Abstract
Skills strengthening and capacity building for maternal and newborn health (MNH) providers are essential to ensure quality care for mothers and newborns. There is, however, limited research regarding what constitutes an effective model in low-income countries. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) has some of the region’s worst outcomes for neonatal and maternal mortality. Moreover, with a 23-year hiatus in midwifery training, which ended approximately 7 years ago, there is a cadre of new and inexperienced midwives in practice without support systems, skills, or continuing professional development opportunities. Traditional didactic teaching methodologies prevail in Laos, but with little evidence of efficacy. As an alternative model, Save the Children International has been implementing a mentorship approach for MNH providers in two provinces in northern Laos since January 2016, with technical guidance and funding from the United States Agency for International Development-supported global Maternal Child Survival Program. This community case study will describe and reflect on the approach by highlighting the need and rationale for mentorship, followed by a description of the program’s core components and the results observed so far. Lessons learned and the application of the approach to different contexts and health-care professionals, considering both constraints and opportunities, will be discussed.
Highlights
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia
Developing Mentors and Tools for Mentorship An initial workshop was held in February 2016 to work with 15 government-selected maternal and newborn health (MNH) providers (11 provincial and 4 district staff) to design the mentoring approach and build capacity to become mentors
The first draft of the guideline was based on global standard guidelines and fully aligned with the Ministry of Health (MoH)/World Health Organization Essential Early Newborn Care (EENC) guidelines and policy [14]
Summary
Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. The population of 6.8 million is made up of over 49 different ethnic groups. Seventy-one per cent of the population live in rural and remote areas with limited access to health services. Approximately 41% of women give birth in a health facility [1]. This is one of the lowest rates globally as cited in the United Nations Children’s Fund database. The current neonatal mortality rate is 32 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality rate is 357 per 100,000 live births [1]. It is estimated that rates are much higher in rural areas where the majority of the population resides
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