142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

307595
Understanding newborn hygiene practices in the home and community in rural Cambodia

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Alessandra Bazzano, PhD, MPH , Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA
Richard Oberhelman, MD
Var Chivorn, MD, MPH , Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Purpose: Cambodia is unlikely to meet its Millennium Development Goal target of 12 newborn deaths/1,000 live births by 2015 given that the newborn mortality rate has plateued and is 40/1,000 in certain areas. Formative research was conducted at community and first level facility (health center) to ascertain the underlying behavioral and sociocultural aspects that contribute to newborn survival. Particularly of interest were hygiene practices around birth in facility and referral to higher level care of ill newborns.

Methods: A rapid ethnographic approach was used and consisted of semistructured interviews, focus group discussions and observation with health center staff, families of infants, and Village Health Support Group volunteers.

Results: We found barriers to optimal hygiene and sanitation in the Health Center and home environment; suboptimal Health Center staff practices in hygiene and recognizing danger signs for newborn illness; families unable to recognize danger signs of newborn illness; and barriers to care seeking for newborns in the community.

Conclusion: Behavioral interventions which aim to reduce newborn mortality in the context of first level facility births should 1) include community-to-facility linked referral systems and 2) focus on creating an enabling environment for optimal hygiene practices such as handwashing by anyone coming into contact with the newborn, laundering of linens used for newborns, and clean birth practices.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe newborn care practices at the home and community level in rural Cambodian households with newborn children. Formulate potential messages and channels for dissemination of improved care practices.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I developed the research, carried it out and analyzed all data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.