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Volume 22, Number 4—April 2016
Dispatch

Effectiveness of a Mobile Short-Message-Service–Based Disease Outbreak Alert System in Kenya

Mitsuru TodaComments to Author , Ian Njeru, Dejan Zurovac, Shikanga O Tipo, David Kareko, Matilu Mwau, and Kouichi Morita

Author affiliations: Japan International Cooperation Agency, Tokyo, Japan (M. Toda); Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan (M. Toda); Nagasaki University Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki (M. Toda, K. Morita); Ministry of Health Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya (I. Njeru, S. O-Tipo, D. Kareko); Kenya Medical Research Institute Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi (D. Zurovac); Oxford University, Oxford, UK (D. Zurovac); Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi (M. Mwau)

Main Article

Table 1

Characteristics of health facilities and their in-charges for intervention and control groups and study periods, Kajiado County, Kenya*

Characteristic Preintervention, no. (%)
Postintervention, no. (%)
Control, N = 65 Intervention, n = 66 Control, n = 65 Intervention, n = 66 p value†
Health facilities, Kajiado County
42 (64.6)
41 (62.1)

42 (64.6)
41 (62.1)
0.767
Ownership
Public 39 (60.0) 45 (68.2) 39 (60.0) 45 (68.2) 0.329
Private 15 (23.1) 13 (19.7) 15 (23.1) 13 (19.7) 0.637
FBO/NGO
11 (16.9)
8 (12.1)

11 (16.9)
8 (12.1)
0.435
Level of care
Hospital/health center 20 (30.8) 19 (28.8) 20 (30.8) 19 (28.8) 0.804
Dispensary 40 (61.54) 43 (65.15) 40 (61.5) 43 (65.2) 0.668
Other facility
5 (7.7)
4 (6.1)

5 (7.7)
4 (6.1)
0.712
Resource availability
Mobile phone 65 (100) 66 (100) 65 (100) 66 (100)
Electricity 45 (69.2) 47 (71.2) 54 (83.1) 49 (74.2) 0.217
Water 54 (83.1) 47 (71.2) 51 (78.5) 50 (75.8) 0.713
Surveillance focal person 48 (73.9) 44 (67.7) 44 (67.7) 47 (71.2) 0.662
IDSR reporting tool‡ 22 (33.9) 23 (34.9) 34 (52.3) 32 (48.5) 0.662
IDSR job aid
44 (67.7)
44 (66.7)

49 (75.4)
55 (83.3)
0.261
Characteristic of in-charge
Female sex 32 (49.2) 39 (59.1) 32 (49.2) 39 (59.1) 0.257
Median age, y (IQR)§ 34 (29–48) 35 (30–42) 36 (30–49.5) 37 (30–44) 0.677
Doctor/clinical officer 12 (18.5) 15 (22.7) 16 (24.6) 13 (19.7) 0.498
Nurse 46 (70.8) 48 (72.7) 44 (67.7) 48 (72.7) 0.529
Other healthcare worker 7 (10.8) 3 (4.6) 5 (7.7) 5 (7.6) 0.980

*The table does not show data for Busia County because values will be inverse of data for Kajiado County (i.e., N minus n). N = total facilities in both counties. The intervention group is the group of facility in-charges who were exposed to IDSR and mSOS training and to the mSOS intervention; the control group is the group of in-charges who were exposed to IDSR training only. FBO, faith-based organization; IDSR, Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response; in-charge, medical officer in charge of facility; IQR, interquartile range; NGO, nongovernment organization.
†χ2 test was used to compare the proportions between control and intervention groups. Wilcoxon Mann Whitney test was used to compare medians between control and intervention groups (i.e., age of in-charges). Analyses were conducted by using an α level of 0.05. The p value is shown for the postintervention period only.
‡Standardized IDSR paper-based reporting form for immediately notifiable diseases.
§Data are median and Interquartile range rather than numbers and percentages. Denominator excludes 3 facilities with missing values in the preintervention control group and 1 facility with missing values for each of the remaining 3 study groups.

Main Article

Page created: March 16, 2016
Page updated: March 16, 2016
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