Diagnosis and management of postpartum hemorrhage and intrapartum asphyxia in a quality improvement initiative using nurse-mentoring and simulation in Bihar, India.

BackgroundIn the state of Bihar, India a multi-faceted quality improvement nurse-mentoring program was implemented to improve provider skills in normal and complicated deliveries. The objective of this analysis was to examine changes in diagnosis and management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) of the mother and intrapartum asphyxia of the infant in primary care facilities in Bihar, during the program.MethodsDuring the program, mentor pairs visited each facility for one week, covering four facilities over a four-week period and returned for subsequent week-long visits once every month for seven to nine consecutive months. Between- and within-facility comparisons were made using a quasi-experimental and a longitudinal design over time, respectively, to measure change due to the intervention. The proportions of PPH and intrapartum asphyxia among all births as well as the proportions of PPH and intrapartum asphyxia cases that were effectively managed were examined. Zero-inflated negative binomial models and marginal structural methodology were used to assess change in diagnosis and management of complications after accounting for clustering of deliveries within facilities as well as time varying confounding.ResultsThis analysis included 55,938 deliveries from 320 facilities. About 2% of all deliveries, were complicated with PPH and 3% with intrapartum asphyxia. Between-facility comparisons across phases demonstrated diagnosis was always higher in the final week of intervention (PPH: 2.5-5.4%, intrapartum asphyxia: 4.2-5.6%) relative to the first week (PPH: 1.2-2.1%, intrapartum asphyxia: 0.7-3.3%). Within-facility comparisons showed PPH diagnosis increased from week 1 through 5 (from 1.6% to 4.4%), after which it decreased through week 7 (3.1%). A similar trend was observed for intrapartum asphyxia. For both outcomes, the proportion of diagnosed cases where selected evidence-based practices were used for management either remained stable or increased over time.ConclusionsThe nurse-mentoring program appears to have built providers' capacity to identify PPH and intrapartum asphyxia cases but diagnosis levels are still not on par with levels observed in Southeast Asia and globally

Observation study showed that the continuity of skin-to-skin contact with low-birthweight infants in Uganda was suboptimal.

AIM: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a safe and effective method of reducing neonatal mortality in resource-limited settings, but there has been a lack of data on the duration of skin-to-skin contact (SSC) in busy, low-resource newborn units. Previous studies of intermittent KMC suggest the duration of SSC ranged from 10 minutes to 17 hours per day. METHODS: This was an observational study of newborn infants born weighing less than 2000 g, which collected quantitative data on SSC over the first week after birth. The study took place in July 2016 in the newborn unit of a low-resource facility in Uganda. RESULTS: The mean daily duration of SSC over the first week after birth was three hours. This differed significantly from the World Health Organization recommendation of at least 20 hours of SSC per day. SSC was provided by mothers most of the time (73.5%), but other family members also took part, especially on the day of birth. CONCLUSION: Our study found a disappointingly low daily duration of SSC in this Ugandan newborn unit. However, advocacy and community education of SSC may help to decrease the stigma of KMC, improve overall acceptance and reduce the age at SSC initiation

Barriers and facilitators to the provision of optimal obstetric and neonatal emergency care and to the implementation of simulation-enhanced mentorship in primary care facilities in Bihar, India: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Globally, an estimated 275,000 maternal deaths, 2.7 million neonatal deaths, and 2.6 million third trimester stillbirths occurred in 2015. Major improvements could be achieved by providing effective care in low- and middle-income countries, where the majority of these deaths occur. Mentoring programs have become a popular modality to improve knowledge and skills among providers in low-resource settings. Thus, a detailed understanding of interrelated factors affecting care provision and mentorship is necessary both to improve the quality of care and to maximize the impact of mentoring programs. METHODS: In partnership with the Government of Bihar, CARE India and PRONTO International implemented simulation-enhanced mentoring in 320 primary health clinics (PHC) across the state of Bihar, India from 2015 to 2017, within the context of the AMANAT mobile nurse mentoring program. Between June and August 2016, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 AMANAT nurse mentors to explore barriers and facilitators to optimal care provision and to implementation of simulation-enhanced mentorship in PHCs in Bihar. Data were analyzed using the thematic content approach. RESULTS: Mentors identified numerous factors affecting care provision and mentorship, many of which were interdependent. Such barriers included human resource shortages, nurse-nurse hierarchy, distance between labor and training rooms, cultural norms, and low skill level and resistance to change among mentees. In contrast, physical resource shortages, doctor-nurse hierarchy, corruption, and violence against providers posed barriers to care provision alone. Facilitators included improved skills and confidence among providers, inclusion of doctors in training, increased training frequency, establishment of strong mentor-mentee relationships, administrative support, and nursing supervision and feedback. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified many interrelated factors affecting care provision and mentorship in Bihar. The mentoring program was not designed to address several barriers, including resource shortages, facility infrastructure, corruption, and cultural norms. These require government support, community awareness, and other systemic changes. Programs may be adapted to address some barriers beyond knowledge and skill deficiencies, notably hierarchy, violence against providers, and certain cultural taboos. An in-depth understanding of barriers and facilitators is essential to enable the design of targeted interventions to improve maternal and neonatal survival in Bihar and related contexts

Factors Influencing Mental Health Outcomes of University Personnel During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Previous research links the COVID-19 pandemic to negative effects on physical and mental health; however, little is known about how those effects can be mitigated. Additionally, college campuses experience mental health issues regularly, which were heightened during the pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of mental health within a university community and identify factors associated with excessive worry during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as mental health, resilience, grit, and other demographic factors. Methods: A questionnaire examining five domains (demographics, COVID-19 distancing behaviors, physical, mental, and social and economic health) was created, validated, and distributed to a college campus in the Southeastern United States. Unadjusted and adjusted ordinal logistic regression models were used to examine the cross-sectional association between worry and mental health measures while controlling for resilience and grit. Results: Participants (n=162) experienced varying levels of stress, anxiety, and depression with moderate levels of resilience (mean=3.76±0.59) and grit (mean=3.32±0.38) and some level of pandemic-related worry. Participants with mild anxiety and stress, and moderate/severe anxiety, stress, and depression were more worried, mitigated by resiliency. Conclusion: Resiliency is an important mitigating factor for mental health; college/university campuses should prioritize establishing resilience within their community

Logistical, cultural, and structural barriers to immediate neonatal care and neonatal resuscitation in Bihar, India.

BACKGROUND: In India, the neonatal mortality rate is nearly double the Sustainable Development Goal target with more than half of neonatal deaths occurring in only four states, one of which is Bihar. Evaluations of immediate neonatal care and neonatal resuscitation skills in Bihar have demonstrated a need for significant improvement. However, barriers to evidence based practices in clinical care remain incompletely characterized. METHODS: To better understand such barriers, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 nurses who participated as mentors in the AMANAT maternal and child health quality improvement project, implemented by CARE India and the Government of Bihar. Nurse-mentors worked in primary health centers throughout Bihar facilitating PRONTO International emergency obstetric and neonatal simulations for nurse-mentees in addition to providing direct supervision of clinical care. Interviews focused on mentors' perceptions of barriers to evidence based practices in immediate neonatal care and neonatal resuscitation faced by mentees employed at Bihar's rural primary health centers. Data was analyzed using the thematic content approach. RESULTS: Mentors identified numerous interacting logistical, cultural, and structural barriers to care. Logistical barriers included poor facility layout, supply issues, human resource shortages, and problems with the local referral system. Cultural barriers included norms such as male infant preference, traditional clinical practices, hierarchy in the labor room, and interpersonal relations amongst staff as well as with patients' relatives. Poverty was described as an overarching structural barrier. CONCLUSION: Interacting logistical, cultural and structural barriers affect all aspects of immediate neonatal care and resuscitation in Bihar. These barriers must be addressed in any intervention focused on improving providers' clinical skills. Strategic local partnerships are vital to addressing such barriers and to contextualizing skills-based trainings developed in Western contexts to achieve the desired impact of reducing neonatal mortality