ENAP and EPMM research priorities identified across six Asian countries

A mixed-methods study across six Asian countries identified eight areas requiring further implementation research to improve the quality, equity and delivery of maternal and newborn health care within the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) networks. The priorities include strengthening health-worker competencies, expanding equitable access through community health workers, promoting respectful maternal care, supporting maternal psychological well-being, improving contraception access, combining institutional care with community awareness and family involvement, preventing malpractice and regulating caesarean sections.

The study aimed to identify maternal and newborn health interventions that need further research so strategies can be adapted to different country contexts. It examined six countries selected according to predefined criteria and combined three forms of evidence: a review of maternal-newborn health data and national policy documents, a scoping literature review and interviews with key stakeholders.

Researchers first assessed maternal and newborn health data together with national documents addressing maternal-newborn health and related targets. The purpose was to understand each country’s health situation and potential policy gaps affecting the delivery of high-quality care. This assessment also indicated how far the six countries were from the ENAP and EPMM goals for 2030.

On the basis of the document review, all six countries were judged to be far from reaching the ENAP and EPMM 2030 goals except the Philippines. This was a comparison based on the reviewed data and documents, rather than a longitudinal measurement of changes over time. The review also did not directly test the effectiveness of an intervention or assess a particular network programme in practice.

In parallel, the team conducted a scoping review of maternal and newborn care in each country. The review screened 780 articles and included 356 concerning the six countries. Through inductive qualitative analysis, the researchers derived preliminary implementation-research priorities from the included literature. These candidates were then taken forward for validation through interviews with key stakeholders.

Two priorities were shared by more than one country: interventions to improve workforce competencies, including the use of mobile health technologies, and programmes intended to increase equity in access to care through community health workers. Community health worker programmes were also reported as helpful in facilitating other identified research priorities, linking community-based support with several broader aims for maternal and newborn care.

The other priorities were interventions to promote respectful maternal care, maternal psychological well-being and access to contraception; approaches combining institutional care with greater community awareness and the inclusion of husbands in maternal and newborn care; measures for preventing malpractice; and interventions aimed at regulating caesarean section. These are areas where the study identified a need for further implementation research, not interventions demonstrated by the study to be effective.

The authors concluded that the priorities could help inform researchers and policymakers seeking to improve maternal-newborn health and the quality of care. The study also provides a model for identifying implementation-research priorities by combining an assessment of country data and documents with a scoping evidence review and stakeholder validation. Because the research sets priorities for future investigation, its results do not establish which intervention will produce the greatest effect or quantify the comparative effectiveness of the eight areas identified.

Subject of Research: Implementation research priorities for maternal and newborn health across six Asian countries

Article Title: Identifying implementation research priorities for the ENAP (Every Newborn Action Plan) and EPMM (Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality) networks: mixed-methods study in six Asian countries

Article References: Zanette, M., Weickart, A., Kurz, D., Jackson, D., & Lazzerini, M. (2026). Identifying implementation research priorities for the ENAP (Every Newborn Action Plan) and EPMM (Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality) networks: mixed-methods study in six Asian countries. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15799-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15799-y

Keywords: maternal health, newborn health, implementation research, Asian countries, health equity, community health workers, mobile health, respectful care, contraception access, caesarean regulation, Identifying, implementation