OptiMaP Maternal and Child Health Study Conducts Maiden Training for District Advisory Board Members to Support Study Activities

February 12, 2025 | News Feed | Reading time: 4 min

The “Optimizing Implementation of Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response” (OptiMaP) study, led by the School of Public Health (SPH), University of Ghana and Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), has trained 30 District Advisory Board (DAB) members to help drive the study’s effort in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths in Ghana. The OptiMaP study is part of ongoing efforts to improve maternal and newborn healthcare and prevent avoidable deaths by strengthening systems that monitor and respond to these deaths.

The training, which was held in Nkoranza, from 12th-13th February 2025, involved DAB members from Nkoranza North, Nkoranza South, and Atebubu Districts, where the study is being implemented. The training for the DAB members focused on their roles in the study as the link between the research team and the local communities. They were also taken through the communication channels to be used as well as the study’s objectives and procedure.

Prior to the DAB training, the study team attended a two-day trainer of trainers (TOT) workshop at KHRC, from 10th -11th February. The TOT workshop equipped the study team with essential skills to effectively train the DAB members on the various study procedures.

About OptiMaP

OptiMaP is a four-year study that seeks to develop and improve the way the ‘Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response’ (MPDSR) system tracks and responds to maternal and newborn deaths, and to evaluate how it helps reduce these deaths. This study is led by the School of Public Health (SPH), University of Ghana in collaboration with the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC) and implemented in the Nkoranza North, Nkoranza South, and Atebubu Districts of the Bono East Region of Ghana. The study will go a long way to ensure better health outcomes for mothers and babies in Ghana.

The research team leading this study includes Prof. Kwaku Poku Asante, and Dr. John Amoah from KHRC; Prof. Alex Manu, Prof. Francis Anto, Prof. Patricia Akweongo, Prof Kwasi Torpey, Dr. Timothy Abagre, Vida Kukula, Shirley Abanga, and Naadu Hazel from SPH; and Dr. Merlin Wilcox and Dr. Mary Mbuo, collaborators from the University of Southampton, UK.