Neonatal Resuscitation and Quality Improvement initiatives at Hopital St Nicolas de Saint Marc, Haiti

Abstract

According to statistics drawn from the World Health Organization, Haiti has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the Americas, at 52.2 per 1,000 live births as compared to 12.5 per 1,000 live births in the Americas overall (World Health Organization, 2016). One of the key factors in improving these numbers is to improve the availability and quality of care. Providing advanced education to Haitian nursing staff regarding the care of neonates is vital to improving the outcomes of this patient population. Additionally, providing a strong foundation in quality improvement methodology gives the nurses the tools they need to develop and implement their own quality improvement initiatives. In a collaborative education project with Partners in Health, a quality improvement formation was introduced at Hôpital St Nicolas de Saint Marc, in Saint Marc, Haiti. Additionally, the team taught two formations of neonatal resuscitation, with 18 and 19 nurses respectively, to help provide the nurses with the tools they need to utilize evidence based best practice at deliveries. Follow up in October included the introduction of an additional group of practitioners to QI methodology, and the groups are now being mentored through the development and implementation of independent projects.