Children with pneumonia treated at home seriously by the Family Health Program in Pakistan , also known as Lady Health Workers are more likely to recover than children referred to health centers, said the organization Save the Children . The study has come to this conclusion, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID, for its acronym in English) and coordinated by theWorld Health Organization (WHO) has been published in The Lancet .
The results are published before the World Pneumonia Day, which aims to focus world attention on the leading cause of infant death. Approximately 1.4 million children under 5 years die annually of pneumonia , 99% of them live in developing countries. "Pneumonia is highly treatable with inexpensive antibiotics, however, remains the leading cause of infant death," says Carolyn Miles, president of Save the Children. "The new results are promising and practical in reducing child deaths from severe pneumonia in the most affected communities. The training and support for health workers are the heart of the solution."
Quality care
The study focuses on a major obstacle to effective treatment of pneumonia: the difficulty of access to quality health services. In poor and isolated communities, where more cases of pneumonia, major challenges include the distance to a health center, lack of transport and costs.
Amid a global health workforce crisis, Pakistan is one of the low-income countries has grown in the deployment of community health workers to improve maternal and child health, in the case of Lady Health Workers , they receive training for several months, continuous monitoring and basic supplies, and serve about 200 families per month throughout the country.
The study followed 3211 for children with severe pneumonia in Haripur district, Pakistan. The control group received an initial dose of oral antibiotics and referred to a health center, some families moved to the health center, while others did not receive appropriate treatment despite having been displaced.
Antibiotic Teapia
The experimental group was treated at home with oral antibiotics for five days and attended by health workers who had received additional training. The rate of treatment failure was 50% lower in the experimental group. After five days, 18% of children referred to a center were still sick, compared with 9% of those treated at home by health workers. Previous studies have shown that community health workers can successfully treat children with non-severe pneumonia at home and substantially reduce mortality rates.
However, WHO does not allow home treatment when pneumonia is defined as serious. Worldwide, there are many families who are unable to reach a health center. Until the publication of this new study, no previous randomized study has shown rigorously whether community health workers can effectively treat cases of severe pneumonia at home.
Best home
"Our study aimed to demonstrate that children can recover just as a severe pneumonia when treated at home than when referred to a health center." According to Elizabeth Mason, Director of WHO, "the Pakistan test results are very promising and will be subject of future studies. If we observe similar results in other places, we will update the overall approach for the treatment much more accessible for families, help governments make the most of limited resources, and save more lives. "
