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

ABSTRACT:

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

SUBMITTER: Darmstadt GL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2912547 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature