Scientists have called on the Ugandan government to adopt simple data collection methods in hospitals across the country to help reduce the number of maternal and newborn deaths.
The researchers, who conducted a study in Busoga, Uganda, found that a perinatal e-registry, which tracked data on mothers and babies from pre-hospital admission to discharge, led to positive outcomes.
The registry collected data on how many babies died during birth and shortly after, as well as the state in which the mother was admitted, their labor progress, and the kind of post-natal care they received. Without this data, it is difficult to determine what is killing mothers and babies, and how to prevent these deaths.
Dr. Elizabeth Ayebare, a co–Investigator in the study, said they aimed to have this data collected by midwives using mobile gadgets where they would assess and record the state in which the mother is admitted, their labor progress, child birth and the kind of post-natal care they receive.
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The study found that the perinatal e-registry was effective in identifying and addressing problems in the maternity care system.
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The study also found that the registry was easy to use and could be implemented in other hospitals in Uganda.
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The government should invest in the development and implementation of data collection systems like the perinatal e-registry to improve maternal and newborn health in Uganda.
Currently, the maternal mortality rate in Uganda is estimated at 284 deaths per 100,000 live births, and the neonatal mortality rate is 29 deaths per 1000 live births. One of the biggest causes of maternal mortality is bleeding, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and infections. However, the government has not collected data on these causes for seven years.
This means that the government does not have accurate information on how to improve maternal and newborn health.
One of the biggest causes of maternal mortality for instance is bleeding, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and infections but according to Prof Peter Waiswa, a lecturer and researcher based at Makerere University School of Public Health (MAKSPH) this data can not be relied on for accurate health decisions as the country has noted collected such data for seven years now.
He says the status of key health indicators is currently unknown as the government has delayed by two years to conduct a demographic health survey which gives a picture of how the country is doing to guide interventions. When it comes to new born health, Waiswa who has been doing wide research in maternal nd child health says a situational analysis was last done fifteen years ago.
Ayebare says that less than 50% of hospitals had protocols and guidelines for referral in place and mothers reported that only 35% of health workers entertained questions from mothers during admission. She also noted that 3.5% of mothers reported being slapped or pinched by health workers.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is pushing for respectful maternity care as one of the simple ways to improve child birth outcomes.
Commenting on this research, Dr. Othiniel Musana, the President of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Uganda said that real-time collection of data is not just important for mothers and babies but also good for improving accountability in hospitals to tame the long challenge of absenteeism.
While the government has for long struggled to go electronic even at the national referral hospital in Mulago which is still largely paper-based, Musana says the government could adopt such simple but tested efficiency innovations.
Meanwhile, according to Prof Claudia Hanson a senior Lecturer at Karolinska Institutet who is the overall Principal Investigator in all the four countries conducting this ALERT study, in Uganda while mothers are now and increasingly delivering in the health facilities, the country still has a long way to go to stop maternal deaths if funding of hospitals does not improve.
The ALERT study, which is being conducted in Uganda, Malawi, Benin, and Tanzania, is collecting data on maternal and newborn health using a simple, electronic system.
This system is not only important for mothers and babies, but it can also help to improve accountability in hospitals and reduce absenteeism among health workers.
The government should adopt this simple, but effective, data collection system to help save the lives of mothers and babies in Uganda.