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In September 2007, a meeting was convened to consider program needs and identify critical research to accelerate the availability and use of safe, effective, affordable, simple, and feasible community case management approaches for neonatal sepsis/infection among families with no or limited access to facility-based care. This report summarizes the September 26-28, 2007 Expert Consultation meeting. The meeting objectives were to:
- Review the evidence from recent studies on safety, efficacy/effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, and use of community-based management approaches to neonatal sepsis, including cross-cutting issues of (i) community identification of cases, (ii) antibiotic regimens, (iii) care-seeking behaviors, (iv) health system challenges, and (v) ethical issues.
- Identify, review, and rank key issues that if addressed will lead to expanded access to care and facilitate development of focused short-term program approaches and a research agenda to address the issues not answered by the completed or ongoing studies.
- Outline/design up to three priority research studies that would support the development of programs to increase access to management of newborn sepsis.
The meeting participants reviewed evidence from published studies, data from recently completed, but unpublished studies, and engaged in lively debate and discussion. With the assistance of an expert panel of individuals not associated with the studies, the group reached conclusions about the state of the evidence.