Roles of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook and Other Home-Based Records on Newborn and Child Health: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Home-based records are paper or electronic records retained and used by mothers or caregivers to document the health services received for maternal, newborn, and child health. Little has been studied about the roles of these records on newborn and child health outcomes. Hence, we collated and summarized evidence concerning the roles of home-based records in improving newborn and child health. We conducted a systematic search in several databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Academic Search Complete, SocINDEX, CENTRAL, DARE, NHS EED, HTA, J-STAGE, Ichushi, and gray literature. We included original research articles of all study designs published in English or Japanese until January 2020. Owing to heterogeneity across the outcomes of included studies, we conducted a narrative synthesis. We included 55 studies (23 in Japanese) among 14,017 identified articles. We identified the following roles of home-based records on newborn and child health: promoted newborn/childcare seeking, improved knowledge and practices of newborn/childcare, encouraged home care for childhood illnesses, reduced child mortality and morbidity, and facilitated continuum of care. We observed a mixed effect on age-appropriate immunization (e.g., DTP3 completion) and no effect on the practice of immediate breastfeeding and prevention of perinatal mortality and morbidity. The findings highlighted the effectiveness and usefulness of home-based records to improve newborn and child health outcomes. However, only a few studies were available for each outcome category, limiting the certainty of evidence provided in this review. Therefore, we recommend further studies to explore the benefits of home-based records on improving newborn and child health.

Toward Improving the Reliability of Safety Information on Drug Exposure During Pregnancy

“…We believe that the information on congenital malformations is highly accurate because it is based on maternal and child health handbooks. 3 On the other hand, we believe it is important to interview the patient multiple times during the pregnancy. Thus, starting in May 2022, we obtained detailed information on drug use multiple times during the entire pregnancy via phone, email, and a web-based system.…”

The RE-AIM framework-based evaluation of the implementation of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook program in Angola: a mixed methods study

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) along with some studies recommended MCH-HB as one form of HBR to improve health service utilization [9][10][11][12]. Furthermore, the MCH-HB functions as a self-learning resource, helps avoid multiple HBRs [13], and supports improvements in CoC [14][15][16]. Therefore, the MCH-HB has drawn greater attention from health ministries and professional organizations across the globe for being an effective tool for promoting a life course approach to healthcare [8].…”

Effects of the maternal and child health handbook and other home-based records on mothers’ non-health outcomes: a systematic review

“…Its use originated in Japan in 1948 and it is known to be the first integrated home-based record covering the entire spectrum of pregnancy, childbirth, infancy and childcare until 6 years of age 4. The integration may have facilitated the continuum of care5 and might help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3—ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages 6. As part of universal healthcare, this handbook is distributed to pregnant women in Japan when they register their pregnancy 7.…”

“…Previous systematic reviews have evaluated the impact of home-based records on MNCH and reported improvements in the uptake of antenatal care services, childhood vaccinations and newborn and childcare practices 5 10 11. Studies in Myanmar and Palestine also showed a positive association between using the MCH handbook and receiving high-quality maternal health services 8 12.…”