Birth asphyxia remains a major concern in developing countries, with seven deaths per 1000 births caused by asphyxia, compared to less than one death in developed countries (World Health Organization, 2006, p.3). This fact highlights the need to create and sustain national programs to reduce childhood mortality rates and to share the technology and knowledge across all nations. One such program is China’s Neonatal Resuscitation Program, the implementation of which was a conjoined effort from governmental, enterprise, and non-profit organizations.
The first attempt to establish the NRP was made by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a professional membership organization of pediatricians. The mission of this organization is to save lives and improve the well-being of children, which is why they were inclined to help their Chinese colleagues. However, the AAP attempt failed to get traction due to the lack of awareness, and it is not until they requested the support of Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute LLC (JJPI) they finally made some progress. JJPI, a privately funded company, committed to improving the lives of babies, joined their efforts with AAP and the Chinese government to develop The Freedom of Breath, Foundation of Life program, aimed to reduce child morbidity. The National Center for Women and Children’s Health (NCWCH), a Chinese governmental organization, was responsible for its implementation. Each of the organizations is committed to the success of the program in their way. AAP and JJPI already had resources they could share with their Chinese colleagues, and Chinese government involvement was vital to ensure the implementation of the program on all levels. The partnership also included Chinese non-profit organizations, including The Chinese Society of Perinatal Medicine (CSPM) and The Chinese Nursing Association (CNA), which helped spread the word among Chinese health care professionals.
The main reason why birth asphyxia was the No. 1 cause of infant mortality in China was the lack of trained personnel with neonatal resuscitation skills in hospitals (Mastandrea, 2009, p. 207), and it was the first challenge addressed. In addition to the distribution of AAP training materials adapted by CSPM, a huge conjoined effort was made to train health care professionals in hospitals and delivery rooms. Midwives were trained, in addition to nurses, to ensure that there was a trained professional in every delivery room. A biannual convention was created, which provided a platform for health care professionals to share expertise. The convention helped to keep health care professional engaged and provided an opportunity for future growth. Together with a PR campaign, the convention helped the program to gain traction.
Traditionally, medical societies in China did not have the power medical societies have in the US. The partnership gave the voice to the professionals at CSPM, who together with AAP created guidelines that established a national NRP policy (Mastandrea, 2009, p. 208) which changed China forever. Today, neonatal resuscitation certification is a requirement for nurses, midwives, and obstetricians (Giving Breath To Life, 2016). The Chinese government could do even more, however. The lack of equipment sets was a challenge during the implementation of the program, and it could easily be addressed with more funding. The Chinese government could also help to bring the program to the remote regions of China or even to other developing countries. Nurses and medical professionals should be given a voice in the legislative area to help accelerate the approval of necessary policy changes, as they are the first to see the way they affect patients in hospitals.
The success of China’s Neonatal Resuscitation Program proved that by combining forces, non-profit, corporate and governmental organization can change the lives of people for the better.
References
Giving Breath To Life (2016). Web.
Mastandrea, A. (2009). Freedom of Breath, Foundation of Life: China’s Neonatal Resuscitation Program. Web.
World Health Organization (2006). Neonatal and Perinatal Mortality. Web.