Smart-Discharges to Save Lives and Improve Health Outcomes Following Childhood Sepsis

In many children who are hospitalized in Africa with a severe infection (sepsis), the weeks following discharge are a period of great vulnerability. Indeed, as many die during the post-discharge period as die in hospital. Many post-discharge deaths are due to poorly resilient health systems that lack infrastructure and resources to identify at-risk children and provide effective interventions to ensure children remain healthy after discharge. Our project will transition a program of Smart Discharges to scale at several regional hospitals in Uganda. Admitted children will be screened using our innovative mHealth app. High-risk children receive discharge kits and will be referred for post-discharge follow-up in their communities. A post-discharge surveillance program will ensure health seeking and vital statistics are captured for program evaluation and continuous model updating. Our expected 25% reduction in post-discharge mortality has the potential to save thousands of lives annually.