A Community Based Implementation of a Toolkit and Parenting Program for Improving Brain Development in Newborns

Summary

The investigators propose to develop and test the efficacy of a low cost evidence based toolkit aimed at improving brain development among newborns a rural setting of Pakistan. The toolkit will include a safe delivery kit, nutritional supplementation, and trainings on cord care, hypothermia management, aspiration and bag and mask techniques and APGAR score calculation. A simple, home-based parenting program will also be implemented that will teach parents tools that provide stimuli for brain and cognitive development in children. This parenting program covers Early Childhood Interventions for children at risk of developmental problems and covers developmental skill areas such as cognitive and fine motor, social and self-help and gross motor skills. Such an intervention package provides comprehensive care to families at the community level, with a minimal cost that can be scaled up. A new cadre of Link workers will be implemented who will provide mentoring and supportive supervision to Birth Attendants and will train parents in the stimulation program. The study will recruit 1080 pregnant women and their newborns.

Conditions

• Infant Development

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Parenting Program

The parenting program is an early childhood stimulation program aimed at newborns from their neonatal period till infancy. The implementation of the parenting program will be conducted through the link workers and parents of the newborns.

BEHAVIORAL

Low cost evidence based toolkit

The aim of providing the toolkit is to ensure that all pregnant women in the project are provided the requisite care needed from the antenatal period till delivery to limit complications and insults (both mother and especially the neonate) that can occur during pregnancy, delivery and post partum in both the mother and child. The contents of the toolkit will include: 1. Clean delivery kit, aspiration bulb, bag and mask, Chlorhexidine, Misoprostol, Nutritional supplements (Iron and folic acid, awareness about breastfeeding) and IEC materials 2. Trainings for Birth Attendants and Link workers on aspiration and hypothermia management techniques, use of bag and mask APGAR (also to parents), cord care, basic pregnancy and newborn care information

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Grand Challenges Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• Centre for Global Public Health Pakistan

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Manitoba

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• James F Blanchard, MSc · University of Manitoba

• Tahira E Reza, MSc · Centre for Global Public Health Pakistan

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-01-31

Primary Completion

2016-09-30

Completion

2016-09-30

Countries

• Pakistan

Study Locations