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

The Smart Discharges Program is a quality improvement initiative that focuses on the identification of children who are especially vulnerable during the post-discharge period and provides an evidence-based approach to mitigate this risk. The Smart Discharges program trains front-line health workers to 1) utilize a risk prediction algorithm embedded into a digital platform (ex. mobile application, electronic health record) or a paper-based check-list, 2) perform focused educational counselling (including the provision of educational materials) for caregivers on how to best care for a child recovering from a severe illness and 3) a post-discharge referral for follow-up care among for the most vulnerable children to ensure a robust recovery and re-referral in the case of recurrent illness. The Smart Discharges training program has been co-developed with the Uganda Ministry of Health and is implemented by Walimu, a Ugandan NGO focused on improving care for the critically ill. The Smart Discharges program is embedded into a sustainable implementation package which includes both a training and a facility support component.