Preventing Stillbirth & Early Neonatal Deaths in Tanzania

Dr. Mei Elansary partnered with faculty from the University of Dodoma in Tanzania to assess patient and community level causes of maternal and newborn health outcomes using in-depth interviews and focus groups. Her sustainable research approach empowered her local counterparts through capacity building for all their research activities. Young faculty at the University received a 40-hour workshop in qualitative methods, after which they were able to train and supervise local research assistants in undertaking the study interviews with Dr. Elansary's support. A similar approach was used to conduct health facility assessments training University pediatric nursing students who completed the data collection. Together, through community interviews and facility assessments, a better understanding of the needs of mothers and babies was achieved which will allow them to effectively target improvements in neonatal health.