The use of data in resource limited settings to improve quality of care

Alexander G Stevenson; Lloyd Tooke; Erika M Edwards; Marcia Mangiza; Delia Horn; Michelle Heys; Mahlet Abayneh; Simbarashe Chimhuya; Danielle E Y Ehret

doi:10.1016/j.siny.2021.101204

The use of data in resource limited settings to improve quality of care

Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2021 Feb;26(1):101204. doi: 10.1016/j.siny.2021.101204. Epub 2021 Feb 3.

Authors

Alexander G Stevenson¹, Lloyd Tooke², Erika M Edwards³, Marcia Mangiza⁴, Delia Horn⁵, Michelle Heys⁶, Mahlet Abayneh⁷, Simbarashe Chimhuya⁸, Danielle E Y Ehret⁹

Affiliations

¹ Cambridge Road Paediatrics, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Neonatal Department, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, USA; University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Burlington, VT, USA; Vermont Oxford Network, Burlington, VT, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Sally Mugabe Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Burlington, VT, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health, University College London, UK; East London NHS Foundation Trust, West Ham Lane Health Centre, London, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ St Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Burlington, VT, USA; Vermont Oxford Network, Burlington, VT, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 33579628
DOI: 10.1016/j.siny.2021.101204

Abstract

Quality improvement is driven by benchmarking between and within institutions over time and the collaborative improvement efforts that stem from these comparisons. Benchmarking requires systematic collection and use of standardized data. Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) have great potential for improvements in newborn outcomes but serious obstacles to data collection, analysis, and implementation of robust improvement methodologies exist. We review the importance of data collection, internationally recommended neonatal metrics, selected methods of data collection, and reporting. The transformation from data collection to data use is illustrated by several select data system examples from LMIC. Key features include aims and measures important to neonatal team members, co-development with local providers, immediate access to data for review, and multidisciplinary team involvement. The future of neonatal care, use of data, and the trajectory to reach global neonatal improvement targets in resource-limited settings will be dependent on initiatives led by LMIC clinicians and experts.

Keywords: Benchmarking; Data collection; Data reporting; Low and middle income country; Quality improvement.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Infant, Newborn
Quality Improvement*