Improving newborn survival in rural southern Tanzania: A Study to evaluate the impact and cost of a scale-able package of interventions at community level with health system strengthening.
This project is proposed to be a three-year programme of work to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness and cost of a scaleable strategy of interventions to improve neonatal survival in rural southern Tanzania. The two-part integrated strategy combines interventions at community level with health system strengthening.
The project's objectives are;
1. To develop and
document a community-based package for improved newborn care, focused around
interpersonal communication through home visits in pregnancy and the early
neonatal period by a village-based “agent of change” linked to existing village
health volunteers.
2. To develop and
document a quality improvement package for antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal
care in health facilities.
3. To implement these
strategies for improved newborn survival in such a way as to be both
sustainable and scaleable at national
level.
4. To monitor understanding of, and attitudes
related to, neonatal care and survival and measure incremental costs and cost
savings of integrating the programme into routine health service
