Under the World Health Organization's (WHO) integrated community case management (iCCM) Rapid Access Expansion Program (RAcE), World Vision Niger and Canada supported the Niger Ministry of Public Health to implement iCCM in four health districts in Niger in 2013. Community health workers (CHWs), known as Relais Communautaire (RCom), were deployed in their communities to diagnose and treat children under five years of age presenting with diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia and refer children with severe illness to the higher-level facilities. Two of the districts piloted RCom using smartphones equipped with an application to support quality case management and provide good timely clinical data. A two-arm cluster randomized trial assessed the impact of use of the mHealth application mainly on quality of care (QoC), but also on motivation, retention and supervision
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
520
Does use of a specially equipped smartphone make a difference in the diagnosis and treatment by RCom of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea in children aged 2 to 59 months
Quality of Care (QoC) provided by RCom
The maximum QoC score was 31 points; the score was weighted with two-thirds of the score allocated to screening questions and correct identification of the danger signs and signs/symptoms of serious conditions A perfect score was achieved when RComs asked all 10 health screening questions and correctly classified 4 major danger signs and 6 serious symptoms, made appropriate referral, and provided advice to caregivers.
Time frame: 30 weeks
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