Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Sep;32 Suppl 1(Suppl 1 Innovative Treatment Regimens for Severe Infections in Young Infants):S3-6.
doi: 10.1097/INF.0b013e31829ff5e5.

An innovative multipartner research program to address detection, assessment and treatment of neonatal infections in low-resource settings

Shamim Ahmad Qazi  1 , Steve Wall, Neal Brandes, Cyril Engmann, Gary L Darmstadt, Rajiv Bahl
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

An innovative multipartner research program to address detection, assessment and treatment of neonatal infections in low-resource settings

Shamim Ahmad Qazi et al. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2013 Sep.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Background: In pursuit of innovative approaches for the management of severe infections in young infants, which is a major cause of mortality, a multipartner research program was conceptualized to provide right care in the right place. The primary objective was to generate evidence and identify a simple, safe and effective treatment regimen for young infants with severe infections that can be provided closer to home by trained health workers where referral is not possible.

Research: Published and nonpublished data on community-based approaches for the management of neonatal sepsis were critically reviewed by an independent expert panel convened in 2007 by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development and Save the Children/Saving Newborn Lives. These stakeholders agreed to 1) undertake research to improve the specificity of a diagnostic algorithm and revise World Health Organization/United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines to identify sick young infants for referral, 2) develop research studies with common research designs (1 site in each Bangladesh and Pakistan and a multicentre site in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Nigeria) and oversight mechanisms to evaluate antibiotic regimens (when referral is not accepted by the family) that are safe and efficacious, appropriate to the severity of infection, and deployable on a large scale and 3) utilize existing program delivery structures incorporating community health workers, skilled health workers to deliver simple antibiotic treatment when referral is not possible.

Conclusions: This research program facilitated innovative research in different geographical, cultural and administrative milieus to generate recommendations for policy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

S.A.Q. and R.B. are staff members of the World Health Organization, and N.B. is a staff member of United States Agency for International Development. The authors have no other funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
Program framework and context of research.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lawn JE, Cousens S, Zupan J Lancet Neonatal Survival Steering Team. 4 million neonatal deaths: when? where? why? Lancet. 2005;365:891–900. - PubMed
    1. Liu L, Johnson HL, Cousens S, et al. Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group of WHO and UNICEF. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality: an updated systematic analysis for 2010 with time trends since 2000. Lancet. 2012;379:2151–2161. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children. Guidelines for the Management of Common Illnesses. Second edition. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2013. - PubMed
    1. Waiswa P, Kallander K, Peterson S, et al. Using the three delays model to understand why newborn babies die in eastern Uganda. Trop Med Int Health. 2010;15:964–972. - PubMed
    1. Engmann C, Adongo P, Akawire Aborigo R, et al. Infant illness spanning the antenatal to early neonatal continuum in rural northern Ghana: local perceptions, beliefs and practices. J Perinatol. 2013;33:476–481. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances