Table 4

Examples of effective changes tested in US Agency for International Development-supported collaboratives

Maternal, reproductive, newborn and child health collaborativesHIV/AIDS and tuberculosis collaboratives
  • Reorganising call schedules to ensure reliable presence of skilled personnel

  • Enlisting lay-counsellors to coach patients in producing sputum samples

  • Organising prefilled syringes of oxytocin on ice packs in the delivery room for active management of the third stage of labour

  • Creating new information flows between different clinical services

  • Providing public feedback on performance

  • Using monthly phone calls to satellite clinics to check on patients with a history of poor adherence to treatment regimens

  • Integrating care for the newborn and postpartum care for the mother

  • Increasing time of counselling of HIV-positive patients by delegating counselling to lower-cadre workers

  • Sending samples rather than patients to labs for testing purposes