“First Night at Home”: Territorial program for monitoring infants with acute lower respiratory infection

Abstract

This study describes the implementation of a home-based monitoring program for  infants with moderate or severe acute lower respiratory infection in Florencio Varela,  Buenos Aires Province, during the winter seasons (June–August) from 2014 to 2017. In  collaboration with Mi Pueblo General Hospital, the Municipal Health Department deployed a team of nine nurses and three mobile units to conduct daily home visits within  12 hours after hospital discharge, prior to nocturnal sleep. The intervention combined  environmental observation and educational guidance to ensure post-discharge clinical  evaluation, appropriate medication use, and safe infant sleep practices.
Impact assessment indicates a sustained reduction in infant, post-neonatal, and respiratory-related mortality rates compared to pre-implementation years, with relative  declines also observed against regional and provincial trends. Findings highlight the importance and potential of micro- and meso-level local health management in building care networks and orienting services toward equity.