Intervention to Improve Social Policy for Maternal and Child Health

NCT05389501 | Unknown DMC

• 1 other identifier: 786.NRPU.Social.Policy
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Some of the challenges Pakistan faces in priority areas of national relevance include absence of social policy to improve innovative governance and reform of the primary healthcare system, especially for maternal and child health. One integral tool for development of social policy in a country is the integration of the social work profession at primary level. Developed countries have progressed by strengthening the primary workforce with social workers, who have contributed by developing a social policy protection floor for mother and child in primary level communities through: (i) assessment of community needs (e.g. for housing, health, education, and employment), (ii) robust data collection, (iii) political advocacy, and (iv) supporting literacy and counseling . In this way, there is potential to fill a gap by adding Social Workers to the primary health force team in Pakistan to investigate the following research questions:

1. 1.Can a robust, objective, third-party Community Needs Assessment Report (by Social Workers) help to mobilize governments and policy-makers for improve planning and protective policies for disadvantaged communities?
2. 2.Can a more comprehensive health electronic database be developed with both health and social variables to better plan policy development and develop a much-needed regional Index for Maternal Health and Wellbeing?
3. 3.Can maternal and health outcomes be impacted positively by the following intervention this project plans to deliver: (i) Reproductive and Child Health; (ii) Hygiene and Sanitation \& Nutrition and Immunity Building; (iii) Health-Risk Behavior Modification; and (iv) Psychosocial Needs Assessment and Mental Health Awareness?
4. 4.Can primary healthcare services become more efficient and effective (in teamwork and improved care plans for client) through interprofessional health workforce collaboration and supplementation of social workers to the team? The proposed project, lasting 24 months, will aid socio-economic development of the country by improving primary healthcare services, improving maternal and child health outcomes, improving preventive behavior overall in families, and strengthening the health workforce team. Improving preventive health also reduces national health costs in the long-run at an estimated USD 45 billion. Building an electronic database with both health and social indicators is integral for the planning of a more effective social and health policy in the future. Integrating social workers at primary level will create thousands of jobs per year for Pakistan and help develop the educations sector as well and provide opportunities for more health workforce development, like public health officers.
5. 5.Development of a digital app and finalization of an Index for Maternal Health and Wellbeing
6. 6.Preparation of a Community Assessment Needs Report for mobilization of social protection floor
7. 7.A Pre-Post Test Survey to measure changes caused by intervention for: (i) Basic Clinical Health Indicators, (ii) Reproductive and Child Health, (iii) Hygiene and Sanitation \& Nutrition and Immunity Building, (iv) Health-Risk Behavior Modification; and (v) Psychosocial Assessment and Therapy needs.
8. 8.Dissemination of findings to government bodies, policy-makers, scholars, and researchers to mobilize social policy support and improved governance at primary level through the project pilot model.

Conditions

Maternal Health; Maternal Health Literacy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in health literacy of women of reproductive years over 24 months

  We will use the standardized international survey: "Knowledge and Reported Practices of Women on Maternal and Child Health" (Kanu, Tang, \& Liu, 2014). The following domain areas will be measured including: (i) Pregnancy and antenatal care; (ii) Health knowledge; (iii) Accessing health care; (iv) Vaccinations coverage; (v) Child's father/husband's involvement in maternal and child care; and (vi) Household factors (e.g. hygiene, water and food preparation, waste disposable, and toilet quality, etc.).

  2 years

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

The Experiment Group will receive the following services from the community social worker: 1\. Developing Database on Digital App 2. Community Needs Assessment 3 Pre-Post Test Survey 4. Existing services by government of Pakistan (BHU/ LHW) Additionally, the Experiment Group will receive the following services from the health social worker: 1. Psychosocial needs assessment and mental health awareness 2. Measurement of Basic Health Clinical Indicators 33\. Health Awareness \& Literacy for following areas: 1. Reproductive and Child Health 2. Hygiene and Sanitation \& Nutrition and Immunity Building 3. Health-Risk Behavior Modification

Behavioral: Social policy intervention to support women of reproductive years

Control Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The Control Group will receive the following services from the community social worker: 1. Developing Database on Digital App 2. Community Needs Assessment 3 Pre-Post Test Survey 4\. Existing services by government of Pakistan (BHU/ LHW)

Behavioral: Social policy intervention to support women of reproductive years

Interventions

Social policy intervention to support women of reproductive years BEHAVIORAL

The project team will attempt to address this challenge by delivering the following interventions through social workers in underdeveloped primary healthcare settings to promote maternal and child health: 1. Developing a database on a digital app of participants in the study and use the data for development of an Index for Maternal Health and Wellbeing 2. Conducting a Community Assessment Needs 3. Conduct a psychosocial needs assessment 4. Develop interprofessional health workforce collaboration 5. Measure basic clinical health indicators 6. Provide health awareness and literacy training to participants

Control Group; Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 49 Years
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Poor women of reproductive years
• Existing clients of doorstep visiting lady health workers (LHWs)

You may not qualify if:

• \- Women not of reproductive years

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Forman Christian College, Pakistan: lead
• UNICEF: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Forman Christian College University

Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan

RECRUITING

Forman Christian College

Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Kauser R Abdullah Malik, PhD

  Forman Christian College, Pakistan

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Sara Rizvi Jafree, PhD

CONTACT

0423004005740; sarajafree@fccollege.edu.pk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Sociology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 9, 2022
• First Posted: May 25, 2022
• Study Start: June 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2024
• Study Completion: May 1, 2024
• Last Updated: May 25, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PA (2)