Background

The introduction of a paper-based Community Case Management (CCM) in Malawi has contributed to a reduction of child morbidity and mortality rates. In addition, the introduction of electronic Community Case Management (eCCM) (smartphones with built in CCM apps) may help to reduce the under-five mortality rates even further.

Purpose

It is not uncommon for Apps with a similar area of interest to develop different features to assist the end users. Such differences between Apps may have a significant role to play in its overall adoption and integration. The purpose of this research was to explore end users perspectives of two eCCM decision support tools developed and implemented by the Supporting LIFE project (SL eCCM App) and D-Tree International’s (Mangologic eCCM App)in Northern Malawi.

Methods

A mixed methods approach was applied, involving a survey of 109 users (106 Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs), and 3 Integrated Management of Childhood Il6lnesses (IMCI) coordinators). This was followed up with semi-structured interviews with 34 respondents (31 HSAs, and 3 IMCI coordinators). Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 where descriptive statistics and Chi-Squared tests were generated. Qualitative data were analyzed based on thematic analysis.

Results

Participants reported that both Apps could assist the HSAs in the management of childhood illnesses. However, usability differed between the two apps where the Supporting LIFE eCCM App was found to be easier to use (61%) compared to the Mangologic eCCM App (4%). Both Apps were perceived to provide credible and accurate information.

Conclusion

It is essential that the quality of the data within Mobile Health (mHealth) Apps is high, however even Apps with excellent levels of data quality may not succeed if the overall usability of the App is low. Therefore it is essential that the Apps has high levels of data quality, usability and credibility. The results of this study will help inform mobile Health (mHealth) App designers in developing future eCCM Apps as well as researchers and policy makers when considering the adoption of mHealth solutions in the future in Malawi and other LMICs.

中文翻译：

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两种mHealth决策支持工具的最终用户观点：马拉维北部的电子社区案例管理

背景

马拉维采用纸质社区案例管理（CCM）有助于降低儿童发病率和死亡率。此外，电子社区案例管理（eCCM）（内置CCM应用程序的智能手机）的引入可能有助于进一步降低五岁以下儿童的死亡率。

目的

对于具有相似兴趣领域的应用程序，开发不同的功能来协助最终用户并不少见。Apps之间的这种差异可能会在其整体采用和集成中发挥重要作用。这项研究的目的是探索由马拉维北部的Supporting LIFE项目（SL eCCM App）和D-Tree International的（Mangologic eCCM App）开发和实施的两种eCCM决策支持工具的最终用户观点。

方法

应用了一种混合方法，对109位用户进行了调查（106位健康监护助理（HSA）和3位儿童疾病综合管理（IMCI）协调员）。接下来是对34位受访者（31位HSA和3位IMCI协调员）的半结构式访谈。使用SPSS 20版对定量数据进行分析，生成描述性统计数据和卡方检验。在主题分析的基础上对定性数据进行了分析。

结果

参与者报告说，这两个应用程序都可以协助HSA处理儿童疾病。但是，这两个应用程序之间的可用性不同，与Mangologic eCCM应用程序（4％）相比，发现支持LIFE eCCM应用程序更易于使用（61％）。两种应用程序都被认为提供了可靠和准确的信息。

结论

至关重要的是，移动健康（mHealth）应用程序中的数据质量必须很高，但是，如果应用程序的整体可用性较低，那么即使数据质量水平很高的应用程序也可能无法成功。因此，至关重要的是，应用程序必须具有高水平的数据质量，可用性和可信度。这项研究的结果将有助于在考虑将来在马拉维和其他LMIC中采用mHealth解决方案时，为移动健康（mHealth）应用设计人员以及未来的eCCM应用开发人员以及研究人员和政策制定者提供信息。