Improving paediatric referral care in the context of child survival activities and IMCI
Review of processes to improve paediatric care in small hospitals in developing countries
Overview
This is a report of a meeting held to review experiences to improve hospital care for newborns and children in low income countries, organized in January 2007 in Denpasar, Indonesia. The report summarizes the findings of the review of the now substantial global experience of strategies and interventions that improve the quality of care for children in hospitals with limited resources. Approaches for quality improvement training are outlined, the role of hospital assessment and self-assessment identified, and a short set of indicators for global monitoring are provided. A list of materials used in the process and abstracts of presentations of experiences are available in the annexes.
The report shows that more attention and support needs to be given to improve hospital care for children. Improvement in hospital systems that deliver better care for children will have an impact more widely on other hospital services, support first-level IMCI services and strengthen links with local communities, all of which should result in better utilization of health services at all levels. The challenges is how to bring the quality improvement processes and other strategies to scale for impact and sustainability in different environments.
A tool kit containing adaptable instruments, including a framework for quality improvement, evidence-based clinical guidelines in the form of the Pocket Book of hospital care for children: guidelines for the management of common illnesses with limited resources, teaching materials, assessment procedures and other tools are available to support the process.