title: mPneumonia, an Innovation for Diagnosing and Treating Childhood Pneumonia in Low-Resource Settings: A Feasibility, Usability and Acceptability Study in Ghana.
abstract: Pneumonia is the leading cause of infectious disease mortality in children. Currently, health care providers (HCPs) are trained to use World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) paper-based protocols and manually assess respiratory rate to diagnose pneumonia in low-resource settings (LRS). However, this approach of relying on clinical signs alone has proven problematic. Hypoxemia, a diagnostic indicator of pneumonia severity associated with an increased risk of death, is not assessed because pulse oximetry is often not available in LRS. To improve HCPs' ability to diagnose, classify, and manage pneumonia and other childhood illnesses, "mPneumonia" was developed. mPneumonia is a mobile health application that integrates a digital version of the IMCI algorithm with a software-based breath counter and a pulse oximeter. A design-stage qualitative pilot study was conducted to assess feasibility, usability, and acceptability of mPneumonia in six health centers and five community-based health planning and services centers in Ghana. Nine health administrators, 30 HCPs, and 30 caregivers were interviewed. Transcribed interview audio recordings were coded and analyzed for common themes. Health administrators reported mPneumonia would be feasible to implement with approval and buy-in from national and regional decision makers. HCPs felt using the mPneumonia application would be feasible to integrate into their work with the potential to improve accurate patient care. They reported it was "easy to use" and provided confidence in diagnosis and treatment recommendations. HCPs and caregivers viewed the pulse oximeter and breath counter favorably. Challenges included electricity requirements for charging and the time needed to complete the application. Some caregivers saw mPneumonia as a sign of modernity, increasing their trust in the care received. Other caregivers were hesitant or confused about the new technology. Overall, this technology was valued by users and is a promising innovation for improving quality of care in frontline health facilities.
authors: Save the Children, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Amy Sarah
authors: AS
authors: Ginsburg
authors: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Ghana.
authors: Charlotte
authors: C
authors: Tawiah Agyemang
authors: PATH, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Gwen
authors: G
authors: Ambler
authors: PATH, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Jaclyn
authors: J
authors: Delarosa
authors: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Waylon
authors: W
authors: Brunette
authors: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Shahar
authors: S
authors: Levari
authors: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Clarice
authors: C
authors: Larson
authors: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Mitch
authors: M
authors: Sundt
authors: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Ghana.
authors: Sam
authors: S
authors: Newton
authors: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Gaetano
authors: G
authors: Borriello
authors: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004560:Electricity; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006282:Health Personnel; D006295:Health Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006801:Humans; D062069:Inventions; D008297:Male; D063731:Mobile Applications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors