Facilitating factors and barriers to kangaroo mother care utilisation in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review

BACKGROUND: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) has been widely adopted in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) to minimise low birthweight infants’ (LBWIs) adverse outcomes. However, the burden of neonatal and child mortality remains disproportionately high in LMICs. AIM: Thus, this scoping review sought to map evidence on the barriers, challenges and facilitators of KMC utilisation by parents of LBWIs (parent of low birthweight infant [PLBWI]) in LMICs. METHODS: We searched for studies conducted in LMICs and published in English between January 1990 and August 2020 from SciELO, Google Scholar, JSTOR, LILACS, Academic search complete, PubMed, CINAHL with full text, and Medline databases. We adopted Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for conducting scoping reviews. Potential studies were exported to Endnote X7 reference management software for abstract and full article screening. Two independent reviewers did a parallel abstract and full article screening using a standardised form. The results were analysed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: We generated 22 040 studies and after duplicate removal, 42 studies were eligible for full-text screening and 22 studies, most form sub-Saharan Africa, were included in the content analysis. Eight themes emerged from the analysis: access, buy-in, co-ordination and collaboration, medical issues, motivation, social support-gender obligation and empowerment, time and timing and traditional/cultural norms. CONCLUSION: Identifying factors affecting KMC may optimise KMC utilisation. Additional studies aiming at identifying influencing factors that affect KMC utilisation amongst PLBWIs’ in LMICs need to be conducted to provide evidence-based strategies to enhance practice, inform policy and decision-makers in KMC utilisation amongst the PLBWIs in LMICs and beyond.