Postpartum Empowerment: an Integrated Approach Driving Demand and Delivery of High Quality, Low-cost Postnatal Services in Kenya

President and Fellows of Harvard College

Status: Completed

Conditions: Maternal and Newborn Health

Treatments: Behavioral: Delivery of a Post-Partum Package

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02104635

Saving Lives at Birth

Details and patient eligibility

About

This research represents a randomized trial of a program to improve timely postnatal care, comparing post-natal check-ups performed by community health workers delivered either by phone or in person to a control group. The study hypothesis is that when community health workers check on women three days after their delivery we will see improvements in the detection of maternal and child complications, better knowledge of complications and an increase in behaviors that are expected to lead to improved maternal and child health.

Enrollment: 109 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Women between 18 and 40 years old are eligible for inclusion if they have had a safe normal delivery of a live infant delivery at a Jacaranda Health facility. Eligible women must reside in a 20 km radius from the Jacaranda Health's hospital facility in peri-urban Nairobi. Women must provide a phone number to where they expect that can be reached 2 weeks postpartum.

Exclusion criteria

Women who elect to leave the Jacaranda Health facility before the recommended 24 hours, against medical advice, postpartum are not eligible to participate in the postpartum care study. Women and their newborns who are referred to another hospital for higher level emergency obstetric or neonatal care will not be eligible to participate. Women who relocate outside the defined geographic area surrounding the hospital after their delivery are also not eligible.

Trial design

109 participants in 3 patient groups

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group receives standard of care from Jacaranda clinic and does not receive any additional post-partum check-in from a community health worker.

CHW-Visit

Experimental group

Description:

The CHW-Visit group will receive a visit at their home from a community health worker (CHW) three days after delivery. The CHW will administer a checklist designed to identify maternal and newborn complications and will provide information about positive maternal health and care behaviors. The CHW will encourage women to return to the clinic at 7 days to receive a well-baby check.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Delivery of a Post-Partum Package

CHW-Phone

Experimental group

Description:

The CHW-Visit group will receive a phone call from a community health worker (CHW) three days after delivery. The CHW will administer a checklist designed to identify maternal and newborn complications and will provide information about positive maternal health and care behaviors. The CHW will encourage women to return to the clinic at 7 days to receive a well-baby check.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Delivery of a Post-Partum Package