The Problem

In South Africa, high numbers of people have undiagnosed diseases needing urgent treatment. 30% of people have undiagnosed hypertension and 50% undiagnosed diabetes. Despite progress, 25% of people remain unaware of their HIV status and 23% are unaware they have TB. There are also gaps in under-5 children care, with 25% children experiencing stunted growth due to malnutrition.

Health clinics (run by professional nurses) have been established to provide quality, accessible primary healthcare in low-income communities across South Africa However high numbers of people don’t visit the clinics for regular screening and check-ups due to poor health education, stigmas, and the cost and inconvenience of travel.

There is an urgent need to bring accessible education and early screening to community members’ homes to identify people ‘at risk’ and refer them to health facilities for the diagnosis and treatment they need.

The Solution

This initiative was designed to address the lack of community-based education and screening in low-income communities in Gauteng. Community-based Health Promotion Officers (HPOs) and Health Clinics were equipped with the Clinitouch smart health platform to provide integrated screening and referrals for Infectious Diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases and Under-5 Child health together at the same time.

HPOs used the offline Clinitouch app on tablets to provide education and screening in the communities. They conducted screening using smart questionnaires for adult health (hypertension, diabetes, HIV, and TB) and under-5 child health (immunisations, malnutrition), as well as capturing blood pressure and pulse rates using BP monitors to input into Clinitouch.

Animated, health education videos and visual aids were used to educate community members on prevention, risk factors and the need to get regular check-ups. Once back online, HPOs synced Clinitouch to submit all the screenings. The HPOs also ran community campaign events to drive awareness and education around priority conditions.

Based on the screening data, the Clinitouch smart system generated a risk score (Red, Amber or Green) for every community member. This could be instantly reviewed on the Clinitouch portal (accessed on a web browser) by the dedicated call centre team.

‘Red’ scored community members were called and referred for a consultation at a clinic (either the partner’s clinic or government clinic) as soon as possible, whereas ‘Amber’ community members were called and referred for a consultation within the next week. WhatsApp messaging was also tested as an additional follow-up mechanism to motivate referred community members to have their consultation in the recommended time.

 

The Impact 

  • Twenty newly graduated Health Promotion Officers (HPOs) effectively equipped with Clinitouch to conduct screenings
  • Integrated adult (hypertension, diabetes, HIV, TB) and under-5 child health (immunisations, malnutrition) screening tools developed
  • c25,000 integrated screenings conducted by the 20 HPOs for adults and under-5 children in a 6-month initial period
  • +8,000 ‘at risk’ Red or Amber scores identified and referred for needed diagnosis / treatment at health facilities

 

 

Find out more

Find out more how Clinitouch can enable remote care in even the hardest-to-reach communities.

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