Printer-Friendly Version (Adobe® Acrobat® file, 366K) Workshop Organizers Abbreviations Keynote Address Strategy Paper Acknowledgements Executive Summary Preface Introduction Standards and Guidelines Using Guidelines to Improve Standards of Care Strengthening Supporting Systems to Ensure Guidelines Implementation Conclusion Attachment Appendix A: Participants Appendix B: Agenda Versión Español

On 13 and 14 September 2000, JHPIEGO/MNH sponsored a workshop in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, to explore issues in implementing global maternal and neonatal health standards of care. Workshop participants included USAID program staff, individuals from 10 universities and institutions in developing countries and three universities in the US, and representatives from a variety of organizations (see below). 

The overall goal of the workshop was to finalize a strategy for promoting evidence-based maternal and neonatal health standards globally. The workshop had three objectives:

• To highlight important changes in standards of care that affect maternal and neonatal survival.
• To develop programmatic recommendations for policy, service delivery, training, communication, and monitoring and evaluation interventions necessary for translating the content of maternal and neonatal health standards of care into practice.
• To reach a consensus on a strategy that addresses programmatic and technical issues for effective implementation of global maternal and neonatal standards of care.

In addition, WHO and MNH Program staff, as well as invited experts, identified program needs for disseminating, adapting and implementing these standards. The workshop also provided an opportunity for participants to further explore the linkages between use of standards of care and policy issues, education and training interventions, quality assurance activities at the healthcare delivery site (including performance improvement components) and behavior change interventions.

Organization of the Workshop

To open the workshop, Joy Riggs-Perla, Director of USAID's Office of Health and Nutrition, described the Agency's vision for maternal and neonatal health and the importance of partnerships in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality (see Keynote Address). Subsequent presentations by other participants centered on international resource materials; WHO's dissemination, adaptation and utilization (DAU) process; country studies from Nepal, Uganda and Indonesia; the PROQUALI model for performance and quality improvement in Brazil; and the importance of standards of care. On the second day of the workshop, participants divided into five working groups to discuss and refine a strategy for promoting maternal and neonatal health standards globally. The content of these working group discussions, as well as that of the preceding presentations, was incorporated into a revised strategy for disseminating and using guidelines (see Strategy Paper).

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Participating organizations:

• Academy for Educational Development 
• American College of Nurse-Midwives 
• BASICS
• CEDPA 
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
• Family Health International (FHI)
• The Futures Group International
• International Confederation of Midwives 
• INTRAH
• JHPIEGO
• JHU/CCP
• PATH
• Save the Children
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
• WHO

(See Appendix A for a complete list of workshop participants and Appendix B for the workshop agenda.)

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JHPIEGO, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, is a nonprofit corporation working to improve the health of women and families throughout the world.

JHPIEGO Corporation
1615 Thames Street
Suite 200
Baltimore, Maryland 21231-3492, USA
http://www.jhpiego.org

For more information about this report, contact: Maternal and Neonatal Health Program JHPIEGO Corporation 1615 Thames Street Baltimore, Maryland 21231-3492, USA Telephone: 410-537-1800 E-mail: mnh@jhpiego.net

To order additional copies of this publication, contact: Materials Management Unit JHPIEGO Corporation 1615 Thames Street Baltimore, Maryland 21231-3492, USA Telephone: 410-537-1800 E-mail: orders@jhpiego.net

This report was made possible through support provided by the Office of Health and Nutrition, Center for Population, Health and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of Award No. HRN-A-00-98-00043-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of JHPIEGO and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID.

April 2001