Project Details

Hypothermia prevention in low birthweight and preterm infants

Mufaro Kanyangarara, PhD

Summary

BACKGROUND: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has been shown to reduce hypothermia, neonatal infections and neonatal mortality, while improving weight gain and mother-infant attachment; however, implementation to scale has been slow. The BEMPU® bracelet offers the opportunity to monitor the body temperature of newborns for the early detection of hypothermia and to increase the uptake of KMC. GAP: To facilitate its adoption in low-resource settings, further research is needed to assess the acceptability of the bracelet by health providers and accuracy of the BEMPU® bracelet in classifying hypothermia. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesize that health providers of low birth weight (LBW) infants in Ghana will find the bracelet to be acceptable, and that the device with have high diagnostic accuracy in detecting hypothermia when compared to standard axillary temperature measurements. METHODS: The study consists of qualitative interviews with health providers of LBW and preterm infants to determine the acceptability of the BEMPU® bracelet; and a validation study to evaluate the accuracy of the BEMPU® bracelet in detecting hypothermia. RESULTS: Pending. IMPACT: Evidence of high acceptability and accuracy of the BEMPU bracelet will provide critical evidence to facilitate prompt identification of hypothermia, maximize the benefits of KMC, reduce neonatal mortality in a resource limited settings.