O0237 Oct.5: 9:00am - Telementoring Education and Mentorship for Newborn Providers in Kenya, Pakistan, and Tanzania

Background
Many countries, including Kenya, Pakistan, and Tanzania, have integrated the Every Newborn Action Plan guidelines into their national health strategies. Within this framework, UNICEF, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the three countries above, launched a novel collaborative telementoring project with the primary aim to investigate the feasibility and utility of international telementoring to improve newborn care practices. The objectives were to: 1) collect data regarding baseline newborn care at participating sites, 2) construct a newborn telementoring curriculum based on the specific educational needs of each site, and 3) create an adaptable and interactive forum for remote education available for scale-up within each country, with the global goal of increasing individual knowledge of newborn care practices and establishing connections for ongoing educational sharing between countries.

Methods
Participating facilities (Kenya – 2, Tanzania – 2, Pakistan – 12) were identified by UNICEF. Initial site visits were conducted in September/October 2019 and included collection of baseline data, classification of available resources, and observations of deliveries and general care practices. The telementoring curriculum was constructed based on in-depth discussion with frontline staff and facility leadership during these visits.

Results
A 12-session telementoring curriculum was created for the East African (EA) hospitals based on their overlapping educational needs while a unique curriculum was created for Pakistan [Table 1]. The sessions are run via Zoom teleconferencing software and include a case presentation by participants, a faculty presentation, and a discussion. Where possible, demonstrations and practice with newborn simulators complement discussion. To create a toolkit for later use, each session is recorded for later viewing and complemented with links to additional resources and a shared online spreadsheet where participants can post discussion questions. To date, six sessions have been conducted in EA and seven in Pakistan, and sessions will continue through July 2020. Several lessons have been learned, including the importance of incorporating simulation and technical aspects related to improving communication during the live sessions. Further, as the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the midst of the project, a panel discussion about management of COVID-19 particular to each geographic area was organized, an example of the agility of this type of educational method.

Conclusion
This novel telementoring program provides longitudinal education to frontline newborn staff at sixteen facilities in three countries. Employing techniques to increase interactivity include video conferencing, case discussions, skills-based activities, and the use of online question boards allow participants to maximize their learning experience. Next steps include completion of the curriculum by summer 2020 and further evaluation, including knowledge assessment and focus group discussions. If successful, this project has potential for scale-up in countries with elevated newborn mortality rates, particularly during times when physical distancing is the norm.