Evaluation of the Safe Childbirth Checklist Program in Rajasthan, India: The How and What of the Evaluation Efforts

Abstract

Background: India has witnessed a dramatic increase in institutional deliveries in the public facilities over the past decade. The increased demand for services has put tremendous pressures on the health delivery systems and has serious implications on the quality of care. WHO-endorsed Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) is a facility-based reminder tool aimed at improving institutional care practices around delivery and newborn care. The Government of Rajasthan, India implemented an intervention based on the SCC tool during 2013-2015 with technical support from Jhpiego. The Public Health Foundation of India led the evaluation study. 

Objectives: The evaluation study was designed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SCC intervention in reducing stillbirths and very early neonatal deaths (within 3 days of birth). This paper describes the protocol of the evaluation study. 

Methods: The evaluation employs a quasi-experimental design comparing public facilities that provide secondary level care and have specialized newborn care units in six intervention and four comparison districts of Rajasthan. Study sites include 19 facilities in the intervention districts, and 15 in the comparison districts. Evaluation data were collected from November 2013 to April 2015. 

Conclusions: The protocol offers approaches that may be useful in planning and monitoring large-scale evaluation studies using information technology in other developing countries. 

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier - NCT01994304