Capacity-Building Strategies for Frontline Health Workers

Systematic, Quality, On-the-Job, Peer-Led Clinical Mentorship Improves Health Worker Knowledge, Quality of RMNCAH Services, Patient Satisfaction, Health Service Utilization, and Positive Health Outcomes in Rural Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates. Lack of quality and disrupted delivery of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) services have been identified as the main contributing factors. While the high rate of teenage pregnancy and delays in seeking care contribute to the problem, pregnant women often do not receive adequate treatment at health facilities. In 2017, 79% of maternal deaths occurred in a health facility, suggestive of poor quality of service delivery. Limited access to training, particularly for rural health workers, has been identified as a limiting factor in the delivery of quality health care in Sierra Leone.

Coaching and Mentoring as a Supplemental Approach to Building Capacity of Health Workers in Primary Care Facilities in Lumbini and Karnali Province of Nepal 

Knowledge and skills of health service providers must be routinely refreshed and practiced. One alternative to relying solely on classroom or clinic-based training is to strengthen knowledge and skills through on-site coaching and mentoring. On-site coaching allows participants to improve their skills and creates opportunities to make broader improvements in the workplace. Health workers and managers in Karnali and Lumbini Provinces of Nepal were provided with regular coaching sessions to enhance their skills. A qualitative review was conducted to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of coaching and mentoring.

Interdisciplinary Education for Newborn Care: Building Dynamic Teams to Drive Collaborative, Coordinated, Effective Implementation 

Global interest has pivoted to support improvement in quality of newborn care. Women are encouraged to deliver in health units attended by a skilled team. But who are the team, how are they trained, and is appropriate equipment available? Traditionally the team is doctors and nurses, but they are members of a large group of interdependent experts from other disciplines. Each discipline trains separately, yet the goal of good neonatal care is common to all. To achieve this goal, we must learn together, understand and value each other's roles, and become a cohesive, effective team.

Centers of Excellence Strategy Improves the Provision of High-Quality Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Care across the Community to Hospital Continuum 

Between October 2017 and June 2021, JSI Research and Training Institute Inc.'s The Last Ten Kilometers (L10K) Project supported four regions to establish one center of excellence (CoE) per region that comprises general and primary hospitals and primary health care units (PHCUs), and all health posts (HPs) under the selected PHCU. The CoE is a model service delivery site and learning hub demonstrating high-quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) clinical care provision and community engagement with other regions and facilities. To establish the CoE, the L10K Project and the health system implemented community engagement activities, mentorship, supervision, and training, and established comprehensive RMNCH skills laboratories.