Trends in neonatal mortality in a regional hospital in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: Quality improvement in action

Background Dora Nginza Hospital had a high neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in 2016. Quality improvement (QI) strategies were subsequently introduced to improve outcomes.Objective To report changes in the NMR at Dora Nginza Hospital from 2016 to 2019, following the introduction of QI interventions.Methods A retrospective comparison was conducted of unit-based data from before and after the introduction of QI interventions. Outcomes included total, early and late NMR, NMR by birthweight categories and causes of neonatal deaths. A chi-squared test and relative risk were used to compare groups, with p