2016 ICT4D Conference

Increasingly, mHealth tools are being developed for Community Health Workers (CHWs) to address barriers they face in the field, including and not limited to balancing multiple priorities, lack of information tools support services and record data, and limited access to training and supervision. However, the majority of initiatives have been pilot projects with little evidence on effectiveness or impact of mobile technology.  OpenSRP is an open-source integrated electronic register-based mobile data platform that supports CHWs to deliver core interventions along the RMNCH continuum of care. OpenSRP Indonesia is employing an iterative development approach that combines field assessments (knowledge, use and motivation), usability testing (compliance, learning ability, usefulness) and integrated analytics (operability, proficiency) to optimize the digitalization of paper-based registers and rapidly identify and solve challenges in the field. Data from each of the assessments is collaboratively used to iterate and improve both the application itself and the implementation design, while ensuring the central involvement of the CHWs throughout the process. This 3-months development phase involving 12 CHWs precedes a 6-month randomized controlled trial of OpenSRP with 40 CHWs that will cover ~5800 pregnant women and their children. Results suggest the use of real time rapid analysis of these routine assessments of provider performance and OpenSRP usability enables a dynamic process of continuous quality improvement.  It has also been shown to increase CHWs performance and responsiveness to the uptake of OpenSRP and identified key implementation challenges early on. Developing both rapid analysis processes and evaluation techniques that utilize the real time data made available by mHealth is crucial for continuous quality improvement and sustainability of mHealth approaches.