Leveraging Community Health Workers and a Digital Health System to Improve the Timeliness of Child Well Visits

Leveraging Community Health Workers and a Responsive Digital Health System to Improve Rates and Timeliness of Child Well Visits in the First Year of Life

The goal of this cluster-randomized type 1 effectiveness implementation hybrid trial is to evaluate whether a community health worker led, integrated digital health intervention (Huduma Kwa Wakati; "Timely Services" in Kiswahili) can improve rates of timely well visits and receipt of key recommended preventive interventions among children in their first year of life. The hypothesis is that Huduma Kwa Wakati will improve the timeliness and rates of completion of child well visits and receipt of recommended preventive services before age 1 year, compared to the standard of care. Researchers will compare outcomes among children enrolled from intervention clusters and no-intervention comparison clusters. Outcomes will also be compared to a cross-sectional retrospective comparison sample. This study will address the lack of rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of a community-based digital health intervention for promoting rates and timeliness of preventive service receipt among children from sub-Saharan Africa, and identify implementation strategies to facilitate the deployment of integrated community-based digital health interventions in low- and middle-income country settings.

Background and Objective:

In Tanzania, only 68% of children receive key recommended preventive health interventions within their first year of life. Prior research identified substantial rural-urban disparities in rates and timeliness of preventive service receipt in Tanzania, with children in rural settings being more like to receive delayed or no services. This type 1 effectiveness implementation hybrid study will evaluate the effect of Huduma Kwa Wakati ("Timely Services" in Kiswahili), a community-based, integrated digital health intervention, on the timeliness of child well visits and receipt of recommended preventive services in children's first year of life. The intervention combines a knowledge intervention, mobile phone-based reminders, and incentives with the goal to promote timely service receipt.

Methods:

The study will be conducted in the catchment areas of 40 rural health facilities in two predominantly rural regions in Tanzania. From each catchment area, three cohorts of mother-child dyads, one retrospective cohort and two prospective cohorts, will be enrolled into the study. The prospective cohort, comprising mothers from eighty communities ("clusters") within these catchment areas, will be randomized to an intervention or control arm. The timeliness (primary outcome) and coverage (secondary outcome) of child well visits will be observed for 1200 children (800 prospective children and 400 retrospective children). Details of the clinical trial refer to the prospective cohort of 800 mother-child dyads. Study logs, fidelity checklists, quantitative surveys, child health records, and qualitative interviews with mothers and key informants will be used to inform the five constructs of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Results will be used to develop an implementation blueprint that can guide future adaptations, sustainability, and scale-up of Huduma Kwa Wakati.

Hypothesis:

The hypothesis is that Huduma Kwa Wakati is effective for increasing the timeliness of child well visits and rates of preventive services receipt before age 1 year compared to the standard of care.

Expected impact:

This study will address the lack of rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of a community-based digital health intervention for promoting rates and timeliness of recommended health service receipt among children from sub-Saharan Africa, and identify implementation strategies to facilitate the deployment of integrated interventions in low- and middle-income country settings.

Inclusion Criteria for the Cross-sectional sample:

• mothers of children ages 12-23 months
• residing in the sampling area

Inclusion Criteria for the Longitudinal sample:

• pregnant women in their last trimester of pregnancy
• residing in the sampling area
• expected to reside in the sampling area until the child reaches age 1 year

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women who are not living in catchment areas of participating health facilities (which routinely provide maternal and child health services). Facilities must be operational, must have at least 2 community health workers, and must have reported at least 100 pregnancies or births in the year prior to study implementation.)