Integrating Indigenous Maya practices and digital health tools to improve outcomes for Indigenous newborns in Guatemala: a community-based initiative.

ABSTRACT: Neonatal mortality remains a significant equity issue in rural Indigenous communities of Guatemala, where structural barriers and systemic discrimination impede access to quality newborn care. This field report describes a novel community-based initiative implemented by Maya Health Alliance, an Indigenous-lead NGO, to address high neonatal mortality in Maya Kaqchikel communities through a quality improvement (QI) framework. The intervention centers on home-based neonatal care delivered by trained Neonatal Technicians (NTs), supported by a co-designed smartphone application enabling early identification of neonatal danger signs, clinical decision-making, and data collection. The initiative also leverages a culturally responsive referral and patient navigation system to overcome humanistic b

SUBMITTER: Venzor Strader A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12502109 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature