g260(p)u2005effect of solar panels on in-patient paediatric mortality in a district hospital in sierra leone
Most deaths are caused by pneumonia, malnutrition, diarrhea, malaria and neonatal causes, and hypoxia is often the last factor.
Sierra Leone has less than 10% of the population.
This is a major challenge for sanitation because they cannot manage oxygen without an ongoing supply of electricity (
Supplied by an oxygen concentrator ,)
Or reliable lighting.
The fuel running the generator is expensive and there is often a shortage of fuel.
Methods and local nonfor-
Profit organization we have designed a hybrid solar system to support the electricity demand for pediatrics in hospitals in Sierra Leone region.
The system is designed to provide lighting and power for two oxygen concentrator.
With the low solar power generation system
Energy lights were installed in July 2013.
The hospital received training at ETAT (
Emergency triage, evaluation and treatment)
A pediatric triage was established 16 months before that.
We reviewed and analyzed
Pediatric mortality in patients before and after solar installation to assess whether there is any impact on mortality.
To minimize any differences due to seasonal changes in mortality, we collected data during the same six months of the year, before and after solar installation.
Data was analyzed in Stata 12.
1 Use Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Results from August 2012 to January 2013, 920 children were admitted to the pediatric ward, and 902 children were admitted from August 2013 to January 2014. Mean in-
Child mortality under six
The solar panel was 3 a month before installation. 7% (95% CI 2. 0–5. 3%)
, Down to 1. 8% (95% CI 0. 5–3. 0%)in the six-
One month after the installation of solar panels; p = 0. 028.
Conclusion the installation of solar panels is related to reducing the mortality rate of a pediatric unit.
Compared with other interventions, this intervention is more cost-effective and takes longer
The long-term impact on child mortality needs to be further assessed.
This initiative can effectively reduce other child mortality rates similar to low mortality rates
A resource environment with limited power supply, coupled with other improvements in pediatric hospital care.