Telementoring education and mentorship for newborn providersin Kenya, Pakistan, and Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Background Many countries, including Kenya, Pakistan, and Tanzania, have integrated the Every NewbornAction Plan guidelines into their national health strategies. Within this framework, UNICEF, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the three countries above, launched a novel collaborativetelementoring project with the primary aim to investigate the feasibility and utility of internationaltelementoring to improve newborn care practices. The objectives were to 1) collect data regarding baselinenewborn care at participating sites, 2) construct a newborn telementoring curriculum based on the speciceducational needs of each site, and 3) create an adaptable and interactive forum for remote educationavailable for scale-up within each country, with the global goal of increasing individual knowledge of newborncare practices and establishing connections for ongoing educational sharing between countries. MethodsParticipating facilities (Kenya-2, Tanzania-2, Pakistan-12) were identied by UNICEF. Initial site visits wereconducted in September/October 2019 and included collection of baseline data, classication of available resources, and observations of deliveries and general care practices. The telementoring curriculum was constructed based on in-depth discussion with frontline staff and facility leadership during these visits. ResultsA 12-session telementoring curriculum was created for the East African (EA) hospitals based on theiroverlapping educational needs while a unique curriculum was created for Pakistan [Table 1]. The sessions arerun via Zoom teleconferencing software and include a case presentation by participants, a facultypresentation, and a discussion. Where possible, demonstrations and practice with newborn simulatorscomplement discussion. To create a toolkit for later use, each session is recorded for later viewing andcomplemented with links to additional resources and a shared online spreadsheet where participants canpost discussion questions. To date, six sessions have been conducted in EA and seven in Pakistan, andsessions will continue through July 2020. Several lessons have been learned, including the importance of incorporating simulation and technical aspects related to improving communication during the live sessions.Further, as the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the midst of the project, a panel discussion aboutmanagement of COVID-19 particular to each geographic area was organized, an example of the agility of thistype of educational method. Conclusion This novel telementoring program provides longitudinal education tofrontline newborn staff at sixteen facilities in three countries. Employing techniques to increase interactivityinclude video conferencing, case discussions, skills-based activities, and the use of online question boardsallow participants to maximize their learning experience. Next steps include completion of the curriculum bysummer 2020 and further evaluation, including knowledge assessment and focus group discussions. Ifsuccessful, this project has potential for scale-up in countries with elevated newborn mortality rates, particularly during times when physical distancing is the norm.