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Field
Abstract
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Before
The objective of this study is to evaluate the health impact of introducing a technological innovation that consists of equipping community health aides with an application (on tablets) that allows them to register and identify the population in their geographical area of responsibility, visualize them on a digital map, monitor their health needs as well as their use of health services. The study also aims to evaluate whether making the application available achieves better results when accompanied by an incentive to the health center. That is, the center would receive an additional payment for each person identified and registered through the application, as long as said person receives a preventive health service within a determined time period.
The identification strategy is based on the random assignment of public primary health care centers to two treatment groups and one control group. The sample includes 120 centers. A first set of 40 centers will be assigned to treatment group T1 that will receive both the application and a payment to identify, register and provide care for its population; another 40 centers will be assigned to treatment group T2 that will receive the application; and the 40 remaining centers will be assigned to the control group. The main source of quantitative data to measure the impact of the two interventions will be medical record information from the respective provincial health information systems.
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After
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of providing a mobile application (app) to community health aides in the province of Misiones, to be used during home visits (health rounds). We will evaluate the impact on the identification of at-risk population, the comprehensiveness of care and the health status of the of the population. The application - to be installed on tablets - will allow the community health workers to register their reference population and their epidemiological profile, locate it on a digital map, monitor the use of health services, and identify and report follow-up needs to the primary health care center (CAPS). The study also aims to evaluate whether having this application in home visits achieves better results when it is implemented together with an incentive payment to CAPS. That is, the CAPS would receive an additional payment for each person identified during the home visits and registered by the application, provided that said person receives (or has received) at least one health benefit among those selected for this study in a given period.
The impact identification strategy is based on the random assignment of the public CAPS of Misiones to two treatment groups and one control group. The sample includes 120 CAPS, which provide approximately 85% of public services to the population of the province that has only public health coverage. 40 CAPS will be assigned to treatment group T1 that will receive the application and a payment to CAPS for identifying, registering and serving their dependent population; another 40 CAPS will be assigned to the treatment group T2 that will receive the application (without additional payment); and the 40 remaining CAPS will be assigned to the control group. The main source of quantitative data to measure the impact of interventions will be the provincial health information systems.
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