ArticleBMC health services research2015
Can smartphones and tablets improve the management of childhood illness in Tanzania? A qualitative study from a primary health care worker's perspective.
Article in BMC health services research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Dynamic Clinical Decision Support Algorithms to Manage Sick Children in Primary Health Care Settings in Rwanda
Dynamic Clinical Decision Support Algorithms to Manage Sick Children in Primary Health Care Settings in Tanzania
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of eHealth use on general practice workload in the pre-COVID-19 era: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- Health workers' perceptions and experiences of using mHealth technologies to deliver primary healthcare services: a qualitative evidence synthesis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- How primary healthcare workers obtain information during consultations to aid safe prescribing in low-income and lower middle-income countries: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2020Pooled it
- A digital health algorithm to guide antibiotic prescription in pediatric outpatient care: a cluster randomized controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2024Trial
- The Effect of Text Message Reminders to Health Workers on Quality of Care for Malaria, Pneumonia, and Diarrhea in Malawi: A Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Trial.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2019Trial
- Assessing the impact of a facility-based digital intervention on district-level data quality in rural Burkina Faso.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the acceptability of ESIDA app, a smartphone-based clinical decision support application to improve infectious disease outbreak detection in Tanzania: clinician perspectives.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Information and Communication Technology to Enhance the Implementation of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Digital health · 2024Review
- Prospects for the development of community-based care in remote rural areas: a stakeholder analysis in Laos.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Article
- The Vinyasa Tool for mHealth Solutions: Supporting Human-Centered Design in Nascent Digital Health Ecosystems.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Digitalizing Clinical Guidelines: Experiences in the Development of Clinical Decision Support Algorithms for Management of Childhood Illness in Resource-Constrained Settings.Global health, science and practice · 2023Article
- Utilizing community InfoSpots for health education: perspectives and experiences in Migoli and Izazi, Tanzania.Health promotion international · 2023Article
- Barriers, facilitators and motivators of electronic community health information system use among health workers in Ethiopia.Frontiers in digital health · 2023Article
- ePOCT+ and the medAL-suite: Development of an electronic clinical decision support algorithm and digital platform for pediatric outpatients in low- and middle-income countries.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- Observational
- The feasibility and ongoing use of electronic decision support to strengthen the implementation of IMCI in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Usability-Focused Development and Usage of NeoTree-Beta, an App for Newborn Care in a Low-Resource Neonatal Unit, Malawi.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Adherence to standard treatment guidelines among prescribers in primary healthcare facilities in the Dodoma region of Tanzania.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Mobile health applications for disease screening and treatment support in low-and middle-income countries: A narrative review.Heliyon · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe impact of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy has been less than anticipated because of poor uptake. Electronic algorithms have the potential to improve quality of health care in children. However, feasibility studies about the use of electronic protocols on mobile devices over time are limited. This study investigated constraining as well as facilitating factors that influence the uptake of a new electronic Algorithm for Management of Childhood Illness (ALMANACH) among primary health workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
methodsA qualitative approach was applied using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with altogether 40 primary health care workers from 6 public primary health facilities in the three municipalities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Health worker's perceptions related to factors facilitating or constraining the uptake of the electronic ALMANACH were identified.
resultsIn general, the ALMANACH was assessed positively. The majority of the respondents felt comfortable to use the devices and stated that patient's trust was not affected. Most health workers said that the ALMANACH simplified their work, reduced antibiotic prescription and gave correct classification and treatment for common causes of childhood illnesses. Few HWs reported technical challenges using the devices and complained about having had difficulties in typing. Majority of the respondents stated that the devices increased the consultation duration compared to routine practice. In addition, health system barriers such as lack of staff, lack of medicine and lack of financial motivation were identified as key reasons for the low uptake of the devices.
conclusionsThe ALMANACH built on electronic devices was perceived to be a powerful and useful tool. However, health system challenges influenced the uptake of the devices in the selected health facilities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.