Maternal and Infant Health Care Strategies Research Unit

Director: Prof R.C. Pattinson
E-mail: rcpattin@kalafong.up.ac.za

This Unit was established in September 1997 and strives to increase the quality of life of South African mothers and their babies.

Its mission is to develop health strategies at primary and secondary care levels for mothers and infants by researching solutions to specific problems which are generally acceptable to the women, health care workers and health administrators involved.

Each research programme runs through four phases:

1. identifying the respective problem by developing audit systems;
2. developing a solution either by performing systematic reviews of the literature (within the Cochrane Collaboration) or by clinical research;
3. implementing the proposed solutions; and
4. testing the effect by using the audit systems already in place.

The Unit uses the ICA Solution audit system as a basis for identifying the problems. The Perinatal Problem Identification Programme (PPIP) - a computer-based perinatal care audit system - was the original system that was developed using the ICA Solution audit system, and the methodology has since been expanded over the years to include audits on severe maternal morbidity, maternal mortality and infant mortality.