Evaluating the Efficacy of Using a Digital Consumption Management Tool for Family Planning in Zambia

NCT05503992 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: H-43082MTaPS-19-001
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 2,523
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

The primary objective of this evaluation is to understand the effectiveness of the OpenSRP platform on unmet family planning (FP) demand in rural Zambia. The specific objectives are to:

1. 1.assess the impact of the intervention on satisfaction and use of modern family planning methods among last-mile people of childbearing potential; and
2. 2.understand the impact of the intervention on FP inventory management and dispensing.

Conditions

Family Planning

Keywords

Digital consumption management tool; Community health workers; OpenSRP; Rural Zambia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Percentage of women using preferred family planning method

  Percentage of women who are still using a FP method they had obtained through the CHW or as result of referral by the CHW at the index visit.

  6 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Resupply of family planning of choice

  6 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• Stock of family planning available at health facility

  6 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention arm

EXPERIMENTAL

CHWs affiliated with intervention facilities randomized to the intervention arm will be given the intervention package.

Other: Intervention package

Control arm

NO INTERVENTION

CHWs affiliated with control sites randomized to the control arm will continue to implement the current standard of care which includes using paper records for inventory management and dispensing.

Interventions

Intervention package OTHER

The intervention package will include a mobile device configured with OpenSRP configured to facilitate clinical/service provision and stock management. The intervention also incorporates a training component on OpenSRP with accompanying follow-up supervisory visits for a limited period. Per the theory of changes, these activities will improve CHWs' knowledge and ability to use the platform for clinical care, dispensing, and workflow management, leading to an improved stock of commodities to meet preferred FP needs among last mile women.

Intervention arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 49 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Resident in a study health facility catchment area (HFCA)
• Family planning (FP) client of community health worker (CHW) affiliated with one of the study sites
• Access to a mobile phone

You may not qualify if:

• Unwilling or unable to consent
• Currently pregnant
• Currently breastfeeding

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston University: lead
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID): collaborator
• Pharmaceutical Systems Africa (PSA): collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Kawambwa District Health Office

Kawambwa, 730096, Zambia

Location

Mansa District Health Office

Mansa, 710371, Zambia

Location

Samfya District Health Office

Samfya, 720071, Zambia

Location

Study Officials

• Veronika J Wirtz, BPharm, PhD

  Boston University School of Public Health, Global Health

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: The study design is a two-arm cluster-randomized trial. The unit of randomization is the health facility catchment areas (HFCAs) which will be matched in pairs on 1) ruralness as defined by distance/time to the nearest tertiary clinic or district capital; 2) supply chain performance as defined by number of family planning commodities stockouts in the nearest preceding three to six month period for which data are available (for baseline: August to October, 2022; for endline: February to June 2023); 3) catchment area size and; 4) number of CHW affiliates. This effectiveness evaluation will be paired with a concurrent implementation evaluation, making it a Type 2 Hybrid Design.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 15, 2022
• First Posted: August 17, 2022
• Study Start: November 5, 2022
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2023
• Study Completion: December 8, 2023
• Last Updated: December 20, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ZA (3)