Effectiveness and Implementation of the DINKNESH Digital Palliative Care Tool in Ethiopia

NCT07574281 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: MPH/039/18
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,440
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a digital health app called DINKNESH is effective for palliative care identification compared to traditional paper-based assessment tools. It will also look at the factors that help or hinder the use of this app in primary care settings. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the DINKNESH app improve palliative care assessments compared to paper forms? What are the main barriers and facilitators for Health Extension Workers when using the app in their daily work? We will compare the DINKNESH app to standard paper-based tools to see if digital tools improve clinical assessment and implementation. Participants will: Be assessed for palliative care needs using either the DINKNESH mobile app or standard paper forms. Receive routine follow-up care as determined by their health provider. (For health workers): Participate in interviews or surveys to discuss their experience using the assigned assessment tool.

Conditions

Palliative Care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Rate of identification of patients with palliative care needs.

  The primary outcome is the rate of palliative care identifications, calculated as the number of individuals identified as requiring palliative care divided by the total number of chronic patient visit conducted by the Family Health Teams during the study period.

  6 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Qualitative assessment of implementation barriers and enablers.

  6 weeks

Study Arms (2)

DINKNESH App

EXPERIMENTAL

Healthcare workers (Family Health Teams) in these clusters will utilize the DINKNESH mobile application during routine home-based visits to systematically identify and assess patients requiring palliative care. The app integrates validated tools (SPICT, ECOG, IPOS) and provides clinical decision support for symptom management, counseling, and referral protocols

Other: DINKNESH App

Paper based Tool

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Family Health Teams in these clusters will provide home-based chronic care services following standard paper based without the use of the digital application.

Other: Paper based tool

Interventions

DINKNESH App OTHER

A mobile-based digital health application designed to support Family Health Teams in the systematic identification and assessment of patients with palliative care needs. The application digitizes validated clinical tools, including the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, and the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) along with reference materials

DINKNESH App

Paper based tool OTHER

A paper-based clinical assessment protocol designed to support Family Health Teams in the systematic identification and assessment of patients with palliative care needs. It incorporates the same validated clinical tools used in the intervention arm, including the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, and the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS), administered manually during routine home visits without the use of a digital application and reference material.

Paper based Tool

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• For patients(Quantitative Part):
• Adults aged 18 years or older
• Currently diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions and receiving home-based follow-up care from a participating Family Health Team within the catchment area of a selected study cluster
• Willing to provide verbal informed consent, or has a primary caregiver willing to provide proxy consent
• For healthcare workers:
• Staff members of the Family Health Team at the selected clusters
• Involved in delivering or supervising palliative care services during the study period
• For the qualitative part: Participated in the DINKNESH App implementation process and is willing to participate in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

You may not qualify if:

• For patients
• Patients whose clinical condition prevents both self-participation and proxy participation in the assessment process
• Patients already formally identified and referred for palliative care prior to the study period
• For healthcare workers:
• Staff members planning to be absent for more than 1 day during the six-week active study period
• Healthworkers not present during the training session

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Addis Ababa University: lead

Central Study Contacts

Meheret Amare, Doctor of Medicine

CONTACT

+251919373034; meheretyeshitila3@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Dr

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2026
• First Posted: May 7, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2026
• Study Completion: May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 7, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02