Action meningitis: Meningitis Research Foundation healthcare and awareness initiative in Malawi
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Transcript of Action meningitis: Meningitis Research Foundation healthcare and awareness initiative in Malawi
MRF’s healthcare and awareness initiative in
Malawi
MRF Meningitis Symposium
Bristol
3 October 2012
Barriers to Treatment
MRF funded research into barriers of recognition and action in treating ABM in Malawi
Recognition barriers: • Misdiagnosis of malaria or other illness• Low recognition of severity of illness and
need for social validation in community
Barriers to Treatment
Action barriers: • Priority focus on maternal health• Negative perceptions of health services
(wait time, attention by health workers)• Financial constraints in community• Gender and age-based decision making
in community
Situation Analysis• Patients queue and wait for hours at
primary clinics- first come, first served• Limited number of health workers,
equipment and supplies• Patients have to wait hours/days for
ambulance transport• Some die while waiting for assistance or
transport
Action Meningitis• Targeting health workers to break down
barriers to treatment, improve treatment rates and healthcare delivery in Malawi and improve outcomes in children
• Public awareness messages of meningitis signs & symptoms to raise awareness amongst public and prevent misdiagnosis
Primary Health Clinics• Priority: Improve identification of severe illness in
children for treatment & referral to hospital using WHO triage system
• Urban and peri-urban clinics with varying catchment populations
Primary Health Clinics• Training frontline health workers• Evaluating effectiveness and feasibility of triage
system
mHealth & ETATUsing mobile technology to improve health (mHealth)
to establish WHO Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) system in clinics
Emergency
Priority
Queue
mHealth & ETAT
• Developing phone application of ETAT for health workers to screen children upon arrival/ in queue
• Using phone data to track ETAT classification and hospital referrals
Community Awareness
• Health Talk weekly radio programme on MBC- national radio
• Health research news to Radio Listening Clubs and public
• 8 episodes focusing on meningitis to improve recognition in communities
Community Awareness• Ambi-bikes at villages/ clinics for
medical transport
Partners• Partnering with Malawi-Liverpool-
Wellcome Trust, Malawi Ministry of Health, hospital and primary clinics in Blantyre
• Working with D-tree International for mHealth component
• Assessing feasibility and expansion across Malawi
Project Outcomes• Prioritise ill children and reduce wait
times at clinics• Track referrals to hospital for severe
illness in children• Increase knowledge and awareness of
meningitis amongst public • Provide ambi-bikes for medical
emergency transport