Naushero Feroze Neonatal Survival Project

Summary

The present study will be carried out in close collaboration with the National Program for Lady Health Workers, a Ministry of Health program with 100,000 Lady Health Workers covering 60% of the rural population of Pakistan. A team of Lady Health Workers and a Traditional Birth Attendant will provide care to the mothers and newborns at household level. A Basic Health Unit will take care of non complicated referrals and provide injectable antibiotics for neonatal sepsis. Complicated (definitions given in methods section) cases will be referred by the LHWs/BHUs to the District Headquarter Hospital which will have a functioning neonatal care unit. The District Health Services, Naushero Feroz, Provincial Department of Health, Sindh and the Federal Ministry of Health are study collaborators, therefore, guaranteeing scaling up of interventions at national level.

Hypothesis:

In comparison to a basic package of existing training program of LHWs, enhanced training of LHWs and TBAs in the early recognition and management of birth asphyxia, serious newborn infections and LBW (combined with prompt referral) will result in an additional 30% reduction in neonatal mortality.

Conditions

• Birth Asphyxia
• Very Low Birth Weight Baby
• Neonatal Sepsis

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Intervention

The LHWs of the selected intervention areas would receive additional training on ENC for identification, management and referral for birth asphyxia, lbw and neonatal sepsis.

BEHAVIORAL

Control

The LHWs in the control areas would perform their routine tasks as assigned to them by their program

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Save the Children

  collaborator OTHER

• Pakistan Ministry of Health

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Aga Khan University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sajid B Soofi, MBBS, FCPS · Aga Khan University

• Zulfiqar A Bhutta, PhD · Aga Khan University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

1 Day

Max Age

28 Days

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-03-31

Primary Completion

2013-01-31

Completion

2013-01-31

Countries

• Pakistan