Amnesty LeFevre

Effect of community-based newborn-care intervention package implemented through two service-delivery strategies in Sylhet district, Bangladesh: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND 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. METHODS 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. FINDINGS 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). INTERPRETATION 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.

Guidelines for reporting of health interventions using mobile phones: mobile health (mHealth) evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist

To improve the completeness of reporting of mobile health (mHealth) interventions, the WHO mHealth Technical Evidence Review Group developed the mHealth evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist. The development process for mERA consisted of convening an expert group to recommend an appropriate approach, convening a global expert review panel for checklist development, and pilot testing the checklist. The guiding principle for the development of these criteria was to identify a minimum set of information needed to define what the mHealth intervention is (content), where it is being implemented (context), and how it was implemented (technical features), to support replication of the intervention. This paper presents the resulting 16 item checklist and a detailed explanation and elaboration for each item, with illustrative reporting examples. Through widespread adoption, we expect that the use of these guidelines will standardise the quality of mHealth evidence reporting, and indirectly improve the quality of mHealth evidence.

Household surveillance of severe neonatal illness by community health workers in Mirzapur, Bangladesh: coverage and compliance with referral

BACKGROUND Effective and scalable community-based strategies are needed for identification and management of serious neonatal illness. METHODS As part of a community-based, cluster-randomized controlled trial of the impact of a package of maternal-neonatal health care, community health workers (CHWs) were trained to conduct household surveillance and to identify and refer sick newborns according to a clinical algorithm. Assessments of newborns by CHWs at home were linked to hospital-based assessments by physicians, and factors impacting referral, referral compliance and outcome were evaluated. RESULTS Seventy-three per cent (7310/10,006) of live-born neonates enrolled in the study were assessed by CHWs at least once; 54% were assessed within 2 days of birth, but only 15% were attended at delivery. Among assessments for which referral was recommended, compliance was verified in 54% (495/919). Referrals recommended to young neonates 0-6 days old were 30% less likely to be complied with compared to older neonates. Compliance was positively associated with having very severe disease and selected clinical signs, including respiratory rate > or = 70/minute; weak, abnormal or absent cry; lethargic or less than normal movement; and feeding problem. Among 239 neonates who died, only 38% were assessed by a CHW before death. CONCLUSIONS Despite rigorous programmatic effort, reaching neonates within the first 2 days after birth remained a challenge, and parental compliance with referral recommendation was limited, particularly among young neonates. To optimize potential impact, community postnatal surveillance must be coupled with skilled attendance at delivery, and/or a worker skilled in recognition of neonatal illness must be placed in close proximity to the community to allow for rapid case management to avert early deaths.

Measles Eradication versus Measles Control: An Economic Analysis

Background: Policy makers choosing whether to eradicate or control measles need to know about the costs of eradication and its alternatives. Methods: This project used a dynamic age-tiered measles transmission model for 6 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Tajikistan, and Uganda), which was extrapolated to a linear model that was applied globally. Policy options were constant vaccine coverage at 2010 levels, eradication by 2020, eradication by 2025, 95% mortality reduction by 2015, and 98% mortality reduction by 2020. We compared cumulative discounted societal costs, caseloads, lives, and disability adjusted life years (DALYS) saved with each policy option from 2010 to 2050. Sensitivity analysis tested robustness to parameters. Findings: Strategies to eradicate measles in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Uganda cost more than twice as much as control strategies, but have similar costs per DALY averted. More generally, in low and middle income countries that have not yet eliminated measles, the incremental cost effectiveness of control at

Economic evaluation of neonatal care packages in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh

20 to

Initial experiences and innovations in supervising community health workers for maternal, newborn, and child health in Morogoro region, Tanzania

25 per measles death averted is similar to eradication at

Operations research to add postpartum family planning to maternal and neonatal health to improve birth spacing in Sylhet District, Bangladesh

22 to

Cost-effectiveness of skin-barrier-enhancing emollients among preterm infants in Bangladesh

24 per measles death averted. For high income countries that have not yet eliminated measles, eradication by 2020 would prevent deaths and save

Using the Lives Saved Tool ( LiST ) to Model mHealth Impact on Neonatal Survival in Resource-Limited Settings

800 million more than measles control from 2010-2050 due to averted costs of outbreaks. Interpretation: Measles eradication and measles control are both cost effective. Measles control and eradication have equivalent costs per life saved in low income countries, but high income countries derive savings only if measles is eradicated and imported cases stop.

Strengthening community health supply chain performance through an integrated approach: Using mHealth technology and multilevel teams in Malawi

OBJECTIVE To evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of two strategies for neonatal care in Sylhet division, Bangladesh. METHODS In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, two strategies for neonatal care--known as home care and community care--were compared with existing services. For each study arm, economic costs were estimated from a societal perspective, inclusive of programme costs, provider costs and household out-of-pocket payments on care-seeking. Neonatal mortality in each study arm was determined through household surveys. The incremental cost-effectiveness of each strategy--compared with that of the pre-existing levels of maternal and neonatal care--was then estimated. The levels of uncertainty in our estimates were quantified through probabilistic sensitivity analysis. FINDINGS The incremental programme costs of implementing the home-care package were 2939 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1833-7616) United States dollars (US