Community-based Intervention Package Research Articles

Effectiveness of a community-based intervention package in maternal health service utilization: A cross-sectional quasi-experimental study in rural Ghana.

We examined the effectiveness of a community-based intervention package that targeted pregnant women for increasing utilization of maternal health services. The intervention package was implemented in Suhum Municipality, Ghana, from March 2019 to April 2022. The package consisted of: (i) maternal health education by female and male peers; (ii) training existing health workers on maternal health; and (iii) strengthening the local community health management committees. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in May 2022. We sampled four groups of women: (i) intervention at baseline; (ii) intervention at follow-up; (iii) control at baseline; and (iv) control at follow-up. Three outcome variables were set, i.e., the proportions of women having utilized: (i) at least four antenatal care (ANC) services; (ii) facility-based delivery (FBD) services; and (iii) post-partum care (PPC) services. To estimate the effectiveness of the intervention package in increasing the service coverages, both crude and adjusted difference-in-differences (DID) estimates were calculated. Significance levels were set at the values of 0.10, 0.05, and 0.01, since the aforementioned service coverages had already been too high to have room for an increase at the significance level of 0.05. The proportion of women completing at least four ANC services displayed significant DID in both crude and adjusted analyses. The proportions of women utilizing facility-based delivery services and post-partum care services did not display significant DID. Of the three outcome variables set, only the proportion of women having utilized at least four ANC services significantly increased in the intervention group, compared with the control group. Ghana has been in the transition process of shifting the minimum number of ANC visits from four to eight. Thus, nationwide scaling up of the intervention package is expected to help the transition be smooth by increasing the number of ANC visits.

Evaluation of a community-based intervention package to improve knowledge of obstetric danger signs, birth preparedness, and institutional delivery care utilization in Arba Minch Zuria District, Ethiopia: a cluster-randomized trial

IntroductionMaternal healthcare utilization, particularly the institutional delivery, is disproportionately low in rural Ethiopia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated package of community-based interventions on the improved knowledge of obstetric danger signs, birth preparedness, and institutional delivery services utilization in rural areas of Gamo zone, southern Ethiopia.MethodsWe conducted cluster-randomized controlled trial (NCT05385380) from 2019 to 2021 at the Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance System site. We randomly assigned the 10 kebele clusters to intervention and control arm. We used a package of interventions, which included providing information on safe motherhood via video and/or audio with a birth preparedness card for pregnant women, training for community volunteers and health extension workers, and improving maternity waiting home services. Women in the control arm received routine services only. We used generalized mixed-effects logistic regression models to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on the outcome variables.ResultsThe study enrolled 727 pregnant women across the 10 clusters, with a 617 (84.9%) successful follow-up rate. The proportion of institutional delivery in the intervention arm was increased by 16.1% from 36.4% (174/478) at the baseline to 52.5% (224/427) at the endline (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR] for McNemar’s Test = 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1 to 2; p < 0.001). In the control arm, however, there was a 10.3% fall in the proportion of institutional delivery (from 164/249 to 105/190). Pregnant women who received the intervention were significantly more likely to give birth in a health institution than those who did not (AOR 2.8; 95% CI: 1.2, 6.4).ConclusionThe study demonstrates that an integrated community-based intervention package that included video-based storytelling and upgrading maternity waiting homes increased institutional delivery care utilization among rural women. We recommend that audio-visual storytelling, starting during pregnancy and continuing postpartum, be incorporated into routine maternal healthcare services to address access to care inequalities in rural settings.Trial registration: The study protocol was registered in the clinicaltrials.gov with registry number NCT05385380.

Impact of a community-based intervention package delivered through community health workers on post-partum care practices: a cluster randomized controlled trial

Impact of a community-based intervention package delivered through community health workers on post-partum care practices: a cluster randomized controlled trial

Antenatal interventions for preventing stillbirth, fetal loss and perinatal death: an overview of Cochrane systematic reviews.

Antenatal interventions for preventing stillbirth, fetal loss and perinatal death: an overview of Cochrane systematic reviews.

Atmiyata, a community-led intervention to address common mental disorders: Study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial in rural Gujarat, India

BackgroundWhile lay-health worker models for mental health care have proven to be effective in controlled trials, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness and scalability of these models in rural communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Atmiyata is a rural community-led intervention using local community volunteers, called Champions, to identify and provide a package of community-based interventions for mental health, including evidence-based counseling for persons with common mental disorders (CMD).MethodsThe impact of the Atmiyata intervention is evaluated through a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial (SW-CRCT) with a nested economic evaluation. The trial is implemented across 10 sub-blocks (645 villages) in Mehsana district in the state of Gujarat, with a catchment area of 1.52 million rural adults. There are 56 primary health centers (PHCs) in Mehsana district and villages covered under these PHCs are equally divided into four groups of clusters of 14 PHCs each. The intervention is rolled out in a staggered manner in these groups of villages at an interval of 5 months.The primary outcome is symptomatic improvement measured through the GHQ-12 at a 3-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include: quality of life using the EURO-QoL (EQ- 5D), symptom improvement measured by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20), functioning using the World Health Organization’s Disability Assessment Scale (WHO-DAS-12), depression symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms using Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), and social participation using the Social Participation Scale (SPS). Generalized linear mixed effects model is employed for binary outcomes and linear mixed effects model for continuous outcomes. A Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the intervention will be conducted to understand whether the intervention generates any return on financial investments made into the project.DiscussionStepped wedge designs are increasingly used a design to evaluate the real-life effectiveness of interventions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first SW-CRCT in a low- and middle-income country evaluating the impact of the implementation of a community mental health intervention. The results of this study will contribute to the evidence on scaling-up lay health worker models for mental health interventions and contribute to the SW-CRCT literature in low- and middle-income countries.Trial registrationThe trial is registered prospectively with the Clinical Trial Registry in India and the Clinical Trial Registry number- CTRI/2017/03/008139. URL http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/regtrial.php?modid=1&compid=19&EncHid=70845.17209. Date of registration- 20/03/2017.

Effect of a community-based intervention for cardiovascular risk factor control on stroke mortality in rural Gadchiroli, India: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

BackgroundStroke has emerged as a leading cause of death in rural India. However, well-tested healthcare interventions to reduce stroke mortality in rural under-resourced settings are lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a community-based preventive intervention on stroke mortality in rural Gadchiroli, India.MethodsThe study is a two-arm, parallel group, cluster randomised controlled trial in which 32 villages will be randomised to the intervention and the enhanced usual care (EUC) arm. In the intervention arm, individuals ≥50 years of age will be screened for hypertension, diabetes and stroke by trained Community Health Workers (CHWs). Screened individuals who are positive will be referred to a mobile outreach clinic which will visit the intervention villages periodically. A physician in the clinic will confirm the diagnosis, provide guideline-based treatment and follow up patients. The CHWs will make home visits once a month to ensure medication compliance and counsel patients to reduce salt consumption and quit tobacco and alcohol. In the EUC arm, households will be provided information on the ill effects of tobacco use and steps to quit it. Individuals from both the arms will have access to the government’s national programme for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, where treatment for hypertension, diabetes and preventive treatment after stroke is available at the nearest primary health centres (PHCs). The intervention will be implemented for 3.5 years. The primary outcome will be a reduction in stroke mortality in the last 2.5 years of the intervention.DiscussionThis trial will provide important information regarding the feasibility and effect of a community-based preventive intervention package on stroke mortality in a rural under-resourced setting and can inform India’s non-communicable diseases prevention and control programme. If successful, such an intervention can be scaled up in the rural regions of India and other countries.Trial registrationClinical Trials Registry of India: CTRI/2015/12/006424. Registered on 8 December 2015.

Capacities of women and men to improve maternal and newborn health: Effect of a community-based intervention package in rural Bangladesh.

BackgroundDespite improvement in recent decades, maternal and newborn mortality in Bangladesh remain high. A community-based intervention package was initiated in 2009 in Netrokona, a rural district in Bangladesh, to engage individuals, families and communities to improve maternal and newborn health. In this article, we present the effect of the intervention package on improvement of women’s capacities with regard to maternal and newborn health, their husbands’ capacities to effectively support them and use of skilled services during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth.MethodsWe adopted a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effect of the intervention package. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in the intervention and comparison sites at baseline in 2014 and at endline in 2016. A total of 725 women were interviewed at baseline (intervention n = 444; comparison n = 281) and 737 at end-line (intervention n = 442; comparison n = 295). A total of 317 of their husbands were interviewed at baseline (intervention n = 178; comparison n = 139) and 731 at endline (intervention n = 440; comparison n = 291). Propensity score matching (1:1) was performed and the subsequent analysis was restricted among 235 matched women at baseline and 217 matched women at endline. Descriptive analyses were performed for the covariates for matching. Bivariate analyses between baseline and endline were done for reporting women and their husbands’ knowledge regarding pregnancy and childbirth, birth preparedness and complication readiness practices and utilization of health services.ResultsThere was significant increase in awareness of danger signs during pregnancy, childbirth and following childbirth among women and their husbands, as well as increase in awareness of rights related to maternal and newborn health. There was also significant increase in birth preparedness and complication readiness practice among pregnant women and their husbands in the intervention site. Regarding use of skilled health services, there was significant increase in early initiation of antenatal care, attending at least one antenatal care contact and attending at least four antenatal care contacts. No notable improvement was observed in giving birth in the presence of skilled attendant or use of postnatal care.ConclusionsWe conclude that the intervention package was effective in building the capacities of women and in engaging their husbands positively in maternal and newborn health. This may have translated into increased use of skilled care during pregnancy.

Investigating the effects of community-based interventions on mathematics achievement of girls from low-income households in Kenya

AbstractThis paper uses difference-in-difference and multivariate analyses procedures to examine the effects of two community-based intervention packages on mathematics achievement of primary school girls from low-income urban households in Kenya. The data involved in this study were collected between 2013 and 2015 from 748 12–19 years old primary school girls residing in two major Nairobi slums of Viwandani and Korogocho. These data were part of a larger intervention study that sought to improve schooling outcomes among girls from disadvantaged home backgrounds by providing them with after-school homework support, life skill mentoring and parental counselling. Results reveal intervention effects of between 23 and 26 mathematics score points on a Rasch scale with a mean of 400 a standard deviation of 100. These effects translate to at least one school term of learning for girls in the comparison group. Effect size for one of the intervention packages was small (0.24), while that of the second package was ...

Impact of a community-based package of interventions on child development in Zambia: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

BackgroundCommunity-based programmes are a critical platform for improving child health and development. We tested the impact of a community-based early childhood intervention package in rural Zambia.MethodsWe conducted a non-blinded cluster...

Effects of community health interventions on under-5 mortality in rural Guinea-Bissau (EPICS): a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Evidence suggests that community-based interventions that promote improved home-based practices and care-seeking behaviour can have a large impact on maternal and child mortality in regions where rates are high. We aimed to assess whether an intervention package based on the WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illness handbook and community mobilisation could reduce under-5 mortality in rural Guinea-Bissau, where the health service infrastructure is weak. We did a non-masked cluster-randomised controlled trial (EPICS) in the districts of Tombali and Quinara in Guinea-Bissau. Clusters of rural villages were stratified by ethnicity and distance from a regional health centre, and randomly assigned (1:1) to intervention or control using a computerised random number generator. Women were eligible if they lived in one of the clusters at baseline survey prior to randomisation and if they were aged 15-49 years or were primary caregivers of children younger than 5 years. Their children were eligible if they were younger than 5 years or were liveborn after intervention services could be implemented on July 1, 2008. In villages receiving the intervention, community health clubs were established, community health workers were trained in case management, and traditional birth attendants were trained to care for pregnant women and newborn babies, and promote facility-based delivery. Registered nurses supervised community health workers and offered mobile clinic services. Health centres were not improved. The control group received usual services. The primary outcome was the proportion of children dying under age 5 years, and was analysed in all eligible children up to final visits to villages between Jan 1 and March 31, 2011. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN52433336. On Aug 30, 2007, we randomly assigned 146 clusters to intervention (73 clusters, 5669 women, and 4573 children) or control (73 clusters, 5840 women, and 4675 children). From randomisation until the end of the trial (last visit by June 30, 2011), the intervention clusters had 3093 livebirths and the control clusters had 3194. 6729 children in the intervention group and 6894 in the control group aged 0-5 years on July 1, 2008, or liveborn subsequently were analysed for mortality outcomes. 311 (4·6%) of 6729 children younger than 5 years died in the intervention group compared with 273 (4·0%) of 6894 in the control group (relative risk 1·16 [95% CI 0·99-1·37]). Our package of community-based interventions did not reduce under-5 mortality in rural Guinea-Bissau. The short timeframe and other trial limitations might have affected our results. Community-based health promotion and basic first-line services in fragile contexts with weak secondary health service infrastructure might be insufficient to reduce child deaths. Effective Intervention.

Cochrane Review Summary: Community-based intervention packages for reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and improving neonatal outcomes.

Cochrane Review Summary: Community-based intervention packages for reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and improving neonatal outcomes.

What are the effects of community-based intervention packages for reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality?

What are the effects of community-based intervention packages for reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality?

Effect of community-based newborn care on cause-specific neonatal mortality in Sylhet district, Bangladesh: findings of a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Community-based maternal and newborn intervention packages have been shown to reduce neonatal mortality in resource-constrained settings. This analysis uses data from a large community-based cluster-randomized trial to assess the impact of a community-based package on cause-specific neonatal mortality and draws programmatic and policy implications. In addition, the study shows that cause-specific mortality estimates vary substantially based on the hierarchy used in assigning cause of death, which also has important implications for program planning. Therefore, understanding the methods of assigning causes of deaths is important, as is the development of new methodologies that account for multiple causes of death. The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of two service delivery strategies (home care and community care) for a community-based package of maternal and neonatal health interventions on cause-specific neonatal mortality rates in a rural district of Bangladesh. Within the general community of the Sylhet district in rural northeast Bangladesh. Pregnancy histories were collected from a sample of women in the study area during the year preceding the study (2002) and from all women who reported a pregnancy outcome during the intervention in years 2004 to 2005. All families that reported a neonatal death during these time periods were asked to complete a verbal autopsy interview. Expert algorithms with two different hierarchies were used to assign causes of neonatal death, varying in placement of the preterm/low birth weight category within the hierarchy (either third or last). The main outcome measure was cause-specific neonatal mortality. Deaths because of serious infections in the home-care arm declined from 13.6 deaths per 1000 live births during the baseline period to 7.2 during the intervention period according to the first hierarchy (preterm placed third) and from 23.6 to 10.6 according to the second hierarchy (preterm placed last). This study confirms the high burden of neonatal deaths because of infection in low resource rural settings like Bangladesh, where most births occur at home in the absence of skilled birth attendance and care seeking for newborn illnesses is low. The study demonstrates that a package of community-based neonatal health interventions, focusing primarily on infection prevention and management, can substantially reduce infection-related neonatal mortality.

Impact of a community-based perinatal and newborn preventive care package on perinatal and neonatal mortality in a remote mountainous district in Northern Pakistan.

BackgroundThere is limited evidence from community-based interventions to guide the development of effective maternal, perinatal and newborn care practices and services in developing countries. We evaluated the impact of a low-cost package of community-based interventions implemented through government sector lady health workers (LHWs) and community health workers (CHWs) of a NGO namely Aga Khan Health Services on perinatal and neonatal outcomes in a sub-population of the remote mountainous district of Gilgit, Northern Pakistan.MethodsThe package was evaluated using quasi experimental design included promotion of antenatal care, adequate nutrition, skilled delivery and healthy newborn care practices. Control areas continued to receive the routine standard health services. The intervention areas received intervention package in addition to the routine standard health services. Outcome measures included changes in maternal and newborn-care practices and perinatal and neonatal mortality rates between the intervention and control areas.ResultsThe intervention was implemented in a population of 283324 over a 18 months period. 3200 pregnant women received the intervention. Significant improvements in antenatal care (92% vs 76%, p < .001), TT vaccination (67% vs 47%, p < .001), institutional delivery (85% vs 71%, p < .001), cord application (51% vs 71%, p < .001), delayed bathing (15% vs 43%, p < .001), colostrum administration (83% vs 64%, p < .001), and initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth (55% vs 40%, p < .001) were seen in intervention areas compared with control areas. Our results indicate significant reductions in mortality rates in intervention areas as compared to control areas from baseline in perinatal mortality rate (from 47.1 to 35.3 per 1000 births, OR 0.62; 95% CI: 0.56-0.69; P 0.02) and neonatal mortality rates (from 26.0 to 22.8 per 1000 live births, 0.58; 95% CI: 0.48-0.68; P 0.03).ConclusionsThe implementation of a set of low cost community-based intervention package within the health system settings in a mountainous region of Pakistan was found to be both feasible and beneficial. The interventions had a significant impact in reduction of the burden of perinatal and neonatal mortality.Trial registrationThis study is registered, ClinicalTrial.gov NCT02412293.

Effects of a community-based intervention package on postnatal care seeking behavior in rural Bangladesh: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Background: Community-based Postnatal Care (PNC) initiatives have been found to improve maternal and neonatal health. Objectives: This paper aims at evaluating the effectiveness of a Community-Based Intervention Package in providing ‘limited’ PNC services by Community Support Systems (CmSS) and in increasing maternal PNC visits from Skilled Healthcare Providers (SHPs) in rural Bangladesh as well as identifying the predictors of maternal PNC from SHPs. Methods: A cluster-randomized controlled trial was employed where 6 clusters (each with an average population of about 28,000) of Narsingdi District were randomly assigned to the intervention and the comparison group. Sample sizes for pre- and post-intervention were 675 and 702, respectively, collected in June 2010 and December 2011, respectively, from mothers with a recent live birth. Logistic regression was used in examining the main outcomes and the predictors of maternal PNC from SHPs. Results: The coverage of ‘limited’ PNC services by the CmSS members to the mothers did not increase significantly (p=0.25), nor did the maternal PNC from SHPs (p=0.11). Both delivery at a Healthcare Facility and delivery by SHPs increased the odds of taking at least one PNC from SHPs 10-fold with 95% confidence intervals of 4.52-24.04 (p Conclusion: This intervention was found to be effective neither in providing limited PNC services by the CmSS members, nor in increasing maternal PNC from SHPs in our study. Further research with proper monitoring and sufficient number of clusters is recommended.

Community-based intervention packages for reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and improving neonatal outcomes.

Background While maternal, infant and under-five child mortality rates in developing countries have declined significantly in the past two to three decades, newborn mortality rates have reduced much more slowly. While it is recognised that almost half of the newborn deaths can be prevented by scaling up evidence-based available interventions such as tetanus toxoid immunisation to mothers; clean and skilled care at delivery; newborn resuscitation; exclusive breastfeeding; clean umbilical cord care; management of infections in newborns, many require facility based and outreach services. It has also been stated that a significant proportion of these mortalities and morbidities could also be potentially addressed by developing community-based packages interventions which should also be supplemented by developing and strengthening linkages with the local health systems. Some of the recent community-based studies of interventions targeting women of reproductive age have shown variable impacts on maternal outcomes and hence it is uncertain if these strategies have consistent benefit across the continuum of maternal and newborn care. The objective of this review is to assess the effectiveness of community-based intervention packages in reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality; and improving neonatal outcomes.

How do health extension workers in Ethiopia allocate their time?

BackgroundGovernments are increasingly reliant on community health workers to undertake health promotion and provide essential curative care. In 2003, the Government of Ethiopia launched the Health Extension Programme and introduced a new cadre, health extension workers (HEWs), to improve access to care in rural communities. In 2013, to inform the government’s plans for HEWs to take on an enhanced role in community-based newborn care, a time and motion study was conducted to understand the range of HEW responsibilities and how they allocate their time across health and non-health activities.MethodsThe study was administered in 69 rural kebeles in the Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region and Oromia Region that were intervention areas of a trial to evaluate a package of community-based interventions for newborns. Over 4 consecutive weeks, HEWs completed a diary and recorded all activities undertaken during each working day. HEWs were also surveyed to collect data on seasonal activities and details of the health post and kebele in which they work. The average proportion of productive time (excluding breaks) that HEWs spent on an activity, at a location, or with a recipient each week, was calculated.ResultsThe self-reported diary was completed by 131 HEWs. Over the course of a week, HEWs divided their time between the health post (51%) and the community (37%), with the remaining 11% of their time spent elsewhere. Curative health activities represented 16% of HEWs’ time each week and 43% of their time was spent on health promotion and prevention. The remaining time included travel, training and supervision, administration, and community meetings. HEWs spent the majority (70%) of their time with individuals, families, and community members.ConclusionsHEWs have wide-ranging responsibilities for community-based health promotion and curative care. Their workload is diverse and they spend time on activities relating to family health, disease prevention and control, hygiene and sanitation, as well as other community-based activities. Reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health activities represent a major component of the HEW’s work and, as such, they can have a critically important role in improving the health outcomes of mothers and children in Ethiopia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1478-4491-12-61) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The conceptual framework and assessment methodology for the systematic reviews of community-based interventions for the prevention and control of infectious diseases of poverty.

This paper describes the conceptual framework and the methodology used to guide the systematic reviews of community-based interventions (CBIs) for the prevention and control of infectious diseases of poverty (IDoP). We adapted the conceptual framework from the 3ie work on the ‘Community-Based Intervention Packages for Preventing Maternal Morbidity and Mortality and Improving Neonatal Outcomes’ to aid in the analyzing of the existing CBIs for IDoP. The conceptual framework revolves around objectives, inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes, and impacts showing the theoretical linkages between the delivery of the interventions targeting these diseases through various community delivery platforms and the consequent health impacts. We also describe the methodology undertaken to conduct the systematic reviews and the meta-analyses.

Local understandings of care during delivery and postnatal period to inform home based package of newborn care interventions in rural Ethiopia: a qualitative study.

BackgroundDespite a substantial decrease in child mortality in Ethiopia over the past decade, neonatal mortality remains unchanged (37/1000 live-births). This paper describes a qualitative study on beliefs and practices on immediate newborn and postnatal care in four rural communities of Ethiopia conducted to inform development of a package of community-based interventions targeting newborns.MethodsThe study team conducted eight key informant interviews (KII) with grandmothers, 27 in-depth interviews (IDI) with mothers; seven IDI with traditional birth attendants (TBA) and 15IDI with fathers, from four purposively selected communities located in Sidama Zone of Southern Nationalities, Nations, and Peoples (SNNP) Region and in East Shewa and West Arsi Zones of Oromia Region.ResultsIn the study communities deliveries occurred at home. After cutting the umbilical cord, the baby is put to the side of the mother, not uncommonly with no cloth covering. This is largely due to attendants focusing on delivery of the placenta which is reinforced by the belief that the placenta is the ‘house’ or ‘blanket’ of the baby and that any “harm” caused to the placenta will transfer to the newborn. Applying butter or ointment to the cord “to speed drying” is common practice. Initiation of breastfeeding is often delayed and women commonly report discarding colostrum before initiating breastfeeding. Sub-optimal breastfeeding practices continue, due to perceived inadequate maternal nutrition and breast milk often leading to the provision of herbal drinks. Poor thermal care is also demonstrated through lack of continued skin-to-skin contact, exposure of newborns to smoke, frequent bathing—often with cold water baths for low-birth weight or small babies; and, poor hygienic practices are reported, particularly hand washing prior to contact with the newborn.ConclusionCultural beliefs and newborn care practices do not conform to recommended standards. Local perspectives related to newborn care practices should inform behaviour change messages. Such messages should target mothers, grandmothers, TBAs, other female family members and fathers.

Contribution of community-based newborn health promotion to reducing inequities in healthy newborn care practices and knowledge: evidence of improvement from a three-district pilot program in Malawi

BackgroundInequities in both health status and coverage of health services are considered important barriers to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. Community-based health promotion is a strategy that is believed to reduce inequities in rural low-income settings. This paper examines the contributions of community-based programming to improving the equity of newborn health in three districts in Malawi.MethodsThis study is a before-and-after evaluation of Malawi’s Community-Based Maternal and Newborn Care (CBMNC) program, a package of facility and community-based interventions to improve newborn health. Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) within the catchment area of 14 health facilities were trained to make pregnancy and postnatal home visits to promote healthy behaviors and assess women and newborns for danger signs requiring referral to a facility. “Core groups” of community volunteers were also trained to raise awareness about recommended newborn care practices. Baseline and endline household surveys measured the coverage of the intervention and targeted health behaviors for this before-and-after evaluation. Wealth indices were constructed using household asset data and concentration indices were compared between baseline and endline for each indicator.ResultsThe HSAs trained in the intervention reached 36.7% of women with a pregnancy home visit and 10.9% of women with a postnatal home visit within three days of delivery. Coverage of the intervention was slightly inequitable, with richer households more likely to receive one or two pregnancy home visits (concentration indices (CI) of 0.0786 and 0.0960), but not significantly more likely to receive a postnatal visit or know of a core group. Despite modest coverage levels for the intervention, health equity improved significantly over the study period for several indicators. Greater improvements in inequities were observed for knowledge indicators than for coverage of routine health services. At endline, a greater proportion of women from the poorest quintile knew three or more danger signs for pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum mothers than did women from the least poor quintile (change in CI: -0.1704, -0.2464, and -0.4166, respectively; p < 0.05). Equity also significantly improved for coverage of some health behaviors, including delivery at a health facility (change in CI: -0.0591), breastfeeding within the first hour (-0.0379), and delayed bathing (-0.0405).ConclusionsAlthough these results indicate promising improvements for newborn health in Malawi, the extent to which the CBMNC program contributed to these improvements in coverage and equity are not known. The strategies through which community-based programs are implemented likely play an important role in their ability to improve equity, and further research and program monitoring are needed to ensure that the poorest households are reached by community-based health programs.