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Jahan F, Parvez SM, Rahman M, Billah SM, Yeasmin F, Jahir T, Hasan R, Darmstadt GL, Arifeen SE, Hoque MM, Shahidullah M, Islam MS, Ashrafee S, Foote EM. Acceptability and operational feasibility of community health worker-led home phototherapy treatment for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in rural Bangladesh. BMC Pediatr 2024; 24:123. [PMID: 38360716 PMCID: PMC10868082 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04584-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
There is an unmet need for phototherapy treatment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to prevent disability and death of newborns with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Home phototherapy deployed by community health workers (CHWs) in LMICs may help increase access to essential newborn postnatal care in a more acceptable way for families and lead to an increase in indicated treatment rates for newborns with hyperbilirubinemia. We aimed to investigate the operational feasibility and acceptability of a CHW-led home phototherapy intervention in a rural sub-district of Bangladesh for families and CHWs where home delivery was common and a treatment facility for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia was often more than two hours from households. We enrolled 23 newborns who were ≥ 2 kg in weight and ≥ 35 weeks gestational age, without clinical danger signs, and met the American Academy of Pediatric treatment criteria for phototherapy for hyperbilirubinemia. We employed a mixed-method investigation to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of home phototherapy through surveys, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with CHWs, mothers, and grandparents. Mothers and family members found home phototherapy worked well, saved them money, and was convenient and easy to operate. CHWs found it feasible to deploy home phototherapy and identified hands-on training, mHealth job aids, a manageable workload, and prenatal education as facilitating factors for implementation. Feasibility and acceptability concerns were limited amongst parents and included: a lack of confidence in CHWs' skills, fear of putting newborn infants in a phototherapy device, and unreliable home power supply. CHW-led home phototherapy was acceptable to families and CHWs in rural Bangladesh. Further investigation should be done to determine the impact of home phototherapy on treatment rates and on preventing morbidity associated with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Clinical Trial (CT) registration ID: NCT03933423, full protocol can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-024-00824-6 . Name of the trial registry: clinicaltrials.gov. Clinical Trial (CT) registration Date: 01/05/2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farjana Jahan
- Environmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
- Environmental Interventions Unit, Infectious Disease Division, icddr,b, 68, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
| | - Sarker Masud Parvez
- Environmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
- Children's Health and Environment Program, Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Mahbubur Rahman
- Environmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Sk Masum Billah
- Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Farzana Yeasmin
- Environmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Tania Jahir
- College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Rezaul Hasan
- Environmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Gary L Darmstadt
- Prematurity Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Shams El Arifeen
- Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md Mahbubul Hoque
- Department of Neonatology, Bangladesh, Children Hospital & Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | | | - Muhammad Shariful Islam
- National Newborn Health Program (NNHP) and Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), Directorate General of Health Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Sabina Ashrafee
- National Newborn Health Program (NNHP) and Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), Directorate General of Health Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Eric M Foote
- Prematurity Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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