Journal article
Electronic application to improve management of infections in low-income neonatal units: pilot implementation of the NeoTree beta app in a public sector hospital in Zimbabwe
- Abstract:
- There are 2. 4 million annual neonatal deaths worldwide. Simple, evidence-based interventions such as temperature control could prevent approximately two-thirds of these deaths. However, key problems in implementing these interventions are a lack of newborn-trained healthcare workers and a lack of data collection systems. NeoTree is a digital platform aiming to improve newborn care in low-resource settings through real-time data capture and feedback alongside education and data linkage. This project demonstrates proof of concept of the NeoTree as a real-time data capture tool replacing handwritten clinical paper notes over a 9-month period in a tertiary neonatal unit at Harare Central Hospital, Zimbabwe. We aimed to deliver robust data for monthly mortality and morbidity meetings and to improve turnaround time for blood culture results among other quality improvement indicators. There were 3222 admissions and discharges entered using the NeoTree software with 41 junior doctors and 9 laboratory staff trained over the 9-month period. The NeoTree app was fully integrated into the department for all admission and discharge documentation and the monthly presentations became routine, informing local practice. An essential factor for this success was local buy-in and ownership at each stage of the project development, as was monthly data analysis and presentations allowing us to rapidly troubleshoot emerging issues. However, the laboratory arm of the project was negatively affected by nationwide economic upheaval. Our successes and challenges piloting this digital tool have provided key insights for effective future roll-out in Zimbabwe and other low-income healthcare settings.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, 529.0KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001043
Authors
- Publisher:
- BMJ Publishing Group
- Journal:
- BMJ Open Quality More from this journal
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 1
- Article number:
- e001043
- Place of publication:
- England
- Publication date:
- 2021-01-20
- Acceptance date:
- 2021-01-10
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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2399-6641
- Pmid:
-
33472853
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
-
1158777
- Local pid:
-
pubs:1158777
- Deposit date:
-
2021-01-27
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Gannon et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2021
- Rights statement:
- ©2021 Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
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