Dataset Information

Mobile Technology for Community Health in Ghana: Is Maternal Messaging and Provider Use of Technology Cost-Effective in Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes at Scale?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mobile technologies are emerging as tools to enhance health service delivery systems and empower clients to improve maternal, newborn, and child health. Limited evidence exists on the value for money of mobile health (mHealth) programs in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective

This study aims to forecast the incremental cost-effectiveness of the Mobile Technology for Community Health (MOTECH) initiative at scale across 170 districts in Ghana.

Methods

MOTECH's "Client Data Application" allows frontline health workers to digitize service delivery information and track the care of patients. MOTECH's other main component, the "Mobile Midwife," sends automated educational voice messages to mobile phones of pregnant and postpartum women. We measured program costs and consequences of scaling up MOTECH over a 10-year analytic time horizon. Economic costs were estimated from informant interviews and financial records. Health effects were modeled using the Lives Saved Tool with data from an independent evaluation of changes in key services coverage observed in Gomoa West District. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were presented overall and for each year of implementation. Uncertainty analyses assessed the robustness of results to changes in key parameters.

Results

MOTECH was scaled in clusters over a 3-year period to reach 78.7% (170/216) of Ghana's districts. Sustaining the program would cost US $17,618 on average annually per district. Over 10 years, MOTECH could potentially save an estimated 59,906 lives at a total cost of US $32 million. The incremental cost per disability-adjusted life year averted ranged from US $174 in the first year to US $6.54 in the tenth year of implementation and US $20.94 (95% CI US $20.34-$21.55) over 10 years. Uncertainty analyses suggested that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was most sensitive to changes in health effects, followed by personnel time. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses suggested that MOTECH had a 100% probability of being cost-effective above a willingness-to-pay threshold of US $50.

Conclusions

This is the first study to estimate the value for money of the supply- and demand-side of an mHealth initiative. The adoption of MOTECH to improve MNCH service delivery and uptake represents good value for money in Ghana and should be considered for expansion. Integration with other mHealth solutions, including e-Tracker, may provide opportunities to continue or combine beneficial components of MOTECH to achieve a greater impact on health.

SUBMITTER: Willcox M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6391645 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Mobile Technology for Community Health in Ghana: Is Maternal Messaging and Provider Use of Technology Cost-Effective in Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes at Scale?

Willcox Michelle M Moorthy Anitha A Mohan Diwakar D Romano Karen K Hutchful David D Mehl Garrett G Labrique Alain A LeFevre Amnesty A

Journal of medical Internet research 20190213 2

<h4>Background</h4>Mobile technologies are emerging as tools to enhance health service delivery systems and empower clients to improve maternal, newborn, and child health. Limited evidence exists on the value for money of mobile health (mHealth) programs in low- and middle-income countries.<h4>Objective</h4>This study aims to forecast the incremental cost-effectiveness of the Mobile Technology for Community Health (MOTECH) initiative at scale across 170 districts in Ghana.<h4>Methods</h4>MOTECH' ...[more]

PMID: 30758296

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Project description:BackgroundWith the date for achieving the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaching fast, there is a heightened concern about equity, as inequities hamper progress towards the MDGs. Equity-focused approaches have the potential to accelerate the progress towards achieving the health-related MDGs faster than the current pace in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner. Ghana's rate of progress towards MDGs 4 and 5 related to reducing child and maternal mortality respectively is less than what is required to achieve the targets. The objective of this paper is to examine the equity dimension of child and maternal health outcomes and interventions using Ghana as a case study.MethodsData from Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2008 report is analyzed for inequities in selected maternal and child health outcomes and interventions using population-weighted, regression-based measures: slope index of inequality and relative index of inequality.ResultsNo statistically significant inequities are observed in infant and under-five mortality, perinatal mortality, wasting and acute respiratory infection in children. However, stunting, underweight in under-five children, anaemia in children and women, childhood diarrhoea and underweight in women (BMI < 18.5) show inequities that are to the disadvantage of the poorest. The rates significantly decrease among the wealthiest quintile as compared to the poorest. In contrast, overweight (BMI 25-29.9) and obesity (BMI ? 30) among women reveals a different trend - there are inequities in favour of the poorest. In other words, in Ghana overweight and obesity increase significantly among women in the wealthiest quintile compared to the poorest. With respect to interventions: treatment of diarrhoea in children, receiving all basic vaccines among children and sleeping under ITN (children and pregnant women) have no wealth-related gradient. Skilled care at birth, deliveries in a health facility (both public and private), caesarean section, use of modern contraceptives and intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during pregnancy all indicate gradients that are in favour of the wealthiest. The poorest use less of these interventions. Not unexpectedly, there is more use of home delivery among women of the poorest quintile.ConclusionSignificant Inequities are observed in many of the selected child and maternal health outcomes and interventions. Failure to address these inequities vigorously is likely to lead to non-achievement of the MDG targets related to improving child and maternal health (MDGs 4 and 5). The government should therefore give due attention to tackling inequities in health outcomes and use of interventions by implementing equity-enhancing measure both within and outside the health sector in line with the principles of Primary Health Care and the recommendations of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health.

Project description:Background:Over the last two decades, the Mexican government has released several efforts to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), based on the principles of fairness and social protection, to reduce the inequities in utilization, access, and quality of care existing in the health system. Two of the most important social public policies that have targeted the population without access to social security include the 1997 conditional cash transfers (CCT) program known as Prospera (formerly Oportunidades or Progresa) and the Seguro Popular de Salud (SPS by its Spanish initials), launched in 2003. These two programs, so far, have survived changes in the federal administrations being the most longstanding social programs targeting poor (or unprotected) populations ever in the history of modern Mexico. We tested the existence of positive synergies between demand-side (or CCT-Prospera) and supply-side (or Seguro Popular de Salud, SPS) social programs in the achievement of effective coverage (EC) of maternal-child health interventions in Mexico. Methods:We performed a retrospective-cohort analysis to 6413 women aged 12-49 years who participated in a probabilistic survey conducted in 2012. We calculated EC as the product of three indexes: need, utilization and quality of health care. Correlates of EC were identified estimating a logistic regression model. We also presented adjusted EC by specific women groups. Results:EC among beneficiaries of both programs was similar to estimates in Social Security affiliates (54%). For those not affiliated to any of the programs or those who received benefits for only one of them, the EC was 47.6% and 45.5% respectively. Adjusted estimates of EC suggest that overall, having both programs (Prospera?+?SPS) has a positive effect on maternal and child care coverage, which makes the observed differences in EC not statistically significant between those affiliated to both programs in comparison with the observed in the population with social security. Conclusions:Results support positive synergies between Prospera and SPS in the reduction of the gaps in EC. The most vulnerable population groups need to be reached by the combination of these programs so that public health efforts translate into greater EC of maternal health services and better maternal-child outcomes.

Project description:BackgroundLimited evidence exists on the value for money of mHealth information programs in low resource settings.ObjectiveThis study sought to model the incremental cost-effectiveness of gradually scaling up text messaging services to pregnant women throughout Gauteng province, South Africa from 2012 to 2017.MethodsData collection occurred as part of a retrospective study in 6 health centers in Gauteng province. Stage-based short message service (SMS) text messages on maternal health were sent to pregnant women twice per week during pregnancy and continued until the infant's first birthday. Program costs, incremental costs to users, and the health system costs for these women were measured along with changes in the utilization of antenatal care visits and childhood immunizations and compared with those from a control group of pregnant women who received no SMS text messages. Incremental changes in utilization were entered into the Lives Saved Tool and used to forecast lives saved and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) averted by scaling up program activities over 5 years to reach 60% of pregnant women across Gauteng province. Uncertainty was characterized using one-way and probabilistic uncertainty analyses.ResultsFive-year program costs were estimated to be US $1.2 million, 17% of which were incurred by costs on program development and 31% on SMS text message delivery costs. Costs to users were US $1.66 to attend clinic-based services, nearly 90% of which was attributed to wages lost. Costs to the health system included provider time costs to register users (US $0.08) and to provide antenatal care (US $4.36) and postnatal care (US $3.08) services. Incremental costs per DALY averted from a societal perspective ranged from US $1985 in the first year of implementation to US $200 in the 5th year. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of US $2000, the project had a 40% probability of being cost-effective in year 1 versus 100% in all years thereafter.ConclusionsStudy findings suggest that delivering SMS text messages on maternal health information to pregnant and postpartum women may be a cost-effective strategy for bolstering antenatal care and childhood immunizations, even at very small margins of coverage increases. Primary data obtained prospectively as part of more rigorous study designs are needed to validate modeled results.

Project description:BackgroundThe Government of Cambodia established the village health support groups (VHSGs) in 2003 to facilitate primary healthcare activities, including maternal and child health (MCH) services. However, VHSGs face several challenges that hinder them from performing optimally, including a lack of regular structured training and remuneration and limited and inconsistent support and supervision from the health centers (HCs). This implementation research aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a digital health intervention to improve the performance of VHSGs through better support and supervision and increase the MCH service coverage in rural Cambodia.Methodsi-MoMCARE, a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial, will be conducted between 2022 and 2025. Five operational districts (ODs) have been randomized to an intervention arm and the other five ODs to the control arm. The intervention will last for 24 months. Around 200 VHSGs in the intervention arm will be equipped with a mobile application as a job aid and 20 HC staff with a web interface to improve support and supervision of VHSGs. The potential beneficiaries will include pregnant women, mothers, and children under 2 years old. We will measure the outcomes at baseline and endline. The primary outcomes will consist of a composite MCH index constructed from maternal and newborn care indicators, child immunization, and treatment of under-two children. Secondary outcomes will include coverage of selected MCH services. We will conduct the intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses. We will conduct qualitative interviews with selected beneficiaries and stakeholders to evaluate the intervention's acceptability, feasibility, and scalability. We will also conduct a cost-effective analysis using decision-analytic modeling incorporating a societal perspective that explores different time horizons, intervention effects, and when scaled up to the national level.Discussioni-MoMCARE is expected to increase MCH service access and coverage in rural Cambodia. It will contribute to advancing digital health use in primary healthcare interventions, which remains in its infancy in the country. Furthermore, the study findings will be a valuable addition to a growing body of literature on the effectiveness and feasibility of mobile health to improve coverage of MCH services in rural low- and middle-income country settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrial.gov NCT05639595. Registered on 06 December 2022.

Project description:BackgroundWithout addressing the constraints specific to disadvantaged populations, national health policies such as universal health coverage risk increasing equity gaps. Health system constraints often have the greatest impact on disadvantaged populations, resulting in poor access to quality health services among vulnerable groups.MethodsThe Investment Cases in Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, and the state of Orissa in India were implemented to support evidence-based sub-national planning and budgeting for equitable scale-up of quality MNCH services. The Investment Case framework combines the basic setup of strategic problem solving with a decision-support model. The analysis and identification of strategies to scale-up priority MNCH interventions is conducted by in-country planners and policymakers with facilitation from local and international research partners.ResultsSignificant variation in scaling-up constraints, strategies, and associated costs were identified between countries and across urban and rural typologies. Community-based strategies have been considered for rural populations served predominantly by public providers, but this analysis suggests that the scaling-up of maternal, newborn, and child health services requires health system interventions focused on 'getting the basics right'. These include upgrading or building facilities, training and redistribution of staff, better supervision, and strengthening the procurement of essential commodities. Some of these strategies involve substantial early capital expenditure in remote and sparsely populated districts. These supply-side strategies are not only the 'best buys', but also the 'required buys' to ensure the quality of health services as coverage increases. By contrast, such public supply strategies may not be the 'best buys' in densely populated urbanised settings, served by a mix of public and private providers. Instead, robust regulatory and supervisory mechanisms are required to improve the accessibility and quality of services delivered by the private sector. They can lead to important maternal mortality reductions at relatively low costs.ConclusionsNational strategies that do not take into consideration the special circumstances of disadvantaged areas risk disempowering local managers and may lead to a "business-as-usual" acceptance of unreachable goals. To effectively guide health service delivery at a local level, national plans should adopt typologies that reflect the different problems and strategies to scale up key MNCH interventions.

Project description:BackgroundmHealth technology holds promise for improving the effectiveness of frontline health workers (FLWs), who provide most health-related primary care services, especially reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition services (RMNCHN), in low-resource - especially hard-to-reach - settings. Data are lacking, however, from rigorous evaluations of mHealth interventions on delivery of health services or on health-related behaviors and outcomes.MethodsThe Information Communication Technology-Continuum of Care Service (ICT-CCS) tool was designed for use by community-based FLWs to increase the coverage, quality and coordination of services they provide in Bihar, India. It consisted of numerous mobile phone-based job aids aimed to improve key RMNCHN-related behaviors and outcomes. ICT-CCS was implemented in Saharsa district, with cluster randomization at the health sub-center level. In total, evaluation surveys were conducted with approximately 1100 FLWs and 3000 beneficiaries who had delivered an infant in the previous year in the catchment areas of intervention and control health sub-centers, about half before implementation (mid-2012) and half two years afterward (mid-2014). Analyses included bivariate and difference-in-difference analyses across study groups.ResultsThe ICT-CCS intervention was associated with more frequent coordination of AWWs with ASHAs on home visits and greater job confidence among ASHAs. The intervention resulted in an 11 percentage point increase in FLW antenatal home visits during the third trimester (P = 0.04). In the post-implementation period, postnatal home visits during the first week were increased in the intervention (72%) vs the control (60%) group (P < 0.01). The intervention also resulted in 13, 12, and 21 percentage point increases in skin-to-skin care (P < 0.01), breastfeeding immediately after delivery (P < 0.01), and age-appropriate complementary feeding (P < 0.01). FLW supervision and other RMNCHN behaviors were not significantly impacted.ConclusionsImportant improvements in FLW home visits and RMNCHN behaviors were achieved. The ICT-CCS tool shows promise for facilitating FLW effectiveness in improving RMNCHN behaviors.

Dataset Information

Mobile Technology for Community Health in Ghana: Is Maternal Messaging and Provider Use of Technology Cost-Effective in Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes at Scale?

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Mobile Technology for Community Health in Ghana: Is Maternal Messaging and Provider Use of Technology Cost-Effective in Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes at Scale?

Similar Datasets

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