| Title: | Infection prevention and control and related practices in African neonatal units: The Pan-African neonatal care assessment study (PANCAS) |
Authors: | Irene Frantzis
Stéphanie Levasseur
Jack Huebner
Maitry Mahida
Philip Larussa
Wilmot James
Workeabeba Abebe
Crispen Ngwenya
Ezekiel Mupere
Susan L. Rosenthal
Janna Patterson
Julia Johnson
Renate Strehlau
Sileshi Lulseged
Lawrence R. Stanberry
Lisa Saiman
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA; Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Paediatrics department at Midlands State University faculty of Medicine, Gweru, Zimbabwe
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health School of Medicine College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA
Global Child Health and Life Support, American Academia of Pediatrics, Itasca, IL, USA
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
VIDA Nkanyezi Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, College of Health Sciences, Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA; Department of Infection Prevention and Control, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA |
Keywords: | Africa
Global health
Neonates
Newborns
Infection prevention |
Issue Date: | 1-Apr-2024 |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Abstract: | Background: The burden of neonatal mortality is primarily borne by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs),
including deaths due to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Few studies have assessed infection prevention
and control (IP&C) practices in African units caring for small and/or sick newborns aimed to reduce HAIs.
Methods: We performed a mixed-methods study composed of a survey and virtual tour to assess IP&C and related
practices. We created a survey composed of multiple-choice and open-ended questions delivered to site re spondents via Zoom or video equivalent. Respondents provided a virtual tour of their unit via video and the study
team used a checklist to evaluate specific practices.
Results: We recruited 45 units caring for small and sick newborns in 20 African countries. Opportunities to
optimize hand hygiene, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices, Kangaroo Mother Care, and IP&C
training were noted. The virtual tour offered further understanding of IP&C challenges unique to individual sites.
All respondents expressed the need for additional space, equipment, supplies, education, and IP&C staff and
emphasized that attention to maternal comfort was important to IP&C success.
Discussion: This study identified opportunities to improve IP&C practices using low-cost measures including
further education and peer support through learning collaboratives. Virtual tours can be used to provide site specific assessment and feedback from peers, IP&C specialists and environmental engineering expert |
URI: | https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6083 |
| Appears in Collections: | Research Papers
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