Abstract
BackgroundZambia’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 398/100,000 live births in 2014. Successful aversion of deaths is dependent on availability and usability of signal functions for emergency obstetric and neonatal care. Evidence of availability, usability and quality of signal functions in urban settings in Zambia is minimal as previous research has evaluated their distribution in rural settings. This survey evaluated the availability and usability of signal functions in private and public health facilities in Lusaka District of Zambia.MethodsA descriptive cross sectional study was conducted between November 2014 and February 2015 at 35 public and private health facilities. The Service Availability and Readiness Assessment tool was adapted and administered to overall in-charges, hospital administrators or maternity ward supervisors at health facilities providing maternal and newborn health services. The survey quantified infrastructure, human resources, equipment, essential drugs and supplies and used the UN process indicators to determine availability, accessibility and quality of signal functions. Data on deliveries and complications were collected from registers for periods between June 2013 and May 2014.ResultsOf the 35 (25.7% private and 74.2% public) health facilities assessed, only 22 (62.8%) were staffed 24 h a day, 7 days a week and had provided obstetric care 3 months prior to the survey. Pre-eclampsia/ eclampsia and obstructed labor accounted for most direct complications while postpartum hemorrhage was the leading cause of maternal deaths. Overall, 3 (8.6%) and 5 (14.3%) of the health facilities had provided Basic and Comprehensive EmONC services, respectively. All facilities obtained blood products from the only blood bank at a government referral hospital.ConclusionThe UN process indicators can be adequately used to monitor progress towards maternal mortality reduction. Lusaka district had an unmet need for BEmONC as health facilities fell below the minimum UN standard. Public health facilities with capacity to perform signal functions should be upgraded to Basic EmONC status. Efforts must focus on enhancing human resource capacity in EmONC and improving infrastructure and supply chain. Obstetric health needs and international trends must drive policy change.
Highlights
Zambia’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 398/100,000 live births in 2014
Maternal mortality is a global health burden and affects women of reproductive age (15–49). It is most acute in developing countries, where complications related to pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of severe disability, mortality and morbidity of women with a report of 358,000 maternal deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa [1]
This study aimed to evaluate the use of signal functions for Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) as an intervention for reducing maternal mortality
Summary
Zambia’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 398/100,000 live births in 2014. Successful aversion of deaths is dependent on availability and usability of signal functions for emergency obstetric and neonatal care. Usability and quality of signal functions in urban settings in Zambia is minimal as previous research has evaluated their distribution in rural settings. Global health experts have identified signal functions for Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) as the most effective medical intervention for managing direct maternal complications and improving maternal survival [2]. This requires that there are adequate drugs, supplies, equipment, infrastructure, trained staff to competently diagnose and treat complications and equitably distributed health facilities to cater for the needs of populations. Despite evidence of signal functions as an effective medical intervention for managing obstetric complications, maternal mortality remains a challenge in many low and medium income countries including Zambia and many women continue to die due to unpredictable but preventable obstetric complications such as hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, ruptured uterus, sepsis, and retained placenta, HIV/AIDS and anemia [3]
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