A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Provider Education of Helping Babies Breathe, in Malawi, Africa

Introduction: Neonatal mortality rates are highest in developing countries, primarily due to a lack of healthcare. This was witnessed first-hand during a global health trip to Malawi, Africa in 2023. One such way to reduce neonatal mortality rates is the teaching and implementation of quality neonatal resuscitation in healthcare facilities. In response to high worldwide neonatal mortality rates, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). Subsequently, the Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) curriculum, a subset of NRP, has been shown to reduce neonatal mortality rates in developing countries where resources are further limited. The goal of this project is to provide HBB training resources and education to hospital staff members at Child Legacy International (CLI).

Methods: A survey was sent out to the physicians and staff members at Child Legacy International to assess current knowledge on neonatal resuscitation. A video detailing how to perform and implement Helping Babies Breathe will be recorded and sent to the staff to view. Researchers will be available to answer any questions or go over any specific topics for staff members as needed. Additionally, handouts and informational brochures will also be provided to each staff member who completes the survey. After 3 months' time, the same survey will be completed again by staff members to compare and contrast knowledge improvement. Results will be analyzed to see if the videos and handouts provided helped improve knowledge of NRP in staff members at CLI in Malawi.

Results: Results for this project have not yet been collected.

Conclusions: Thorough implementation of HBB, a subset of NRP, is proven to reduce the mortality rates of neonates. Based on first hand experience from working at CLI in Malawi, Africa, the staff members knowledge of NRP was lacking. It is expected that with proper training and resources, the knowledge and understanding of when and how to use HBB on neonates will improve with this quality improvement project. And with improved knowledge and implementation of HBB, neonatal mortality rates should also decrease as has been shown worldwide by the AAP. Results and conclusions from this project are currently pending.