NeoNurse

The Problem: Neonatal mortality is now the leading cause of death for children. I am committed to helping the UN's goal in reducing neonatal mortality to less than 10 per 1,000 live births. Nurses comprise the largest group of healthworkers globally. I believe a solution to this problem lies in empowering nurses caring for these vulnerable patients and their families.

The Solution: NeoNurse will be an app utilizing technology to foster meaningful conversations, community development, and action surrounding neonatal health. This app will provide educational simulations targeting the major causes of neonatal mortality. It will also provide education on neonatal resuscitation strategies, clinical management guidelines, as well as include an online network for neonatal nurses to share their knowledge.

The Global Impact: This app will help decrease health inequalities through providing nurses with access to the latest evidence-base in neonatal care, thus promoting health equity and reducing global neonatal mortality.

Reducing child mortality rates has been a globally recognized goal for decades (UN, 2017). In 2000, Millennium Development Goal Four aspired to reduce the child mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 (End Poverty, 2015). In response to this goal, interventions were implemented and child mortality decreased globally (WHO, 2006). However, neonatal mortality rates surfaced as a major problem (WHO, 2006).

In 2015, the United Nations built upon the Millennium Development Goals and formalized the Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2017). SDG Three is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” (UN, 2017). Within Goal Three, Indicator 3.2 addresses the neonatal mortality rate (UNICEF, 2015). The new goal is for all countries to have no more than twelve neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030 and ten by 2035 (WHO, 2015). The neonatal mortality rate refers to the number of deaths that occur during the first twenty-eight days of life after birth (WHO, 2006). To successfully meet the UN's goal for reducing neonatal mortality, bold, innovative, and technologically-advanced ideas must be considered. 

Enter, NeoNurse.

NeoNurse will be an app created as a knowledge-sharing online platform for neonatal healthcare providers. It will include educational resources, such as simulations and neonatal resuscitation certifications, as well as best-practice clinical guidelines for the management of neonatal patients. Furthermore, it will provide a space for dialogue and collaboration between members of the global perinatal healthworker community.

NeoNurse will not stop as an app. It is my hope it can be used as a foundation for meaningful work in communities around the world. Neonatal nurses and other healthcare providers can use this app to help educate communities and lead meaningful discussions surrounding neonatal health. 

I am planning to start this initiative in Cape Coast, Ghana. In Ghana, the current neonatal mortality rate is 29 per 1,000 live births. A nurse colleague of mine, Johnny Nyaaba, currently works as a nurse within the Ghana Health Service and is excited to be a part of this program.

I think an assets-based, co-productive approach will ultimately be the most successful. I therefore think it is important to collaborate with stakeholders in Ghana to better understand their concerns before putting NeoNurse into practice. I plan to collaborate with neonatal nurses in Ghana to create NeoNurse. It is then my hope to extend NeoNurse to the greater sub-Saharan Africa region and beyond.

This challenge relates to the goal of expanding access to high-quality, affordable maternal and newborn care. More specifically, it involves expanding the health workforce. By strengthening the nurses directly caring for these patients, we can improve maternal-newborn health outcomes. NeoNurse will improve the access to quality educational material surrounding neonatal care. Furthermore, it can be used as a platform and foundation to help provide educational and emotional support to communities of women.

It is my hope NeoNurse can extend into the greater maternal-newborn health sector.

NeoNurse is innovative, as it will be a collaborative technological platform to address the causes of neonatal mortality. It will be the first app of its kind to offer streamlined, evidence-based content on neonatal health, as well as provide practitioners with a place to exchange their knowledge. 

This app will use existing technology to create a space (app) for sharing valuable neonatal health information and collaboration.

Apps have been successfully used to provide social networking, education, and knowledge-sharing. It is time that this technology is used in a globalized manner to help streamline the current evidence-based on neonatal care, so that all babies receive high-quality care. The WHO Global Observatory for ehealth affirms that the use of ehealth could help realize universal health coverage. The report adds that ehealth through digital health and mobile health technologies are phenomenal to reach remote populations and underserved communities. This app will make education and resources more accessible to help promote training of the health workforce.

The Diffusion of Innovation Theory, proposed by E.M. Rogers will used to guide this project. This theory examines the factors and processes that influence communication (diffusion) of an idea, object, or practice that is regarded as new (innovation). The theory posits that the features of a new idea or practice as perceived by its potential users will determine the rate or use of the new innovation. These features include relative advantage, compatibility, complexity triability, and observability.

Neonatal mortality needs to decrease. Healthcare workers are a valuable part in addressing health concerns and inequalities. Empowering neonatal health workers with education and collaboration through technology will strengthen the healthcare workforce and promote change in neonatal health outcomes.

At first, NeoNurse will most likely be used within one health service area in Ghana. It will then extend to the entire Ghana Health Service and then, to other sub-Saharan African countries before becoming a global network. 

This next year, I hope to create meaningful connections with change agents in the maternal-newborn health space that can help contribute to Neonurse. I also hope to keep creating connections and discovering the needs within Ghana. In five years time, I am hopeful NeoNurse will be an app and be working within the Ghana Health Service.

Barriers: Limited technology skills; will need to hire an app developer. COVID-19 and travel restrictions; will need to be strategic about making connections virtually until travel is safe.

I will use technology to make these connections a reality.

N/A

Currently, Johnny Nyaaba and I are the only members of this team. However, I would like to reach out to different members in the global maternal-newborn health community to make NeoNurse a reality.

As a neonatal nurse, I feel I have a unique understanding of the challenges facing newborns in the neonatal period. I am equipped with the global health knowledge of this problem, as well as the clinical understanding of barriers to solutions. I have an incredible passion for promoting maternal-newborn health. This passion, combined with the correct technology and creative business team, will result in a solution to this problem.

I received my Masters of Science in Advancing Nursing Practice at The University of Edinburgh and plan to continue my doctoral studies at this university. If selected, I hope to partner with current global health nurse researchers and educators.

NeoNurse will follow a nonprofit funding model. Revenue will be comprised of donations and government grants. Expenses will largely be comprised of app development and personnel salaries. Populations being served will hopefully improve their neonatal health outcomes, thereby improving the health and quality of life of its citizens.

I am applying to Solve because I want to help mothers and babies. No baby should die from preventable reasons and no mother should have to grieve their child's death. The global neonatal mortality rates are unacceptable and I want to be a change agent in reducing them. I know this will require immense effort, especially regarding the business and technology learning curve, but if my solution is selected, I will do everything to ensure it is successful in helping this problem.

I am a nurse and global health researcher. I will therefore need assistance with business plans, app development, and addressing legal issues.

I would love to partner with the Global Health team at MIT, as well as UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

NeoNurse would use technology to help educate women and girls on various issues related to maternal-newborn health and would therefore empower these women to be change agents in their communities.

NeoNurse would provide a global platform for perinatal healthcare workers to learn best-practices for maternal-newborn care. This innovation will therefore strengthen the health workforce by educating and empowering nurses to deliver the best care for their patients.

NeoNurse will attempt to be a co-productive, assets-based program that addresses neonatal mortality through healthcare worker empowerment. I am optimistic that I can work with fellow perinatal nurses in Ghana to create the best app to help prevent neonatal death and promote maternal-newborn health.