PTBi-Uganda

Principal investigator, Dr. Peter Waiswa of Makerere University, leads our implementation research collaboration in Uganda, where we worked with six health facilities in the Busoga region.

Design: We implemented a cluster-randomized controlled trial among 20 public sector health facilities in the Busoga Region of Uganda (four facilities) and Migori County, Kenya (16 facilities) to evaluate the impact of a package of intrapartum quality-of-care interventions on 28-day mortality rates among babies born small and preterm.

Intervention: The intrapartum quality-of-care package includes four components. Data strengthening and a modified Safe Childbirth Checklist were implemented at all study sites, while PRONTO simulation & team training and a quality improvement collaborative were implemented at intervention sites.

Results: For the primary outcome, 23.3% (n=1,491) of control group eligible infants were stillborn or died in the neonatal period compared with 15.3% (n=1,447) in the intervention group (shown below). This means that study-eligible babies born in hospitals receiving the full intervention package had 34% greater odds of surviving to 28 days, compared to eligible babies born in hospitals that did not receive the intervention package. These results were published in the Lancet Global Health. 

Read our Kenya + Uganda study report that sythesizes our findings and why we think the package worked to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns, ultimately saving lives.

Uganda Team