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Mobile Services that Empower Vulnerable Communities. National Malaria Survey Sierra Leone. OR DASHEVSKY Chief Solution Architect March 20, 2013 ICT4D Conference Accra, Ghana. Overview.
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Mobile Services that Empower Vulnerable Communities National Malaria Survey Sierra Leone OR DASHEVSKY Chief Solution Architect March 20, 2013 ICT4D Conference Accra, Ghana
Overview The 2013 Sierra Leone MIS is implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the National Program for Malaria Control (NMCP), Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL), with technical assistance from ICF International in Calverton, Maryland. The main objectives of the survey are to: • Measure the extent of ownership and use of mosquito nets • Assess coverage of the intermittent preventive treatment program to protect pregnant women • Identify practices used to treat malaria among children under five and the use of specific anti-malarial medications • Measure the prevalence of malaria and anemia among children age 6 months to 5 years • Assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of malaria in the general population.
Survey Overview • Main exercise in January / February for 4 to 6 weeks of collection • 28 Teams to cover 336 clusters • Each cluster will have 20 households • Total of 6,720 households will be interviewed • All collection will be done using the iPhone and iForm Builder • Each team will consist of four team members (supervisor, nurse, lab tech and experienced surveyor) • Each household will be asked questions from the Head of Household Questionnaire along with the Women’s Questionnaire (15-49 year old women) • All children under 5 will be tested for anemia and malaria
ICT4D Solution Components • iPhone 3GS with 3G data services • iFormBuilder • MS SQL Database • Google Docs • ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS for Office
ICT4D Solution Process • Identify functional requirements • Build Pilot Solution • Test Pilot Solution with field agents • Revise Solution based on the Pilot findings • Test revised solution • Resolve bugs • Test final solution • Provide Training to field agents • Go Live
ICT4D Solution Support Model Its very important to establish support model at the beginning of the project!!!
Key Successes • 4 Weeks of Data collection • 5864 Households Interviews • 6980 Women's Interviews • 6176 Children's Hemoglobin and Malaria tested • 32664 Individuals Household members registered • Adaption of the technology by field agents • Training approach • Near real-time data monitoring • No technical issues reported by field agents with data collection software and devices • Continuous improvement in data quality as a result of direct feedback from the support center
Key Issues / Challenges • Last minute changes to the survey tool • Device management during training • Device Re-charging during training • All component of the system must be ready and tested prior to starting data collection • Establishing protocols when to sync data when connectivity is not available
Lessons Learned • Need to engage local partners from stage one and set aside necessary time and resources to enable them to manage the data feedback process • SSL not ready to take this on independently • Partners were happy to let CRS assume most of the work – project was unsure how to manage this and maintain deadlines • Database sample should be tested and reviewed with person doing the analysis prior to collection activity • Support from GKIM should be dedicated from start of project or, if support is not available then this should be clear to projects
Summary and Close • Data quality and timeliness of reporting greatly improved by using digital tool • Digital solution is not necessarily less work but can simplify your cleaning process and allow for quick turn around