Nutritional services for children in Beira, Mozambique: a study reporting on participatory use of data to generate quality improvement recommendations

What is it about?

Existing literature suggest frequent gaps in the quality of care provided to children with malnutrition in low and middle-income countries. Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique. In this study we did a systematic assessment of the quality of care provided to malnourished children in Beira and we used findings to develop recommendations, with a participatory approach, to improve it. The assessment showed that, while at hospital level the recovery rate (70.1%) was almost in line with the international SPHERE standard (70.1 % vs 75%), at outpatient level it was significantly lower (48.2% vs 75%). A comprehensive assessment of all domains contributing to quality of care- including support services, case management and policies, and organization of care- revealed that sub-optimal care in 60.8% of domains, and totally inadequate care with severe health hazards in 28.2%. These findings where discussed with a group of 33 national stakeholders, (representative of Ministry of Health, regional and local health authorities, chiefs of units), and a list of 38 actions to improve the quality of care for malnourished children was agreed. The study documents quality of care for malnourished children and represent a concrete example of utilizing data proactively, for agreeing actions to improve it

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