Rapid urbanisation in Dar es Salaam, the main commercial hub in Tanzania, has resulted in congested health facilities, poor quality care, and unacceptably high facility-based maternal and perinatal mortality. Using a participatory approach, the Dar es Salaam regional government in partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania, implemented a complex, dynamic intervention to improve the quality of care and survival during pregnancy and childbirth. The intervention was rolled out in 22 public health facilities, accounting for 60% of the city’s facility births.

Multiple intervention components addressed gaps across the maternal and perinatal continuum of care (training, infrastructure, routine data quality strengthening and utilisation). Quality of care was measured with the Standards-Based Management and Recognition tool. Temporal trends from 2011 to 2019 in routinely collected, high-quality data on facility utilisation and facility-based maternal change, it is highly plausible that this complex intervention with the mediators and confounders contributed to improved distribution of workload, quality of maternity care and survival at birth.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of these risk factors on future CVD outcomes and burden is poorly understood. We examined the magnitude of modifiable risk factors, estimated future CVD risk and compared results between three commonly used 10-year CVD risk factor algorithms and their variants in four African countries.

In the Africa-Wits-INDEPTH partnership for Genomic studies (the AWI-Gen Study), 10 349 randomly sampled individuals aged 40-60 years from six sites participated in a survey, with blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid levels measured. Using these data, 10-year CVD risk estimates using Framingham, Globorisk and WHO-CVD and their office-based variants were generated. Differences in future CVD risk and results by algorithm are described using kappa and coefficients to examine agreement and correlations, respectively.

The 10-year CVD risk across all participants in all sites varied from 2.6% (95% CI 1.6% to 4.1%) using the WHO-CVD labational policies and individual CVD treatment on the African continent.

The African sites in this study are at different stages of an ongoing epidemiological transition as evidenced by both risk factor levels and estimated 10-year CVD risk. There is low correlation and disparate levels of population risk, predicted by different risk algorithms, within sites. Validating existing risk algorithms or designing context-specific 10-year CVD risk algorithms is essential for accurately defining population risk and targeting national policies and individual CVD treatment on the African continent.Families in the NICU struggle on a daily basis and they are at high risk for mental health challenges ongoing due to the trauma inflicted at birth and during the NICU and beyond. Starting parents down a path of psychosocial support is key at bedside and can have a major impact on that infant and family’s long-term outcomes. This is the most powerful family-centered care program in existence thanks to the collaboration of three well-respected organizations-National Perinatal Association, NICU Parent Network, and Patient + Family Care.Congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN) or nevi, also known as dark moles, are present at birth. While small CMN are quite common, large and giant nevi are rare and can be associated with significant psychological distress and the potential for further clinical sequelae. Neonatal clinicians can offer anticipatory guidance to families through distribution of resources and navigation to additional consultants.It stands to reason that competency in every area of practice, including the evidence-based practice process, improves through participation in the practice. But before engagement in the evidence-based practice process can occur, Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt1 assert, there must be a “spirit of inquiry.” This column describes strategies to spark and cultivate a spirit of inquiry for evidence-based practice and barriers that can dampen the spirit.The radiograph is a cost-effective and minimally invasive testing mechanism used to assist clinicians in the diagnosis of many diseases that affect the newborn. However, radiographic interpretations can differ between radiologists and clinicians. The interpretation of findings is most accurate when considered in the context of the patient’s clinical presentation, symptoms, and test results. This column presents readers with a basic approach to reading a radiograph as well as a guide to interpreting both chest and abdominal x-rays.

Neonatal pain management using sucrose has been an established practice in Western countries. However, in the developing world, the practice is still not widely accepted. Neonatal nurses’ perceptions about the neonatal pain experience and efficacy of oral sucrose may influence that decision.

To investigate Jordanian neonatal nurses’ perceptions about the use of oral sucrose for neonatal pain.

A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to collect data from 191 neonatal nurses working in 3 different hospital settings in northern and middle central Jordan.

Knowledge and perception of Jordanian nurses about neonatal pain and oral sucrose and their relationship to demographic variables.

More than half of nurses had knowledge deficit about pain management. Fifty-five percent of the nurses had a positive perception toward pain assessment tools, and the majority indicated positive opinion toward oral sucrose usage. Demographic factors can impact their perceptions.

More than half of nurses had knowledge deficit about pain management. Fifty-five percent of the nurses had a positive perception toward pain assessment tools, and the majority indicated positive opinion toward oral sucrose usage. Demographic factors can impact their perceptions.

Evaluate parental knowledge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory infections in preterm infants.

Survey.

Five hundred and eighty-three parents of preterm infants with generalized, Canadian provincial representation.

Knowledge of RSV infection, sources of information, and parental understanding of disease risk.

97.9 percent (571/583) of the parents had heard about RSV, since they all had a preterm infant. Sixty-one percent reported having good knowledge of RSV; 19.4 percent had very good knowledge; 19.7 percent had little or no awareness of RSV-related infection. Most (86.3 percent) believed that RSV illness was a very serious condition; 13 percent recognized that it could be a major problem for their child. Principal sources of information were the nurse, doctor and pamphlets. Actinomycin D mouse Over 480 participants cited 3 or more sources of additional information-Internet, social media platforms, and educational sessions. Respiratory syncytial virus prophylaxis was a priority, but knowledge regarding the eligibility criteria for prophylaxis is essential.