A Cluster Randomized Controlled Intervention to Improve Institutional Birth Rate in a Rural District of Ethiopia

Interventions included the training of community members, who subsequently led participatory educational sessions on safe motherhood topics with pregnant females. The project staff identified 2 community health workers and 15 female volunteers from each kebele cluster and trained them as research implementers. The implementers received 2 days of training led by the project team. The project staff and research implementers conducted safe-motherhood training comprising 2 h of information presentations and discussions with pregnant females in the intervention clusters. In addition to the pregnant-female intervention strategy, we also conducted a four-day training programme on clinical skills for local maternal and child healthcare providers in the study area. MWH intervention was also implemented in the intervention group, including upgrades to existing MWH services per national guidelines to standardize services and create a homelike environment for pregnant females.