New research highlights how the Safe Delivery App is supporting healthcare professionals in Papua New Guinea

New research highlights how the Safe Delivery App is helping healthcare professionals in rural Papua New Guinea ensure safer births for women and their newborns.   

The Safe Delivery App is an evidence-based job aid, training and microlearning tool designed to support midwives and other healthcare professionals in providing quality maternal and newborn healthcare in remote and fragile settings. The App is free and works offline once downloaded.  

That makes the App particularly well-suited to Papua New Guinea, where nearly 90% of the population lives in rural areas with limited access to healthcare. The country faces a severe shortage of healthcare professionals, especially midwives, and many are often forced to manage maternal and newborn emergencies on their own in rural locations, with limited access to up-to-date guidelines or ongoing training. Papua New Guinea faces high maternal and neonatal mortality rates, underscoring the urgent need to accelerate progress in access to quality care.  

The Safe Delivery App has been adapted to the specific context of Papua New Guinea.  Twelve midwife trainers have been trained, and an additional 31 healthcare professionals have been introduced to the App. This happened in close collaboration with the Burnet Insititute.  

The new research shows that downloads more than tripled between 2022 and 2024, and the App is seen as a useful tool among midwives and nurses, particularly those in remote areas and among midwifery educators. Users report that the App has led to changes in practice, supporting and encouraging staff to follow evidence-based guidelines, improving their clinical management. 

Read the paper here.