ArticleGlobal health, science and practice2022
Early Reflections on Mphatlalatsane, a Maternal and Neonatal Quality Improvement Initiative Implemented During COVID-19 in South Africa.
Article in Global health, science and practice, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Implementation of health and health-related sustainable development goals: progress, challenges and opportunities-a systematic literature review update.BMJ global health · 2026Pooled it
- A setback for Sustainable Development Goal 3.1: Documenting the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic's impact on maternal mortality through a National Confidential Enquiry in South Africa.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Home visits for preterm/low birthweight infants in South Africa: Qualitative evidence synthesis.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2024Article
- "If we work as a team, there are success stories." Unpacking team members' perceptions and experiences of what impacts team performance in a maternal and neonatal quality improvement programme in South Africa, before, and during COVID-19.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- The Meso-Level in Quality Improvement: Perspectives From a Maternal-Neonatal Health Partnership in South Africa.International journal of health policy and management · 2024Article
- Article
- "If you work alone on this project, you can't reach your target": unpacking the leader's role in well-performing teams in a maternal and neonatal quality improvement programme in South Africa, before and during COVID-19.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Service delivery interventions to improve maternal and newborn health in low- and middle-income countries: scoping review of quality improvement, implementation research and health system strengthening approaches.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- From purists to pragmatists: a qualitative evaluation of how implementation processes and contexts shaped the uptake and methodological adaptations of a maternal and neonatal quality improvement programme in South Africa prior to, and during COVID-19.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Intervention in Mothers and Newborns to Reduce Maternal and Perinatal Mortality in 3 Provinces in South Africa Using a Quality Improvement Approach: Protocol for a Mixed Method Type 2 Hybrid Evaluation.JMIR research protocols · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Despite global progress in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and stillbirths, much work remains to be done to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Reports indicate that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disrupts the provision and uptake of routine maternal and neonatal health care (MNH) services and negatively impacts cumulative pre-COVID-19 achievements. We describe a multipartnered MNH quality improvement (QI) initiative called Mphatlalatsane, which was implemented in South Africa before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative aimed to reduce the maternal mortality ratio, neonatal mortality rate, and stillbirth rate by 50% between 2018 and 2022. The multifaceted design comprises QI and other intervention activities across micro-, meso-, and macrolevels, and its area-based approach facilitates patients' access to MNH services. The initiative commenced 6 months pre-COVID-19, with subsequent adaptation necessitated by COVID-19. The initial focus on a plan-do-study-act QI model shifted toward meeting the immediate needs of health care workers (HCWs), the health system, and health care managers arising from COVID-19. Examples include providing emotional support to staff and streamlining supply chain management for infection control and personal protection materials. As these needs were addressed, Mphatlalatsane gradually refocused HCWs' and managers' attention to recognize the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to routine MNH services. This gradual reprioritization included the development of a risk matrix to help staff and managers identify specific risks to service provision and uptake and develop mitigating measures. Through this approach, Mphatlalatsane led to an optimization case using existing resources rather than requesting new resources to build an investment case, with a responsive design and implementation approach as the cornerstone of the initiative. Further, Mphatlalatsane demonstrates that agile and context-specific responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic can mitigate such threats and maintain interventions to improve MNH services.
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