Use of a mobile application for Ebola contact tracing and monitoring in northern Sierra Leone: a proof-of-concept study.

BACKGROUND: The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa was the largest Ebola epidemic to date. Contact tracing was a core surveillance activity. Challenges with paper-based contact tracing systems include incomplete identification of contacts, delays in communication and response, loss of contact lists, inadequate data collection and transcription errors. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate an electronic system for tracing contacts of Ebola cases in Port Loko District, Sierra Leone, and to compare this with the existing paper-based system. The electronic system featured data capture using a smartphone application, linked to an alert system to notify the District Ebola Response Centre of symptomatic contacts. METHODS: The intervention was a customised three-tier smartphone application developed using Dimagi's CommCare platform known as the Ebola Contact Tracing application (ECT app). Eligible study participants were all 26 Contact Tracing Coordinators (CTCs) and 86 Contact Tracers (CTs) working in the 11 Chiefdoms of Port Loko District during the study period (April-August 2015). Case detection was from 13th April to 17th July 2015. The CTCs and their CTs were provided with smartphones installed with the ECT app which was used to conduct contact tracing activities. Completeness and timeliness of contact tracing using the app were compared with data from April 13th-June 7th 2015, when the standard paper-based system was used. RESULTS: For 25 laboratory-confirmed cases for whom paper-based contact tracing was conducted, data for only 39% of 408 contacts were returned to the District, and data were often incomplete. For 16 cases for whom app-based contact tracing was conducted, 63% of 556 contacts were recorded as having been visited on the app, and the median recorded duration from case confirmation to first contact visit was 70 h. CONCLUSION: There were considerable challenges to conducting high-quality contact tracing in this setting using either the paper-based or the app-based system. However, the study demonstrated that it was possible to implement mobile health (mHealth) in this emergency setting. The app had the benefits of improved data completeness, storage and accuracy, but the challenges of using an app in this setting and epidemic context were substantial

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in low- and middle-income countries

Widespread acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial for achieving sufficient immunization coverage to end the global pandemic, yet few studies have investigated COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in lower-income countries, where large-scale vaccination is just beginning. We analyze COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across 15 survey samples covering 10 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia, Africa and South America, Russia (an upper-middle-income country) and the United States, including a total of 44,260 individuals. We find considerably higher willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine in our LMIC samples (mean 80.3%; median 78%; range 30.1 percentage points) compared with the United States (mean 64.6%) and Russia (mean 30.4%). Vaccine acceptance in LMICs is primarily explained by an interest in personal protection against COVID-19, while concern about side effects is the most common reason for hesitancy. Health workers are the most trusted sources of guidance about COVID-19 vaccines. Evidence from this sample of LMICs suggests that prioritizing vaccine distribution to the Global South should yield high returns in advancing global immunization coverage. Vaccination campaigns should focus on translating the high levels of stated acceptance into actual uptake. Messages highlighting vaccine efficacy and safety, delivered by healthcare workers, could be effective for addressing any remaining hesitancy in the analyzed LMICs

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in low- and middle-income countries

Widespread acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial for achieving sufficient immunization coverage to end the global pandemic, yet few studies have investigated COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in lower-income countries, where large-scale vaccination is just beginning. We analyze COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across 15 survey samples covering 10 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia, Africa and South America, Russia (an upper-middle-income country) and the United States, including a total of 44,260 individuals. We find considerably higher willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine in our LMIC samples (mean 80.3%; median 78%; range 30.1 percentage points) compared with the United States (mean 64.6%) and Russia (mean 30.4%). Vaccine acceptance in LMICs is primarily explained by an interest in personal protection against COVID-19, while concern about side effects is the most common reason for hesitancy. Health workers are the most trusted sources of guidance about COVID-19 vaccines. Evidence from this sample of LMICs suggests that prioritizing vaccine distribution to the Global South should yield high returns in advancing global immunization coverage. Vaccination campaigns should focus on translating the high levels of stated acceptance into actual uptake. Messages highlighting vaccine efficacy and safety, delivered by healthcare workers, could be effective for addressing any remaining hesitancy in the analyzed LMICs.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Advancing sustainable implementation of an evidence-based mental health intervention in Sierra Leone’s schools: protocol for a hybrid type 3 implementation-effectiveness trial

Abstract Background Mental health disorders among youth contribute substantially to the global burden of disease, which is exacerbated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to large mental health treatment gaps. In Sierra Leone, a West African country with a long history of complex adversity, the mental health treatment gap is estimated at 98%. Implementing innovative mental health interventions that can be sustained at scale is a priority. The Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI) is an evidence-based mental health intervention for youth that can be delivered feasibly by lay health workers/nonspecialists. Using mobile-based technologies to assist implementation could improve the reach and sustainability of the YRI in Sierra Leone. This study aims to train teachers to deliver the YRI in Sierra Leone’s secondary schools and test the feasibility, acceptability, cost, and fidelity to the YRI of a mobile-based supervision model compared with standard, in-person supervision. Methods We will conduct a hybrid type 3 implementation-effectiveness cluster randomized trial to assess the feasibility, acceptability, costs and fidelity to the YRI implemented by teachers receiving mobile-based supervision vs. standard supervision. Enrolled schools (N = 50) will be randomized to YRI + mobile supervision (N = 20), YRI + standard supervision (N = 20) or waitlist control (N = 10). We will recruit and enroll four teachers per intervention-condition school (N = 160) and 1200 youth. We will collect data on implementation outcomes among teachers, principals and youth via a mixed methods approach at baseline and post-intervention. We will also collect quantitative data on youth mental health and functioning as secondary outcomes at baseline and post-intervention, as well as cost-effectiveness data at 12-month follow-up. Discussion Study findings have the potential to expand the reach of mental health services among youth in low-resource settings via a teacher workforce. The use of mobile tools, if successful, could support further scale out and sustainment of the YRI to other regions of Sierra Leone and West Africa more broadly, which could help address the mental health treatment gap. Trial registration Clinical Trial Network: NCT05737667