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334256
Assessment of a Newborn Care Curriculum for Resource-limited Settings: Lessons learned from Kenya and India


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Erick Amick, MPH, MA, Department of Education, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL
Sherri Bucher, PhD, Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Sara Berkelhamer, MD, SUNY-Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Carl Bose, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Ashok Deorari, MD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India
Fabian Esamai, MD, Department of Child Health and Pediatrics, Moi University, Kenya
William Keenan, MD, Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center
Jocelyn Lockyer, MHA, PhD, University of Calgary, Canada
Douglas McMillan, MD, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Dalhousie University, Canada
Susan Niermeyer, MD, MPH, University of Colorado
Nalini Singhal, MD, University of Calgary
Eileen Schoen, American Academy of Pediatrics
background: About 99% of all global newborn deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The first two days of postnatal life are the most dangerous. Essential newborn care education regarding the provision of warmth, feeding, and the prevention of infection saves newborn lives. To keep babies healthy this care should not end at discharge from birth facilities. A hands-on evidence-based curriculum was developed to train health workers on essential newborn care, who in turn educate families on key principles of neonatal care at home.

methods: The curriculum was field tested in Kenya and India in 2013. Six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), four in Kenya and two in India, were conducted among health worker and parent stakeholders. Themes regarding potential acceptability and sustainability of the initiative were explored.

results:  Respondents in both India and Kenya rated the program as overwhelmingly acceptable. Parent stakeholders were especially enthusiastic about the graphic-based family educational tool. Health worker participants noted that the curriculum has the potential to help overcome current gaps and barriers to newborn health service delivery in their settings, particularly in regards to thermal protection and administration of vitamin K.

conclusions:  Qualitative results confirm that the curriculum appears to be a highly acceptable newborn care program for key stakeholders in resource-limited settings, particularly among parents and families. The findings offer insight into the further development of training modules for neonatal care utilizing this educational approach, and highlights the need for further inclusion of parents in essential newborn care education.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe qualitative results from a recent international field test of a program for simplified essential newborn care in resource limited environments.

Keyword(s): Perinatal Health, Curricula

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I work in globally focused neonatal health program at the American Academy of Pediatrics, and I have a Master of Public Health.
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.

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