Networks of care for optimizing Primary Health Care Service Delivery in Ethiopia: Enhancing relational linkages and care coordination.

Introduction: Ethiopia has made notable progress in reducing maternal and perinatal mortality, yet challenges remain in meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Persistent issues such as low service utilization, coupled with poor quality, fragmented care, and ineffective referral systems hinder progress. The "Improve Primary Health Care Service Delivery (IPHCSD)" project, implemented by JSI and Amref Health Africa since April 2022, seeks to address these gaps through a Networks of Care (NoCs) approach.

Improving possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) management in young infants when referral is not feasible: lessons from embedded implementation research in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Background: Sepsis is a leading cause of neonatal mortality, despite the availability of effective treatment of possible serious bacterial illness (PSBI), including when referral to a hospital is not feasible. Gaps in access and delivery worsened during COVID-19. We conducted embedded implementation research in Ethiopia and Kenya aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and addressing various implementation challenges to improve PSBI management.

Effect of community-based newborn care implementation strategies on access to and effective coverage of possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) treatment for sick young infants during COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: In Ethiopia, neonatal mortality is persistently high. The country has been implementing community-based treatment of possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) in young infants when referral to a hospital is not feasible since 2012. However, access to and quality of PSBI services remained low and were worsened by COVID-19.

Optimizing integration of community-based management of possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) in young infants into primary healthcare systems in Ethiopia and Kenya: successes and challenges.

Background: Ethiopia and Kenya have adopted the community-based integrated community case management (iCCM) of common childhood illnesses and newborn care strategy to improve access to treatment of infections in newborns and young infants since 2012 and 2018, respectively. However, the iCCM strategy implementation has not been fully integrated into the health system in both countries. This paper describes the extent of integration of iCCM program at the district/county health system level, related barriers to optimal integration and implementation of strategies.

Care-seeking behaviours of mothers and associated factors for possible serious bacterial infection in young infants during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: mixed-methods formative research.

Objectives: Implementation research was employed to examine rates and contextual factors associated with mothers' care-seeking for their sick neonates and identify challenges for community-based possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) services access and implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: We conducted formative research involving household survey and programmatic qualitative study.

Setting: This formative study was conducted in Dembecha and Lume woredas of Amhara and Oromia regions.

Completion of the modified World Health Organization (WHO) partograph during labour in public health institutions of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using the partograph to follow labour and delivery, with the objective to improve health care and reduce maternal and foetal morbidity and death. The partograph consists of a graphic representation of labour and is an excellent visual resource to analyze cervix, uterine contraction and foetal presentation in relation to time. However, poor utilization of the partograph was found in the public health institutions which reflect poor monitoring of mothers in labour and/or poor pregnancy outcome.

Knowledge and utilization of partograph among obstetric care givers in public health institutions of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Globally, there was an estimated number of 287,000 maternal deaths in 2010. Eighty five percent (245,000) of these deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Among the causes of these deaths were obstructed and prolonged labour which could be prevented by cost effective and affordable health interventions like the use of the partograph.

A national review of cesarean delivery in Ethiopia.

Objective: To describe Ethiopian national population-based and institutional cesarean delivery rates by sector, and to describe indications for cesarean delivery, fetal and maternal outcomes, and aspects of quality of care.

Methods: The data source was the national baseline assessment of emergency obstetric and newborn care--a cross-sectional, facility-based survey of 797 facilities. Two instruments were used to collect the data for the present paper: a retrospective record review of 267 cesarean deliveries based on the last 3 performed in each facility; and a 12-month summary of each facility's statistics on vaginal and abdominal deliveries.