ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2020
Morbidity management and surveillance of lymphatic filariasis disease and acute dermatolymphangioadenitis attacks using a mobile phone-based tool by community health volunteers in Ghana.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Innovative technologies to address neglected tropical diseases in African settings with persistent sociopolitical instability.Nature communications · 2024Pooled it
- Lymphatic Filariasis: A Systematic Review on Morbidity and Its Repercussions in Countries in the Americas.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- High-Dose Rifampicin Plus Albendazole Rapidly Clears Lymphatic Filariasis Circulating Filarial Antigen in a Randomised Clinical Trial: A Promising Step Toward Short-Course Macrofilaricidal Therapy.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Trial
- Environmental, socioeconomic, and health-system factors associated with NTD hotspots in southern Nigeria: a mixed-methods study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Current state and future directions of interventions for neglected tropical diseases.Nature human behaviour · 2025Review
- Implementation of basic package of care improved socio-economic conditions of lymphedema patients in rural Mali after two years follow-up.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Managing Lymphedema Induced by Lymphatic Filariasis: Implementing and Improving Care at the Individual and Programmatic Levels.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Very low prevalence of Mansonella perstans-specific cell-free DNA in serum samples of Ghanaian HIV patients.European journal of microbiology & immunology · 2023Article
- Role and capacity needs of community based surveillance volunteers in the integrated management of skin neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs): a qualitative study from central Ghana.BMC public health · 2023Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People With Lymphedema in an Endemic Area for Lymphatic Filariasis in Brazil.International journal of public health · 2023Article
- Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases in Vietnam.Insects · 2022Review
- The viability of utilising phone-based text messages in data capture and reporting morbidities due to lymphatic Filariasis by community health workers: a qualitative study in Kilwa district, Tanzania.BMC health services research · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Morbidity burden of lymphatic filariasis (LF) relies on the information from the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programme where Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) passively report cases identified. Consequently, the exact prevalence of morbidity cases is not always accurate. The use of mobile phone technology to report morbidity cases was piloted in Ghana using a text-based short messaging service (SMS) tool by CHVs. Though successful, illiterate CHVs could not effectively use the SMS tool. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a mobile phone-based Interactive Voice Response System (mIVRS) by CHVs in reporting LF morbidity cases and acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA) attacks in Ghana. The mIVRS was designed as a surveillance tool to capture LF data in Kassena Nankana Districts of Ghana. One hundred CHVs were trained to identify and report lymphedema and hydrocele cases as well as ADLA attacks by calling a hotline linked to the mIVRS. The system asked a series of questions about the disease condition. The ability of the CHV to report accurately was assessed and the data from the mIVRS were compared with the paper records from the CHVs and existing MDA programme records from the same communities and period. Higher numbers of lymphedema and hydrocele cases were recorded by the CHVs using the mIVRS (n = 590 and n = 103) compared to the paper-based reporting (n = 417 and n = 76) and the MDA records (n = 154 and n = 84). Female CHVs, CHVs above 40 years, and CHVs with higher educational levels were better at paper-based reporting (P = 0.007, P = 0.001, P = 0.049 respectively). The system, when fully developed and linked to national databases, may help to overcome underreporting of morbidity cases and ADLA attacks in endemic communities. The system has the potential to be further expanded to other diseases.
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