Introduction of Newborn Care within Integrated Community Case Management in Uganda

Uganda’s Ministry of Health, together with partners, has introduced integrated community case management
(iCCM) for children under 5 years. We assessed how the iCCM program addresses newborn care in three
midwestern districts through document reviews, structured interviews, and focus group discussions with village health
team (VHT) members trained in iCCM, caregivers, and other stakeholders. Almost all VHT members reported that they
refer sick newborns to facilities and could identify at least three newborn danger signs. However, they did not identify the
most important clinical indicators of severe illness. The extent of compliance with newborn referral and quality of care
for newborns at facilities is not clear. Overall iCCM is perceived as beneficial, but caregivers, VHTs, and health workers
want to do more for sick babies at facilities and in communities. Additional research is needed to assess the ability of
VHTs to identify newborn danger signs, referral compliance, and quality of newborn treatment at facilities.

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Citation: Kayemba et al., Introduction of Newborn Care within Integrated Community Case Management in Uganda, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 87(Suppl 5), 2012, pp. 46–53

Country: Uganda