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Maternal Care PatternsNCT05565196

Birth Companion Intervention in Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria

A study testing Birth companions in people with Maternal Care Patterns, run by Jhpiego at 5 sites in 3 countries.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The study aims to assess the acceptability; feasibility; implementation cost; and penetration of the birth companion intervention introduced at health facilities. It is a multi-country study (Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria) with a two parallel arm cluster randomized controlled trial design. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 15 years and older, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Maternal Care Patterns
What is being tested?
Birth companions
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
10,360 participants
Where
5 sitesin 3 countries
Study dates
10 Oct 2022to 18 Nov 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 15 years and older
  • Women only
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Facilities
  • Prior to randomization, head of facility grants permission for facility to participate in the study
  • Be willing to develop, adopt, and implement the BC standard operating procedures and other components of the BC intervention package
  • Have more than 16 births per month during the past three months
  • Be in the Addis Ababa and surrounding area, Ethiopia, in Muranga and Machakos County, Kenya or Nasarawa and Kano states, Nigeria
  • Providers
Show all 20Show fewer
  • At the time of enrollment, providers need to work in ANC or labor and delivery ward(s) of the study facilities
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study
  • Mothers
  • Per participant report, age 15 years or older
  • Have vaginal birth
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study
  • Birth companions
  • Per participant report, for emancipated minors, age 15 years or older. If not an emancipated minor, per participant report, 18 years or older
  • Was present at labor and/or delivery
  • Identified as a BC by the delivering mother
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study
  • Unit managers
  • Involved in the implementation and management of the BC intervention
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study

Who cannot join

  • Facilities
  • Facility staff strike or other disturbance to routine care noted prior to randomization that would pose significant challenge(s) to achieving the study objectives
  • Providers
  • N/A
  • Mothers
  • Unable to participate in an interview due to their physical or emotional condition caused by an adverse delivery outcome.
Show all 11Show fewer
  • Unable to provide valid information because of mental or other serious health condition
  • Birth companions
  • Unable to provide valid information because of mental or other serious health condition
  • Unit managers
  • N/A

Trial locations and contacts

5 sites in 3 countries.

5 sites in 3 countries

Kenya2 sites
  • Machakos County Health Office

    Machakos

  • Murang'a County Health Office

    Murang’a

Other trials in Kenya

Nigeria2 sites
  • Kano State Health Office

    Kano

  • Nasarawa Sate Health Office

    Karu

Other trials in Nigeria

Ethiopia1 site
  • Saint Paul's Millennium College

    Addis Ababa

Other trials in Ethiopia

About this study

Official title: Implementing the Birth Companion Intervention Package in Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Impact on Coverage of Facility Births Attended by a Companion.

The study aims to assess the acceptability; feasibility; implementation cost; and penetration of the birth companion intervention introduced at health facilities. It is a multi-country study (Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria) with a two parallel arm cluster randomized controlled trial design. The study duration will approximately be 16 months.

Read the detailed description

The overall purpose of this study is to investigate how a birth companion (BC) intervention can be implemented to increase the proportion of women who are accompanied by a BC during labor, childbirth, and postpartum in Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria. After baseline data collection, facilities will be randomized in a 3:1 ratio; for every three facilities that receive the BC intervention, one facility will serve as a control facility. After randomization, over the course of two months, intervention facilities will start preparing to introduce the BC intervention to facilitate presence of BC during labor and delivery, while the control facilities will continue to provide the local standard of routine care. The intervention will have the following components: 1) Orient facilities and providers to benefits of BC; 2) Develop/update formal standard operating procedures (SOP) for implementing BC and develop plans to implement SOP; 3) Assess data required for implementation and an audit and feedback cycle for tracking coverage; 4) Assess and carry out modest structural changes in facilities to facilitate BC; 5) Use human centered design to develop materials/resources and a means to distinguish/recognize the BC, taking into account common barriers and misconceptions; 6) Prepare providers to integrate BC into care team; 7) Orient antenatal care (ANC) clients to BC rationale and selection; 8) Prepare BCs to support women; 9) Iterate model and track intervention/policies. Investigators will use a mixed methods approach to address the implementation research questions with exit interviews, health facility register data extraction, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Investigators will collect quarterly quantitative and qualitative data over the course of one week each, for a total of five data collection periods including baseline.

Being tested
Birth companions

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Birth companionsBehavioural

    The intervention will have the following components: 1) Orient facilities and providers to benefits of BC; 2) Develop/update formal standard operating procedures (SOP) for implementing BC and develop plans to implement SOP; 3) Assess data required for implementation and an audit and feedback cycle for tracking coverage; 4) Assess and carry out modest structural changes in facilities to facilitate BC; 5) Use human centered design to develop materials/resources and a means to distinguish/recognize the BC, taking into account common barriers and misconceptions; 6) Prepare providers to integrate BC into care team; 7) Orient ANC clients to BC rationale and selection; 8) Prepare BCs to support women; 9) Iterate model and track intervention/policies.

Study groups in NCT05565196
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Birth companion intervention armExperimentalWomen who deliver in facilities in the experimental arm will be exposed to a facility-based intervention designed to improve companionship in labor, childbirth, and postpartum periods.
Receives: Behavioral: Birth companions
Standard of care armNo interventionWomen who deliver in facilities in the experimental arm will be exposed to the standard of care for labor, delivery, and the postpartum period.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in Birth Companion Coverage

    Between baseline and endline surveys, the investigators will measure the change in the proportion of women who are accompanied by a birth companion during labor, childbirth, and postpartum.

    Measured: Between baseline and Endline survey (12 months after intervention is initiated).

Secondary outcomes (9)
  1. Choice of Birth Companion

    Between baseline and endline surveys, among women who report having a birth companion, the investigators will measure the change in the proportion who report that their birth companion was the one of their choice.

    Measured: Between baseline and Endline survey (12 months after intervention is initiated).

  2. Change in Experience of Care (Mothers'-Quantitative)

    Between baseline and endline surveys, the investigators will measure the change in mothers' score on Person-Centered Maternity Care scale. This scale has 33 items with a score ranging from 0-98. A low score signifies a better outcome.

    Measured: Between baseline and Endline survey (12 months after intervention is initiated).

  3. Experience of Care (Mothers'-Qualitative)

    In intervention facilities, among women who had birth companions investigators will use in-depth interviews to explore their perception of having a birth companion.

    Measured: Quarterly after initiation of the intervention (for a period of 12 months).

  4. Feasibility (Unit managers and Providers-Quantitative)

    In intervention facilities, investigators will measure the proportion of providers and unit managers who report the physical environment of care supports the presence of birth companions during labor, birth, and the postnatal period.

    Measured: Endline survey (12 months after intervention is initiated).

  5. Feasibility (Unit Managers-Qualitative)

    In intervention facilities, investigators will use key informant interviews to understand unit managers' perception on the feasibility of having birth companions.

    Measured: Quarterly after the initiation of the intervention (for a period of 12 months).

  6. Acceptability (Mothers)

    In intervention facilities, investigators will use in-depth interviews to understand mothers' perception on the acceptability of having birth companions.

    Measured: Quarterly after the initiation of the intervention (for a period of 12 months).

  7. Acceptability (Birth Companions)

    In intervention facilities, investigators will use in-depth interviews to understand birth companions' perception on the acceptability of being a birth companion.

    Measured: Quarterly after the initiation of the intervention (for a period of 12 months).

  8. Acceptability (Providers)

    In intervention facilities, investigators will use focus group discussions to understand providers' perception on the acceptability of having birth companions.

    Measured: Quarterly after the initiation of the intervention (for a period of 12 months).

  9. Acceptability (Unit Managers)

    In intervention facilities, investigators will use qualitative methods understand unit managers' perception on the acceptability of having birth companions.

    Measured: Quarterly after the initiation of the intervention (for a period of 12 months).

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted4 Oct 2022
  2. Study start10 Oct 2022
  3. Primary completion18 Nov 2024
  4. Study completion18 Nov 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
10,360 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05565196
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB00021183
Status last verified
Apr 2024
First submitted
28 Sep 2022
Last updated
10 Dec 2024
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: Per current Bill \& Melinda Gates Foundation policy for study data

Publications

  • Berhanu D, Bekele G, Melesse H, Taddese F, Owira P, Manguro G, Laleye O, Farouk Z, Balogun M, Hyre A, Mwaura S, Kiptoo OK, Wabwile VM, Mohammed S, Wolde K, Teno D, Eke EC, Don-Aki JO, Noguchi L, Suhowatsky S, Doggett E, Yenokyan G, Worku A. A clustered randomized control trial to assess feasibility, acceptability, and impact of implementing the birth companion intervention package in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria: study protocol. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Oct 14;23(1):1100. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-10082-w.

    PubMed 37838662

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Birth companions in people with Maternal Care Patterns, run by Jhpiego at 5 sites in 3 countries.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 20 inclusion and 11 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Dec 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 5 sites in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Birth Companion Coverage (time frame: Between baseline and Endline survey (12 months after intervention is initiated).). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05565196, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Dec 2024.

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