A toolkit to facilitate successful community Kangaroo Mother Care (CKMC) practice in low and middle-income countries (LMIC)
An impact delivering outcome of the PRiME project.
Summary Report October 2022
Siobhán Gillespie BSc (Hons) MSc RM
On behalf of the NIHR PRIME cKMC Development Group.
A toolkit to facilitate successful community Kangaroo Mother Care (CKMC) practice in low and middle-income countries (LMIC).
Background
KMC is listed as an essential newborn care intervention, recommended by the World Health Organisation, to improve neonatal survival. KMC requires limited resources and no specialised equipment, yet the uptake and success of implementation of practice varies among LMIC’s. Even in countries where KMC is established in facilities, there is often a gap in practice in community based KMC. With such a disparity in community readiness, the need for adaptable guidance on implementing successful and safe CKMC practice was identified.
Aim
The aim of this project was to develop an implementation toolkit, that identifies the key local influences on successful Community KMC (CKMC) practice in LMICs and is guided by local KMC providers.
Methods
Stakeholder events were held in LMICs, to identify gaps in knowledge around preterm birth. Community based KMC was identified as a gap in both knowledge and practice.
A scoping literature review on community KMC informed the development of the Toolkit. The
concept was initiated by the author and expanded on by fellow PRiME researchers. It was further co-developed by research and clinical staff in partner countries. Several game playing sessions were held, both face to face and online, with staff contributing feedback about game play, suggesting additional content, and completing pre- and post-knowledge questionnaires. Staff who contributed included a wide variety of nursing, medical and non-trained disciplines.
Results
The toolkit consists of three components.
- A Resource Pack, containing a report on the evidence for facilitating community based KMC in LMICs, a Driver diagram; which provides a visual display of the influences on successful CKMC practice, and a CKMC Working Practice Document, to assist implementation staff in identifying local influences on successful community KMC, the stakeholders involved, and output measures to quantify the success of the programme.
- Video training resources, with bite-sized information sessions on CKMC, information on the toolkit itself and how to utilise it.
- An educational board game, ‘Hop into the Community’. The purpose of the game is to provide education on KMC, involve staff of all levels in the implementation plan, and most importantly, to support discussion about CKMC implementation in a particular community.
Conclusion
When utilised by local implementation teams, using the CKMC Toolkit will enable them to develop a plan of action that is relevant to the context of their community, and local specific factors that influence practice. The result will be an achievable implementation strategy that is successful in promoting & embedding CKMC practice.
Educational Board game-playing and contextualisation activities by PRIME Teams with health care practitioners at the BSMMU Hospital Dhaka Bangladesh and nursing and midwifery staff at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
