From Passive Surveillance to Response: Suriname's Efforts to Implement Maternal Death Surveillance and Response

Implementation of maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) is crucial to reduce maternal deaths. In Suriname, MDSR was not implemented until 2015. We describe the process of MDSR implementation in Suriname and share the "lessons learned," as experienced by the health care providers,...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Global health science and practice Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 379 - 389
Main Authors:	Kodan, Lachmi R, Verschueren, Kim J C, Boerstra, Geertje, Gajadien, Inder, Mohamed, Robert S, Olmtak, Lily D, Mohan, Satish R, Bloemenkamp, Kitty W M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Global Health: Science and Practice 30-06-2021
Subjects:	Female Field Action Reports Health Personnel Humans Maternal Death - prevention & control Maternal Mortality Suriname Suriname
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Implementation of maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) is crucial to reduce maternal deaths. In Suriname, MDSR was not implemented until 2015. We describe the process of MDSR implementation in Suriname and share the "lessons learned," as experienced by the health care providers, national maternal death review committee members, and public health experts. Before 2015, maternal deaths were identified using death certificates and by active surveillance in the hospitals. Based on the recommendations from a 2010-2014 Reproductive Age Mortality Survey in Suriname, a maternal death review committee has improved the identification of maternal deaths and has audited every death since 2015. Although this review committee initiated several actions to implement MDSR together with health care providers, the involvement of the Ministry of Health (MOH) was crucial. Therefore, the Maternal Health Steering Committee was recently installed as a direct working arm of MOH to guide MDSR implementation. One of the main barriers to implementing MDSR in Suriname has been the lack of action following recommendations. Delineating roles and responsibilities for action, establishing accountability mechanisms, and influencing stakeholders in a position to act are critical to ensure a response to the recommendations. To implement MDSR, the 5 Cs-commitment, "no blame, no shame" culture, coordination, collaboration, and communication-are crucial.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:	2169-575X 2169-575X
DOI:	10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00594