Networks of care for maternal and newborn health: implementation guidance
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World Health Organization
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v, 25 p.
This WHO implementation guidance provides practical recommendations for establishing and strengthening networks of care for maternal and newborn health (MNH) as an approach to improving the quality, continuity and coordination of care across health systems. Building on experiences from multiple countries, the document describes networks of care as intentionally connected groups of public and private health facilities, health workers, communities and other stakeholders that collaborate to provide comprehensive, equitable, respectful and person-centred care from the community level through to tertiary services. The guidance highlights the contribution of networks of care to strengthening primary health care, improving referral processes, fostering collaborative learning and supporting progress towards universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. The publication outlines the structural and relational elements that underpin effective networks of care, including communication, leadership, teamwork, trust, accountability, mentorship and coordinated service delivery. It presents evidence and country experiences demonstrating improvements in quality of care and maternal and newborn outcomes, and provides practical considerations for planning, financing, implementation, monitoring and sustainability. The document also identifies key actors involved in networks of care and proposes priority areas for future research to strengthen the evidence base and support the adaptation and scale-up of this approach in diverse settings.
This WHO implementation guidance provides practical recommendations for establishing and strengthening networks of care for maternal and newborn health (MNH) as an approach to improving the quality, continuity and coordination of care across health systems. Building on experiences from multiple countries, the document describes networks of care as intentionally connected groups of public and private health facilities, health workers, communities and other stakeholders that collaborate to provide comprehensive, equitable, respectful and person-centred care from the community level through to tertiary services. The guidance highlights the contribution of networks of care to strengthening primary health care, improving referral processes, fostering collaborative learning and supporting progress towards universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. The publication outlines the structural and relational elements that underpin effective networks of care, including communication, leadership, teamwork, trust, accountability, mentorship and coordinated service delivery. It presents evidence and country experiences demonstrating improvements in quality of care and maternal and newborn outcomes, and provides practical considerations for planning, financing, implementation, monitoring and sustainability. The document also identifies key actors involved in networks of care and proposes priority areas for future research to strengthen the evidence base and support the adaptation and scale-up of this approach in diverse settings.