Research Snapshot: Reducing child mortality after hospital care

Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees, many in northern districts such as Lamwo. Severe infectious diseases are the leading causes of death in both refugee and non-refugee populations in Uganda, and post-discharge mortality has been demonstrated to be a major contributor to  paediatric deaths in low-resource settings. Yet, there is currently no data on post-discharge vulnerability and outcomes for refugee or host community children living within this context, alongside a lack of effective tools to support transitions to community care.

Smart Discharges, a comprehensive quality improvement initiative that use simple risk-prediction models to provide personalised post-discharge care, was evaluated in this landmark prospective study. Outcomes were tracked for 1185 children leaving hospitals after sepsis treatment. Mortality rates were similar between refugee and host community children, with higher than expected re-admission rates; perhaps indicating positive care-seeking behaviours. Results suggest Smart Discharges can help improve the transition from hospital to community care in humanitarian settings and beyond.

This snapshot contains key messages, findings, implications for humanitarian policymakers and practitioners and recommendations for further research.

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