Online Program

289256
Improving access to emergency obstetric care through local transport resources


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Samuel Usman, MBBS; PDM; MPHIL; MHM, SERVICE Delivery Unit, PARTNERSHIP FOR TRANSFORMING HEALTH SYSTEMS 2 (PATHS2)-UKAID, Abuja, Nigeria
Amina Aminu, MBBS; MPH, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems Phase II (PATHS2) Nigeria, FCT, Nigeria
Mike Egboh, MPH, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems Phase II (PATHS2) Nigeria, FCT, Nigeria
Abubakar Kende, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems Phase II (PATHS2) Nigeria, Jigawa, Nigeria
Kuhu Maitra, MBBS, DCH, MD, International Health Division, Abt Associates, Bethesda, MD
Lack of transport keeps many women with pregnancy complications in Nigeria from obtaining timely access to skilled medical care. To address this issue, the PATHS2 Project supports emergency transport to the nearest qualified health facility using volunteer taxi drivers in the community from the National Union of Road Transport Workers. Communities with high cases of maternal mortality were selected for the intervention and sensitized. Community taxi drivers interested in volunteering were trained on danger signs in pregnancy and delivery, how to handle pregnant women, vehicle maintenance and data collection. Taxis were evaluated for road-worthiness. The drivers' cellular phone numbers were displayed throughout the community. Drivers were unpaid but were given priority for picking up passengers in the community as a reward. Drivers logged data on the number of women transported, their complication, and the distance to the health facility. Between June and August 2012, about 50 volunteer drivers transported about 350 pregnant women in urgent need of medical care over a total distance of 4,208km. The women transported had: Antepartum Hemorrhage-17%, Abdominal Pain-9%, Labour-16%, delivered at Home without SBA-16%, Eclampsia-5%, Severe Weakness/Dizziness-9%, Fever-9%. The average distance travelled to a facility was 12 Km, a significant distance during an obstetric emergency. The PATHS2 model is a sustainable and scalable model for other communities in LMIC with poor access to health facilities offering Basic or Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care

Learning Areas:

Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the role of the Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS) in improving access to Emergency Obstetric Care (EOC) Determine the major maternal complications requiring emergency obstetric care.

Keyword(s): Access to Care, Emergency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Service Integration Advisor for Partnership for Transforming Health Systems Phase 2 (PATHS2), a DFID funded project focusing on reducing maternal and child mortality using innovative approaches. In this role, i lead our partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers with whom we are partnering on improving access to care for pregnant mothers in hard-to-reach, rural areas during obstetric emergencies. This intervention addresses the second delay in Emergency Obstetric Care
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.