Leveraging IVR for Improved Quality Health Services in Nigeria
Solution: Digital CampaignDigital Training
Funded by
Overview
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Integrated Health Program (IHP) in Nigeria is a five-year (2020-2024) program with the objective of quality of and access to of primary healthcare services in Bauchi, Kebbi, Sokoto, Ebonyi and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In partnership with Viamo, IHP utilized a suite of digital health tools to enhance the accountability of quality services, automated appointment reminders to increase uptake of essential maternal, newborn, and child health services, and audio job aids, which refreshed technical competencies among frontline healthcare providers. These interventions have contributed to improved access to and quality of care within the IHP-targeted states – Bauchi, Ebonyi, FCT, Kebbi, and Sokoto.
This intervention aims to use digital technology to address challenges with access and quality of care in IHP-supported states. Some of these challenges include high default rate in hospital appointments resulting in loss to follow-up and disruption in care, knowledge, and skill gap occasioned by frequent attrition of healthcare workers and unavailability of a structured feedback mechanism for both clients and health workers.
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System Design and Set-up
The set up of the digital products were done systematically and collaboratively with the State Ministry of Health (SMOH), including relevant SMOH agencies and departments like the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA). Initial engagement with key stakeholders were held to brief them of the product and get their buy in. The products were designed in collaboration with these government stakeholders. The process includes content design, optimalization, translation and recording, system quality check, and launch.
Lessons Learned
The project made an impact on the social behavior of clients and health providers across all the supported states. The 4-2-1 service which provided free access to contents was critical to the outstanding uptake recorded by the various digital health products deployed on this project This further illustrates how partnership with mobile network operators can support the implementation of digital solutions in resource constraints environment like Nigeria.
It has also become clear that engagement of relevant government ministries, department and agencies can contribute to strong ownership of projects by the government and promote sustainability.
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