An Algorithm to Predict Newborn Complications in the First 28 days of Life at Iganga General and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (N-COP Study)

Introduction

The N-COPs study is a Preterm Birth Initiative discovery research grant whose main aim is to develop risk algorithm for prediction of newborn complications among preterm and term newborns. This study will be implemented in two hospitals in Eastern Uganda. The Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and the Iganga General hospital. This study is entirely a facility based study. This study will utilize a prospective cohort study design and will follow-up newborn until 28 days after deliver.

The research objectives for the study are:

To develop an algorithm to predict newborn complications in the first 28 days of life stratified by gestation age at birth.
To determine the incidence of newborn complications within the first 28 days of life: -stratified by gestational age at birth.
To establish the time to newborn complications within the first 28 days stratified by gestational age at birth.
To estimate time to newborn complications and mortality within the first 28 days of life.
Progress

Ethical approval obtained from the Makerere University School of Public Health ethics committee (HDREC) completed
Identification and recruitment of study nurses completed
Data collection and recruitment of newborns into the cohort ongoing
Development of study’s longitudinal database is ongoing
Future activities

Writing study reports/manuscripts
Dissemination of final reports
Period: 01 June 2018 – 31 May 2019

Funder: The N-COPs is sponsored by UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative- East Africa (PTBi-EA) which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Study team

Principal Investigator: Joseph Akuze

Co-Principal Investigator:Paul Mubiri

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Harriet Nambuya

Data Analyst: Frank Namugera

Coordinator: Geraldine Agiraembabazi

Mentor: Prof. Peter Waiswa