Evaluation of an obstetric and neonatal care upskilling program for community health workers in Papua New Guinea.

Background: 60% of women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) give birth unsupervised and outside of a health facility, contributing to high national maternal and perinatal mortality rates. We evaluated a practical, hospital-based on-the-job training program implemented by local health authorities in PNG between 2013 and 2019 aimed at addressing this challenge by upskilling community health workers (CHWs) to provide quality maternal and newborn care in rural health facilities.

Methods: Two provinces, the Eastern Highlands and Simbu Provinces, were included in the study.