SICHUAN NEONATAL RESUSCITATION PROGRAM: A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT OF AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS (AAP) ¨C HEART TO HEART (H2H) AND MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SICHUAN, PRC

Robinson, B, Xijie, Zhao, ChangdU, Sichuan, China

 

   Birth asphyxia (BA) continues to be a major contributor to the high neonatal and infant mortality rates in Sichuan Province in the PRC.  Sichuan, with a population of 90 million and a birth rate of 1.2%, has a BA of 3-4% of all births.  Recognizing the disease burden of BA and its consequences on later outcome, Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) was introduced through the collaboration of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Heart to Heart (H2H) which is a U.S.-based non-profit organization, and the cooperation of the Department of Health of Sichuan Province. In May 2000, a team of NRP trainers from the USA (12 M.D.s and R.N.s) conducted the two-day training program at three major cities:  Luzhou, Nanchang and Minnyang.  A total of 90 professionals from the three cities were trained.  On the third day, the new trainers were asked to ¡°train¡± an additional 60 trainers in the Chinese language under the supervision of the U.S. team

   Upon completion of 3 day sessions, each training center was provided with educational material, mannequins and ambu bags for conducting training.  Each participant was given an Ambu bag and face masks for use at their hospital(s) and resuscitation training centers were left open to conduct NRP on an ongoing basis. A total of 254 health professionals at the three sites were trained in NRP the first year.  Following the success of the program and the enthusiasm of the Department of Health in Sichuan Province, AAP and H2H sent a second team of trainers from the U.S.A. in May 2001 to conduct NRP at four cities (the three previous cities and a new one at Changdu, capital of Sichuan Province).  During this program, 179 health professionals from 113 hospitals completed NRP training.  Four new cities will be added as NRP training centers in the year 2002.  It is planned that by 2005 all hospitals in Sichuan will have NRP trained personnel

   The impact of NRP on the resuscitation practices of health professionals at their respective hospitals is being assessed.  Nevertheless, introduction of NRP has heightened the awareness of the problem of BA and its management.  Because of the cooperation and participation of the many doctors and nurses at all the participating hospitals of Sichuan, the trilateral collaboration of AAP, H2H and the Sichuan Ministry of Health, THIS PROGRAM IS A UNIQUE MODEL FOR TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNIQUE TO A DEVELOPING COUNTRY AT VERY LOW COST.

 

 
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