BackgroundMany neonatal deaths can be prevented globally through effective resuscitation. South Africa (SA) committed towards attaining the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, SA’s district hospitals have the highest early neonatal mortality rates. Modifiable and avoidable causes associated with patient-related, administrative and health care provider factors contribute to neonatal mortality. A quality improvement initiative in neonatal resuscitation could contribute towards decreasing neonatal mortality, thereby contributing towards the attainment of the MDG4.AimThe aim of this study was, (1) to explore and describe the existing situation regarding neonatal resuscitation in a district hospital, (2) to develop strategies to sustain a neonatal resuscitation quality improvement initiative and (3) to decrease neonatal mortality. Changes that occurred and the sustainability of strategies were evaluated.SettingA maternity section of a district hospital in South Africa.MethodsThe National Health Service (NHS) Sustainability Model formed the theoretical framework for the study. The Problem Resolving Action Research model was applied and the study was conducted in three cycles. Purposive sampling was used for the quantitative and qualitative aspects of data collection. Data was analysed accordingly.ResultsThe findings indicated that the strategies formulated and implemented to address factors related to neonatal resuscitation (training, equipment and stock, staff shortages, staff attitude, neonatal transport and protocols) had probable sustainability and contributed towards a reduction in neonatal mortality in the setting.ConclusionThese strategies had the probability of sustainability and could potentially improve neonatal outcomes and reduce neonatal mortality to contribute toward South Africa’s’ drive to attain the MDG4.

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Globally, interprofessional education is lauded for its potential to improve the quality of healthcare and healthcare outcomes by teamwork between professionals from various health-related disciplines. [1] Furthermore, healthcare professionals need to meet the demands of the community and the country, which are caused by the burden of complicated disease. [2] In South Africa (SA), the Department of Health is re-engineering primary healthcare, advocating a strategy of multidisciplinary teamwork in the community. [3] Healthcare professionals from different disciplines or professions work together to achieve a common goal within a multidisciplinary team, sharing some common roles, e.g. professionalism, leadership and advocacy. [4] Interprofessional education may address the lack of multidisciplinary teamwork in healthcare settings. Traditionally, undergraduate education has focused on a professional specialty, with limited exposure to teamwork between healthcare professionals. Interprofessional education therefore aims to prepare learners to collaborate across specialties to provide high-quality healthcare. [5] The School of Health Care Sciences at the University of Pretoria, SA has traditionally followed a uniprofessional educational approach. The emerging need for interprofessional healthcare education was identified as a gap in the undergraduate education programme. As part of mandatory curriculum revision, the departments of Human Nutrition, Nursing Science, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Radiography identified the opportunity to incorporate interprofessional education as part of their programmes. The School of Health Care Sciences identified two areas with potential for interprofessional education, i.e. research and integrated healthcare leadership. The objective of this article is to describe the approach and process followed in developing integrated healthcare leadership modules for interprofessional education that benefit the community and to achieve the educational outcomes of the five undergraduate healthcare programmes. Methods and Results We used the Knowledge-to-Action cycle (Fig. 1) to guide and focus important tasks associated with designing and implementing the interprofessional module. [6] The Knowledge-to-Action framework incorporated information from individuals or teams from diverse contexts. This framework permitted focusing on local context and practice when adapting and implementing the interprofessional module; it fragmented the process from inception to implementation into manageable components and provided a structure and rationale for the activities involved in each phase of development. [ 6] We report on Phase 1 of the Knowledge-to-Action model, which encompasses the planning phase (Fig. 1). We describe the process of identification Background. Interprofessional education aims to prepare learners to collaborate across specialties to provide high-quality healthcare. Internationally and nationally, the emerging need for integrated healthcare and education has been emphasised. The c...

The introduction of family-centered care in the neonatal intensive care unit was identified as a high priority to facilitate bonding and attachment with potential positive outcomes for the parents and infants. The aim of the study was, therefore, to develop and implement a quality improvement initiative to foster family-centered care in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit from birth onward. A pretest posttest intervention design was used using mixed methods over 3 phases to determine the perceived level of family-centered care according to healthcare professionals and parents using self-administered questionnaires; to develop and implement a quality improvement initiative to enhance family-centered care in a neonatal intensive care unit using a nominal group technique, followed by the quality improvement process; and to evaluate the outcomes of the initiative by repeating the self-administered questionnaires to parents and staff. Various activities were introduced as part of the initiative such as early breastfeeding, early introduction of parents to their infant, open visitation policy, and involvement in caring activities. The perceived level of care according to staff and parents increased. It is expected to enhance bonding and attachment between the infants and their parents, with consequential long-term positive outcomes.