Partnering with the National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh.....
... to achieve impact at scale with science and data driven decision making and programme implementation.
The State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) with a population of 200 million accounts for over 200,000 newborn deaths and 17,000 maternal deaths annually. Consequently, UP accounts for more than a quarter of preventable deaths in India, and almost 7% of newborn and maternal death burden globally. To create systemic solutions for impact at scale, the UP chapter of the National Health Mission (the Mission) and CEL have formed a partnership towards achieving the common goal of better health outcomes for the State.
Aims of the Collaboration
Foster a culture of scientific enquiry and evidence-driven decision making
Build scientific evidence of risk factors & interventions for public health in UP
Introduce community-centric designs to strengthen outreach and impact behaviours
Areas of Focus
Integrate epidemiological approaches to guide public health programming and policy design.
Bridge the 'science to service gap' in institutionalising evidence-based interventions.
Enculturate innovation and continuous quality improvement at scale with implementation science.
The Kangaroo Care Project - a partnership of the Mission and CEL
This is a pioneering initiative uniquely co-designed by the partners with the goal of universalising Kangaroo Care across UP to achieve 25% reduction in neonatal mortality and better long-term development outcomes for the children of UP. The Project involves applying the principles of implementation science to institutionalise Kangaroo Care within health facilities, improving community uptake and adherence to Kangaroo Care, and promote special care and follow-up of low birth infants.
The Project was recently selected as a national best practice through a competitive process by Government of India. The UP Team presented at the '4th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care System in India' organised at Indore, Madhya Pradesh on July 6-8, 2017.
UP is now in the process of scaling up The Kangaroo Care Project to 70 districts across the state by the end of 2018.
The approach and progress of The Kangaroo Care Project is shared below:
Project's recent initiatives:
Kangaroo Care Lounge - beautifully designed colourful and comfortable spaces providing the most vulnerable newborns and mothers a safe haven within the healthcare facilities.
Kangaroo Care Lounges have now been launched at all major District Women's Hospitals in the State, incorporating the emerging best practices from initially set up Lounges. A district-wide model for setting up Kangaroo Care Lounges at lower care facilities through to the community is also underway.
Inauguration of Kangaroo Care Lounges at 25 District Women's Hospitals across UP by Hon'ble Minister for Family Welfare and Women and Child Development, Dr. Rita B Joshi on 6th June, 2017. A glimpse of the event.
Inauguration of the new Kangaroo Care Lounge in Veerangana Avantibai Hospital, Lucknow by the Hon'ble Minister for Health Shri Sidharth Nath Singh, on 28th Dec 2017.
Kangaroo Care Stories
Mentions of the Team's Work in the Media
The Financial Times, London, carried an in-depth article on the Kangaroo Care Project in its special edition on Maternal and Child Health in November, 2016: click here
The Asian Age carried an article on the launch of 25 Kangaroo Care Lounges in Uttar Pradesh on 6th June, 2017: click here
The Hindustan Times carried an article on the launch of 25 Kangaroo Care Lounges in Uttar Pradesh on 6th June, 2017: click here
The Hindustan Times carried an article on an abandoned newborn baby who received Kangaroo Care at the Kangaroo Care Lounge in Veerangana Avantibai Hospital in Lucknow, on 4th April, 2017: click here
The Hindustan Times carried an article on the 'Hug of Life' campaign for raising awareness about Kangaroo Care organised at the Lucknow Mahotsav in December, 2016: click here
The Hindustan Times carried an in-depth article on Kangaroo Care and the experience of mothers in the inaugural Kangaroo Care Lounge in Veerangana Avantibai District Women's Hospital, Lucknow on 7th September, 2016: click here
The Hindustan Times carried an article on the community based research being done by the team on the effects of massage with cold pressed sunflower seed oil on newborn mortality, on 2nd August, 2015: click here
Scientific Publications of the Team
AMANHI Maternal Morbidity study group. (2016). Burden of severe maternal morbidity and association with adverse birth outcomes in sub–Saharan Africa and south Asia: protocol for a prospective cohort study. Journal of Global Health, 6(2), 020601. Click here
AMANHI study group. Maternal, neonatal deaths and stillbirths mortality cohort study. (2016). Burden, timing and causes of maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths in sub–Saharan Africa and South Asia: protocol for a prospective cohort study. Journal of Global Health, 6(2), 020602. Click here
Kumar, V., Ghosh AK., et al. (2015). Enculturating science: Community-centric design of behaviour change interactions for accelerating health impact. Seminars in Perinatology. Click here
Hirschhorn, L. R., Semrau, K., Kumar, V.,.......Gawande, A. (2015). Learning before leaping: integration of an adaptive study design process prior to initiation of BetterBirth, a large-scale randomized controlled trial in Uttar Pradesh, India. Implementation Science : IS, 10, 117. Click here
Feldman, Candace & L. Darmstadt, Gary & Kumar, Vishwajeet & Ruger, Jennifer. (2015). Women’s Political Participation and Health: A Health Capability Study in Rural India. Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law. in press. Click here
Leitao, J., Chandramohan, D., Byass, P., Jakob, R., Kumar, V., … Mathai, M. (2013). Revising the WHO verbal autopsy instrument to facilitate routine cause-of-death monitoring. Global Health Action, 6, 10.3402/gha.v6i0.21518. Click here
Willis, JR., Kumar, V., Mohanty, S., Kumar, A., Singh, JV.,.....Santosham, M., Darmstadt, GL., for the Saksham Study Group. (2011). Utilization and perceptions of neonatal healthcare providers in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, Volume 23, Issue 4, 1 Pages 487–494. Click here
Lee, A. C., Lawn, J. E., Cousens, S., Kumar, V., Osrin, D., Bhutta, Z. A., … Darmstadt, G. L. (2009). Linking families and facilities for care at birth: What works to avert intrapartum-related deaths? International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: The Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 107(Suppl 1), S65–S88. Click here