stopped early on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring board owing to the finding of reduced mortality among infants receiving immediate kangaroo mother care.ConclusionsAmong infants with a birth weight between 1.0 and 1.799 kg, those who received immediate kangaroo mother care had lower mortality at 28 days than those who received conventional care with kangaroo mother care initiated after stabilization; the between-group difference favoring immediate kangaroo mother care at 72 hours was not significant. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12618001880235; Clinical Trials Registry-India number, CTRI/2018/08/015369.).

Project description:INTRODUCTION:Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is the practice of early, continuous and prolonged skin-to-skin contact between the mother and the baby with exclusive breastfeeding. Despite clear evidence of impact in improving survival and health outcomes among low birth weight infants, KMC coverage has remained low and implementation has been limited. Consequently, only a small fraction of newborns that could benefit from KMC receive it. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This implementation research project aims to develop and evaluate district-level models for scaling up KMC in India and Ethiopia that can achieve high population coverage. The project includes formative research to identify barriers and contextual factors that affect implementation and utilisation of KMC and design scalable models to deliver KMC across the facility-community continuum. This will be followed by implementation and evaluation of these models in routine care settings, in an iterative fashion, with the aim of reaching a successful model for wider district, state and national-level scale-up. Implementation actions would happen at three levels: 'pre-KMC facility'-to maximise the number of newborns getting to a facility that provides KMC; 'KMC facility'-for initiation and maintenance of KMC; and 'post-KMC facility'-for continuation of KMC at home. Stable infants with birth weight<2000?g and born in the catchment population of the study KMC facilities would form the eligible population. The primary outcome will be coverage of KMC in the preceding 24?hours and will be measured at discharge from the KMC facility and 7?days after hospital discharge. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethics approval was obtained in all the project sites, and centrally by the Research Ethics Review Committee at the WHO. Results of the project will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication, in addition to national and global level dissemination. STUDY STATUS:WHO approved protocol: V.4-12 May 2016-Protocol ID: ERC 2716. Study implementation beginning: April 2017. Study end: expected March 2019. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:Community Empowerment Laboratory, Uttar Pradesh, India (ISRCTN12286667); St John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India and Karnataka Health Promotion Trust, Bangalore, India (CTRI/2017/07/008988); Society for Applied Studies, Delhi (NCT03098069); Oromia, Ethiopia (NCT03419416); Amhara, SNNPR and Tigray, Ethiopia (NCT03506698).

Dataset Information

Quality of Kangaroo Mother Care services in Ethiopia: Implications for policy and practice.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Quality of Kangaroo Mother Care services in Ethiopia: Implications for policy and practice.

Similar Datasets

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