Conference abstract
Neonatal death surveillance system evaluation, Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana, 2017
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2017:3(69).25
Oct 2017.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2017.3.69.175
Archived on: 25 Oct 2017
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Neonatal mortality, district health Information management system (DHIMS2), surveillance system
Oral presentation
Neonatal death surveillance system evaluation, Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana, 2017
Christopher Sunkwa Tamal1,&, Chystantus Kubio1, Edwin Afari1, Ernest Kenu1, Samuel Oko Sackey1, Donne Ameme1, Priscillia Nortey1, Alice Vorleto2, Charles Akwesi Gyamfi2, Paul Awuffor2, Isaac Addisi2
1Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Accra, Ghana, 2Ghana Health Service, Ghana
&Corresponding author
Christopher Sunkwa Tamal, Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Accra, Ghana
Introduction: globally, estimated 2.9 million newborns die annually within the first 28 days of life. Most deaths (99%) occur in low-and-middle-income countries. Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) in Kintampo North Municipality (KNM) is high. The aim of the Neonatal surveillance system is to estimate and monitor neonatal death rates, identify risk factors and high risk areas for neonatal deaths to inform program actions. This surveillance system is part of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response in Ghana. This system has not been evaluated in the past six years. We evaluated the system to determine its usefulness and whether it is meeting stated objectives.
Methods: we reviewed the 2012-2016 neonatal death surveillance data in the KIntampo North Municipality. Surveillance staff were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Registers and reporting forms at reporting sites were inspected and compared to the aggregate data in the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS 2) for data consistency. We assessed system attributes including sensitivity, data quality, representativeness and completeness. Descriptive analysis was done with Stata 14 and complemented with the interviews and record inspection to describe the systems attributes.
Results: between 2012 and 2016, a total of 175 neonatal deaths occurred. Most deaths (90.8%) occurred in the early neonatal period (0-6 days). The NMR in the Municipality within the five years ranged from 13-21 deaths per 1000 live births with 2015 recording the highest rate. Less than ten variables are required to complete a neonatal death report. The municipal hospital recorded > 90% of deaths. None of the four private facilities in the municipality reports to the health directorate. There was no evidence of action by the health directorate to address the high NMR. Data inconsistencies and missed reporting exist at community, sub-district and facility levels.
Conclusion: the system is not meeting its objectives and also not useful in decision-making in the municipality. The Municipal Health Directorate has planned to train key health staff and periodically supervise them to improve on the performance of the system in the Municipality. We sensitized the private facilities owners to report neonatal deaths to the health directorate.
