mHealth Intervention for Improving Eye Health at Community Level

Modelling and Evaluation of a Community-oriented mHealth-based Screening and Promotional Programme for Improving Eye Health in Iran

This study is a community trial that aims to establish and evaluate an mHealth screening and promotional tool for improving eye health in Iran. Sampling frame is a region in Tehran province with around 1 million sub-urban and rural inhabitants. investigators have obtained the list of health centers and their underserved population from the health authorities. In this region, health services are delivered through rural health houses, urban health posts and overhead health centers (221 units in total). investigators choose 27 units using cluster random sampling method with a probability proportional to size strategy, then investigators randomly assign them into three arms (explained below). The interventions will be at community level with the community as the unit of randomization.

Arm 1- Training of the Primary Health Care (PHC) workers + PHC workers will be empowered with the mHealth tool to monitor, screen and promote community members Arm 2- PHC system will be strengthened with health promotion and screening programmes (same content as the mHealth tool) and PHC workers will deliver eye health messages and screening tests by the conventional facilities.

Arm 3: Control group: only observation and registering of routine care

Inclusion Criteria:

• Inclusion criteria were living in one of the non-institutionalized urban or rural residential areas in one of the survey area, being resident in the same address for at least 6 months during the year before the enrolment, age 50 and over and Iranian nationality.