Deadline: 26-Nov-22
The Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, World Health Organization is currently soliciting Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to develop a data management system and support overall data management work of immediate Kangaroo Mother Care Implementation Research in four countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria).
The benefits of KMC (continuous skin-to-skin contact and exclusive breastfeeding) are now well documented. Compared to stable low birth weight infants (<2000 g at birth) who received conventional neonatal care in an incubator or a radiant warmer, KMC has been reported to reduce neonatal mortality by 40%. In addition, KMC is associated with improved weight gain, fewer infections rate, higher coverage of exclusive breastfeeding. Furthermore, a WHO-coordinated multi-country randomized controlled trial in five countries showed that KMC, initiated immediately after birth, reduces neonatal mortality by 25% in LBW infants between 1 to <1.8 kg. Estimates suggest that universal initiation of KMC immediately after birth could prevent 150,000 deaths globally.
Aims
The aim of this study is to develop a model for integrating immediate KMC into existing health systems for preterm or LBW infants. This will follow three steps:
- adapting Level 2 NICU to accommodate mothers and thereby become Mother-Newborn Special Care Units (M-SNCUs);
- scaling up the model using a stepped-wedge design and evaluating its impact on neonatal mortality and other outcomes;
- supporting States to further integrate immediate KMC into other KMC scale-up activities. This study will be conducted in two phases. In a model development phase, an implementation model will be developed in each health administrative area (such as 1-2 districts) in each participating site. The final model will be scaled up across multiple health administrative areas in each country; the impact on neonatal mortality and other important outcomes will be evaluated through a step wedge design.
Areas
This call for expressions of interest only focuses on seeking interest on the work in the following areas:
- Support finalization of study instruments (Core variable tables, Case Report Forms)
- Developing a dedicated common data management system across all sites
- Conducting UAT (user acceptance testing) for all study sites
- Providing training and guidance for all sites to set up the data management platform
- Providing ongoing support for the data management platform till the end of data collection
- Provide quality assurance of data and report to WHO data coordination centre monthly
Eligibility Criteria
- The institution should be independent of the actual implementation of the study i.e., the institution may have a specific role as a collaborative partner in the study however the institution should neither be collecting data nor supporting the provision of interventions.
- Previous experience in designing and developing a data management system for research studies
- Previous experience in coordinating data management of research studies
For more information, visit https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/call-for-expression-of-interest–data-management-support-for-immediate-kangaroo-mother-care-implementation-study
