Are Hospitals Prepared to Support Newborn Survival? - An Evaluation of Eight First-referral Level Hospitals in Kenya

Overview

Journal Trop Med Int Health

Specialties Public Health
Tropical Medicine

Date 2009 Aug 22

PMID 19695001

Citations 26

Authors

Charles Opondo

Stephen Ntoburi

John Wagai

Jackline Wafula

Aggrey Wasunna

Fred Were

Annah Wamae

Santau Migiro

Grace Irimu

Mike English

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the availability of resources that support the provision of basic neonatal care in eight first-referral level (district) hospitals in Kenya.

Methods: We selected two hospitals each from four of Kenya's eight provinces with the aim of representing the diversity of this part of the health system in Kenya. We created a checklist of 53 indicator items necessary for providing essential basic care to newborns and assessed their availability at each of the eight hospitals by direct observation, and then compared our observations with the opinions of health workers providing care to newborns on recent availability for some items, using a self-administered structured questionnaire.

Results: The hospitals surveyed were often unable to maintain a safe hygienic environment for patients and health care workers; staffing was insufficient and sometimes poorly organised to support the provision of care; some key equipment, laboratory tests, drugs and consumables were not available while patient management guidelines were missing in all sites.

Conclusion: Hospitals appear relatively poorly prepared to fill their proposed role in ensuring newborn survival. More effective interventions are needed to improve them to meet the special needs of this at-risk group.

Citing Articles

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Structural quality of labor and delivery care in government hospitals of Ethiopia: a descriptive analysis.

Bayou N, Grant L, Riley S, Bradley E BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022; 22(1):523.

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: Nurses' perceptions of what is required to provide quality neonatal care in selected hospitals, Kenya.

Nyikuri M, Kumar P, Jones C, English M Wellcome Open Res. 2020; 4:195.

PMID: 32587896 PMC: 7309418. DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15592.2.

Missed nursing care in newborn units: a cross-sectional direct observational study.

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Exploring the space for task shifting to support nursing on neonatal wards in Kenyan public hospitals.

Nzinga J, Mcknight J, Jepkosgei J, English M Hum Resour Health. 2019; 17(1):18.

PMID: 30841900 PMC: 6404312. DOI: 10.1186/s12960-019-0352-x.

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