Publication Date:
12/01/2020
Type:
Journal article
Usability and acceptability of an automated respiratory rate counter to assess childhood pneumonia in Nepal
Author(s): Karin Källander, Charlotte Ward, Helen Smith, Radheshyam Bhattarai, Ashish KC, Deepak Timsina, Bikash Lamichhane, Alice Maurel, Parashu Ram Shrestha, Sushil Baral, Cindy McWhorter, Paul LaBarre, Monica Anna de Cola, Kevin Baker
Publication Date:12/01/2020
Type:
Journal article
Background
Pneumonia is the leading cause of child death after the neonatal period, resulting from late care seeking and inappropriate treatment. Diagnosis involves counting respiratory rate (RR); however, RR counting remains challenging for health workers and miscounting, and misclassification of RR is common. We evaluated the usability of a new automated RR counter, the Philips Children's Respiratory Monitor (ChARM), to Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs), and its acceptability to FCHVs and caregivers in Nepal.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jumla district, Nepal. About 133 FCHVs were observed between September and December 2018 when using ChARM during 517 sick child consultations, 264 after training and 253 after two months of routine use of ChARM. Acceptability of the ChARM was explored using semi-structured interviews.
Results
FCHV adherence to guidelines after two months of using ChARM routinely was 52.8 percent (95 percent CI 46.6–58.9). The qualitative findings suggest that ChARM is acceptable to FCHVs and caregivers; however, capacity constraints such as older age and low literacy and impacted device usability were mentioned.
Conclusion
Further research on the performance, cost-effectiveness and implementation feasibility of this device is recommended, especially among low-literate CHWs.
Published in Acta Paediatrica
Country: Nepal
Keywords: Capacity development | Research | Pneumonia | Diagnosis | Maternal, neonatal and child health | Quality improvement | SDG3
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