Abstract

The EBOLA vaccine Deployment, Acceptance & Compliance (EBODAC) project, a public-private partnership, developed a Mobile Training and Support (MOTS) service based on Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology and designed to deliver audio-based refresher trainings on the topics of vaccines and outbreak response, including Ebola disease surveillance procedures. For this study, a quasi-experimental evaluation implemented among community health workers (CHWs) in Kambia District aimed to ascertain the degree to which MOTS improved knowledge and behavior of CHWs related to vaccinations and outbreak response and the degree to which the order of the refresher modules influenced knowledge and behavior change.

There were higher rates of module completion for the first module a CHW received. While there was a relationship between completion of the modules and knowledge change, there was not a statistical difference in knowledge between the treatment and comparison groups. Knowledge levels related to the Outbreak Response module were lower, whether the CHW received this module first or second, suggesting the order in which one received the modules did not influence knowledge change. MOTS cost approximately $12 per CHW to implement and 50 percent less than in-person refresher trainings.

With improvements made to the IVR content and delivery and in conjunction with in-person trainings, MOTS can represent a dramatically more efficient and widespread community health outreach, build engagement with decentralized health workers and provide a critical safeguard in the case of health emergencies.