Njobvu, Fred
Dear Colleagues,
Integrated health care services in this context refers to the management and delivery of health services so that clients receive a continuum of preventive and curative services according to their needs over time and across different levels of the health system. In developing countries like Zambia, access to health care is limited and services often are provided through vertical programs like Maternal and Child Health services, Family planning, Tuberculosis just to mention a few.
Immunization services are offered separately from other services and most often not integrated with curative services. This presents a lost opportunity to offer curative services to those children who come to receive vaccines but also have other illnesses. Inversely, a number of children who attend static stations presenting with one or more symptoms requiring curative services, the lack of linkage with MCH services denies them access to immunisation services. Further clinicians assess the immunization status of children attending curative services, but rarely are children found in need of vaccinations actually referred to the appropriate immunization stations. The referral pathways between the primary immunization points and the curative service departments are currently weak and fail to deliver a continuum of care that is able to contribute to improving the quality of care in MCH departments and those delivering curative services.
One of the BID Initiative guiding principles is to utilize a coordinated approach with other key initiatives and organizations to collaborate on/or share experiences to strengthen national immunization systems and integrated delivery of care like the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) approach where all trained providers regardless of which department they operate from are able to provide comprehensive care for children. It is my opinion that we should address the issue of integration so that we can better our services.
I would like to learn from others how they are managing the following
1. Referral pathways from MCH department to curative services
2. How do you ensure hospitalized children receive all the vaccines that are due during their stay in the inpatient wards?
3. What happens to sick children presenting at outreach stations?
Fred Shamakondo Njobvu
Provincial Coordinator
PATH Better Immunization Data (BID) Initiative
Street: Plot# 2898/207, off Lusaka Road, Highland Livingstone
Tel: +260 213 327 233
Cell: +260977 867860 | Skype: fred.njobvu
Web: www.path.org | www.bidinitiative.org
The information in this message, including any attachments, is intended only for the designated recipient(s), and may be privileged, confidential, or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, alteration, dissemination, retention, distribution, or use in any way of this message, its contents, and any attachments, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message.