OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Indian Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) programme, which integrates improved treatment of illness for children with home visits for newborn care, to inform its scale-up.
DESIGN: Cluster randomised trial.
SETTING: 18 clusters (population 1.1 million) in Haryana, India.
PARTICIPANTS: 29,667 births in intervention clusters and 30,813 in control clusters.
INTERVENTION: Community health workers were trained to conduct postnatal home visits and women's group meetings; physicians, nurses, and community health workers were trained to treat or refer sick newborns and children; supply of drugs and supervision were strengthened.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Neonatal and infant mortality; newborn care practices.
RESULTS: The infant mortality rate (adjusted hazard ratio 0.85, 95% confidence interval 0.77 to 0.94) and the neonatal mortality rate beyond the first 24 hours (adjusted hazard ratio 0.86, 0.79 to 0.95) were significantly lower in the intervention clusters than in control clusters. The adjusted hazard ratio for neonatal mortality rate was 0.91 (0.80 to 1.03). A significant interaction was found between the place of birth and the effect of the intervention for all mortality outcomes except post-neonatal mortality rate. The neonatal mortality rate was significantly lower in the intervention clusters in the subgroup born at home (adjusted hazard ratio 0.80, 0.68 to 0.93) but not in the subgroup born in a health facility (1.06, 0.91 to 1.23) (P value for interaction = 0.001). Optimal newborn care practices were significantly more common in the intervention clusters.
CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the IMNCI resulted in substantial improvement in infant survival and in neonatal survival in those born at home. The IMNCI should be a part of India's strategy to achieve the millennium development goal on child survival.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials NCT00474981; ICMR Clinical Trial Registry CTRI/2009/091/000715.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of implementation of the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness strategy on treatment seeking practices and on neonatal and infant morbidity.
DESIGN: Cluster randomised trial.
SETTING: Haryana, India.
PARTICIPANTS: 29,667 births in nine intervention clusters and 30,813 births in nine control clusters.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The pre-specified outcome was the effect on treatment seeking practices. Post hoc exploratory analyses assessed morbidity, hospital admission, post-neonatal infant care, and nutritional status outcomes.
INTERVENTIONS: The Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness intervention included home visits by community health workers, improved case management of sick children, and strengthening of health systems. Outcomes were ascertained through interviews with randomly selected caregivers: 6204, 3073, and 2045 in intervention clusters and 6163, 3048, and 2017 in control clusters at ages 29 days, 6 months, and 12 months, respectively.
RESULTS: In the intervention cluster, treatment was sought more often from an appropriate provider for severe neonatal illness (risk ratio 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.38 to 2.24), for local neonatal infection (4.86, 3.80 to 6.21), and for diarrhoea at 6 months (1.96, 1.38 to 2.79) and 12 months (1.22, 1.06 to 1.42) and pneumonia at 6 months (2.09, 1.31 to 3.33) and 12 months (1.44, 1.00 to 2.08). Intervention mothers reported fewer episodes of severe neonatal illness (risk ratio 0.82, 0.67 to 0.99) and lower prevalence of diarrhoea (0.71, 0.60 to 0.83) and pneumonia (0.73, 0.52 to 1.04) in the two weeks preceding the 6 month interview and of diarrhoea (0.63, 0.49 to 0.80) and pneumonia (0.60, 0.46 to 0.78) in the two weeks preceding the 12 month interview. Infants in the intervention clusters were more likely to still be exclusively breast fed in the sixth month of life (risk ratio 3.19, 2.67 to 3.81).
CONCLUSION: Implementation of the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness programme was associated with timely treatment seeking from appropriate providers and reduced morbidity, a likely explanation for the reduction in mortality observed following implementation of the programme in this study.Trial registration Clinical trials NCT00474981; ICMR Clinical Trial Registry CTRI/2009/091/000715.
BACKGROUND: A trial to evaluate the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) strategy showed that the intervention resulted in lower infant mortality and improved infant care practices. In this paper, we present the results of a secondary analysis to examine the effect of the IMNCI strategy on inequities in health indicators.
METHODS: The trial was a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 18 primary health centre areas. For this analysis, the population was divided into subgroups by wealth status (using Principal Component Analysis), religion and caste, education of mother and sex of the infant. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine inequity gradients in neonatal and post-neonatal mortality, care practices and care seeking, and the differences in these gradients between intervention and control clusters.
FINDINGS: Inequity in post-neonatal infant mortality by wealth status was lower in the intervention as compared to control clusters (adjusted difference in gradients 2.2 per 1000, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0 to 4.4 per 1000, P = 0.053). The intervention had no effect on inequities in neonatal mortality. The intervention resulted in a larger effect on breastfeeding within one hour of birth in poorer families (difference in inequity gradients 3.0%, CI 1.5 to 4.5, P < 0.001), in lower caste and minorities families, and in infants of mothers with fewer years of schooling. The intervention also reduced gender inequity in care seeking for severe neonatal illness from an appropriate provider (difference in inequity gradients 9.3%, CI 0.4 to 18.2, P = 0.042).
CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of IMNCI reduced inequities in post-neonatal mortality, and newborn care practices (particularly starting breastfeeding within an hour of birth) and health care-seeking for severe illness. In spite of the intervention substantial inequities remained in the intervention group and therefore further efforts to ensure that health programs reach the vulnerable population subgroups are required.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00474981; ICMR Clinical Trial Registry CTRI/2009/091/000715.
To evaluate the Indian Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) programme, which integrates improved treatment of illness for children with home visits for newborn care, to inform its scale-up.
DESIGN:
Cluster randomised trial.
SETTING:
18 clusters (population 1.1 million) in Haryana, India.
PARTICIPANTS:
29,667 births in intervention clusters and 30,813 in control clusters.
INTERVENTION:
Community health workers were trained to conduct postnatal home visits and women's group meetings; physicians, nurses, and community health workers were trained to treat or refer sick newborns and children; supply of drugs and supervision were strengthened.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Neonatal and infant mortality; newborn care practices.
RESULTS:
The infant mortality rate (adjusted hazard ratio 0.85, 95% confidence interval 0.77 to 0.94) and the neonatal mortality rate beyond the first 24 hours (adjusted hazard ratio 0.86, 0.79 to 0.95) were significantly lower in the intervention clusters than in control clusters. The adjusted hazard ratio for neonatal mortality rate was 0.91 (0.80 to 1.03). A significant interaction was found between the place of birth and the effect of the intervention for all mortality outcomes except post-neonatal mortality rate. The neonatal mortality rate was significantly lower in the intervention clusters in the subgroup born at home (adjusted hazard ratio 0.80, 0.68 to 0.93) but not in the subgroup born in a health facility (1.06, 0.91 to 1.23) (P value for interaction = 0.001). Optimal newborn care practices were significantly more common in the intervention clusters.
CONCLUSIONS:
Implementation of the IMNCI resulted in substantial improvement in infant survival and in neonatal survival in those born at home. The IMNCI should be a part of India's strategy to achieve the millennium development goal on child survival.
