The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #45533

Remi Sogunro, MD, MPH, Integrated Approaches to Child Health Technical Focus Area, BASICS, 1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209, (703) 312-6868, rsogunro@basics.org, Peter Winch, MD, MPH, Department of International Health/Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, and Karen LeBan, CORE Group, 220 I Street, NE, Suite 270, Washington, DC 20009.

Background: In countries with high childhood mortality rates, the majority of children die at home. Improving the quality of care at health facilities alone will not reduce childhood mortality significantly. To address this shortfall BASICS II, the CORE Group and other stakeholders aimed to develop an implementation framework for Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (C-IMCI) that could address barriers in the community. Methodology: Child survival programs that achieved successful reductions in child mortality were reviewed. Lessons learned were synthesized, reviewed, and a meeting was held to develop consensus on a common framework. Results: The C-IMCI framework addresses the issue of “how” programs can be implemented at the community level, focusing on institutions or groups with critical roles in promoting appropriate childcare, illness prevention/recognition, home care, care-seeking, and treatment compliance. C-IMCI is the optimization of a multi-sectoral platform for sustainable child health and nutrition that includes three linked elements: 1: Improving partnerships between health facilities and communities. 2: Increasing appropriate and accessible health care and information from community-based providers. 3: Integrating promotion of key family practices critical for child health nutrition. Conclusions: In order to make changes in mortality levels of children in many countries there needs to be a concerted effort to involve the community to improve 1) use of formal health services, including fixed facilities and outreach services; 2) appropriate care and counseling from private and informal sector providers where many individuals seek care; and 3) home practices of parents and other caretakers of children at community level.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the need for community-based child health interventions to address key gaps in the pathway to survival leading to child mortality.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.