NCT02645513

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess whether twice-daily text message reminders over a six-month period to health workers in Malawi about diagnosis and treatment of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea improve case management of these diseases.

Trial Health

100
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
182

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2015

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 1, 2015

Completed
12 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

December 30, 2015

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 1, 2016

Completed
1 month until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 1, 2016

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2016

Completed
Last Updated

December 12, 2017

Status Verified

December 1, 2017

Enrollment Period

1.1 years

First QC Date

December 30, 2015

Last Update Submit

December 11, 2017

Conditions

MalariaPneumoniaDiarrhea

Keywords

mHealthtext messagecase management

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Questionnaire measurement of diagnosis and treatment of malaria among outpatients

    Patient exit interviews will be used to assess: 1) whether all suspect malaria patients are tested with a malaria diagnostic test; 2) whether patients with a positive test are prescribed the first- or second-line antimalarial; and 3) whether dosing of antimalarials are correct.

    12 months after end of text messages

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Questionnaire measurement of diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia among outpatients

    12 months after end of text messages

  • Questionnaire measurement of diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea among outpatients

    12 months after end of text messages

Study Arms (3)

Malaria-only text messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Health workers at facilities in this arm receive twice-daily text message reminders for six months on key reminders related to malaria diagnosis and treatment.

Behavioral: Malaria text message reminders to health workers

Malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Health workers at facilities in this arm receive twice-daily text message reminders for six months on key reminders related to diagnosis and treatment of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea

Behavioral: Malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea text message reminders to health workers

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

No text message reminders to health workers, just the usual health system supports.

Behavioral: Control

Interventions

Malaria text message reminders to health workersBEHAVIORAL

Text message reminders contain key details from national case management guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of malaria

Malaria-only text messages
Malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea text message reminders to health workersBEHAVIORAL

Text message reminders contain key details from national case management guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea

Malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea messages
ControlBEHAVIORAL

No text message reminders

Control

Eligibility Criteria

Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • For health workers to receive text messages: Providing outpatient care or dispensing drugs at health facility randomized to one of two intervention arms.
  • For health workers to be interviewed during baseline, endline, and follow-up surveys: working in the outpatient department sampled by the team during their visit.
  • For patients to be interviewed during baseline, endline, and follow-up surveys: visiting facility to see a clinician for the first time for current illness

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Related Publications (2)

  • Zurovac D, Sudoi RK, Akhwale WS, Ndiritu M, Hamer DH, Rowe AK, Snow RW. The effect of mobile phone text-message reminders on Kenyan health workers' adherence to malaria treatment guidelines: a cluster randomised trial. Lancet. 2011 Aug 27;378(9793):795-803. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60783-6. Epub 2011 Aug 3.

    PMID: 21820166RESULT

  • Steinhardt LC, Mathanga DP, Mwandama D, Nsona H, Moyo D, Gumbo A, Kobayashi M, Namuyinga R, Shah MP, Bauleni A, Troell P, Zurovac D, Rowe AK. The Effect of Text Message Reminders to Health Workers on Quality of Care for Malaria, Pneumonia, and Diarrhea in Malawi: A Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Trial. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Feb;100(2):460-469. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0529.

    PMID: 30628566DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

MalariaPneumoniaDiarrhea

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Protozoan InfectionsParasitic DiseasesInfectionsMosquito-Borne DiseasesVector Borne DiseasesRespiratory Tract InfectionsLung DiseasesRespiratory Tract DiseasesSigns and Symptoms, DigestiveSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

  • Don Mathanga, MD, PhD

    Malaria Alert Centre

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
CARE PROVIDER
Purpose
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
FED
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Epidemiologist

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

December 30, 2015

First Posted

January 1, 2016

Study Start

January 1, 2015

Primary Completion

February 1, 2016

Study Completion

February 1, 2016

Last Updated

December 12, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-12