Neonatal resuscitation--an analysis of the transatlantic divide

In-service training for health professionals to improve care of seriously ill newborns and children in low-income countries

BACKGROUND

A variety of in-service emergency care training courses are currently being promoted as a strategy to improve the quality of care provided to seriously ill newborns and children in low-income countries. Most courses have been developed in high-income countries. However, whether these courses improve the ability of health professionals to provide appropriate care in low-income countries remains unclear. This is the first update of the original review.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of in-service emergency care training on health professionals' treatment of seriously ill newborns and children in low-income countries.

SEARCH METHODS

For this update, we searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, part of The Cochrane Library (www.cochranelibrary.com); MEDLINE, Ovid SP; EMBASE, Ovid SP; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), part of The Cochrane Library (www.cochranelibrary.com) (including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge/Science and eight other databases. We performed database searches in February 2015. We also searched clinical trial registries, websites of relevant organisations and reference lists of related reviews. We applied no date, language or publication status restrictions when conducting the searches.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised trials, non-randomised trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted-time-series studies that compared the effects of in-service emergency care training versus usual care were eligible for inclusion. We included only hospital-based studies and excluded community-based studies. Two review authors independently screened and selected studies for inclusion.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed study risk of bias and confidence in effect estimates (certainty of evidence) for each outcome using GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation). We described results and presented them in GRADE tables.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified no new studies in this update. Two randomised trials (which were included in the original review) met the review eligibility criteria. In the first trial, newborn resuscitation training compared with usual care improved provider performance of appropriate resuscitation (trained 66% vs usual care 27%, risk ratio 2.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.75 to 3.42; moderate certainty evidence) and reduced inappropriate resuscitation (trained mean 0.53 vs usual care 0.92, mean difference 0.40, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.66; moderate certainty evidence). Effect on neonatal mortality was inconclusive (trained 28% vs usual care 25%, risk ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.48; N = 27 deaths; low certainty evidence). Findings from the second trial suggest that essential newborn care training compared with usual care probably slightly improves delivery room newborn care practices (assessment of breathing, preparedness for resuscitation) (moderate certainty evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

In-service neonatal emergency care courses probably improve health professionals' treatment of seriously ill babies in the short term. Further multi-centre randomised trials evaluating the effects of in-service emergency care training on long-term outcomes (health professional practice and patient outcomes) are needed.

In-service training for health professionals to improve care of the seriously ill newborn or child in low and middle-income countries (Review)

BACKGROUND

A variety of emergency care training courses based on developed country models are being promoted as a strategy to improve the quality of care of the seriously ill newborn or child in developing countries. Clear evidence of their effectiveness is lacking.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effectiveness of in-service training of health professionals on their management and care of the seriously ill newborn or child in low and middle-income settings.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched The Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Specialised Register of the Cochrane EPOC group (both up to May 2009), MEDLINE (1950 to May 2009), EMBASE (1980 to May 2009), CINAHL (1982 to March 2008), ERIC / LILACS / WHOLIS (all up to October 2008), and ISI Science Citation Index Expanded and ISI Social Sciences Citation Index (both from 1975 to March 2009). We checked references of retrieved articles and reviews and contacted authors to identify additional studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster-randomised trials (CRTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs), controlled before-after studies (CBAs) and interrupted time series studies (ITSs) that reported objectively measured professional practice, patient outcomes, health resource /services utilization, or training costs in healthcare settings (not restricted to studies in low-income settings).

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We independently selected studies for inclusion, abstracted data using a standardised form, and assessed study quality. Meta-analysis was not appropriate. Study results were summarised and appraised.

MAIN RESULTS

Two studies of varied designs were included. In one RCT of moderate quality, Newborn Resuscitation Training (NRT) was associated with a significant improvement in performance of adequate initial resuscitation steps (risk ratio 2.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.75 to 3.42, P < 0.001, adjusted for clustering) and a reduction in the frequency of inappropriate and potentially harmful practices (mean difference 0.40, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.66, P = 0.004). In the second RCT, available limited data suggested that there was improvement in assessment of breathing and newborn care practices in the delivery room following implementation of Essential Newborn Care (ENC) training.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

There is limited evidence that in-service neonatal emergency care courses improve health-workers' practices when caring for a seriously ill newborn although there is some evidence of benefit. Rigorous trials evaluating the impact of refresher emergency care training on long-term professional practices are needed. To optimise appropriate policy decisions, studies should aim to collect data on resource use and costs of training implementation.