An Intervention to Improve Uptake of Referrals for Children with Ear Disease or Hearing Loss in Thyolo District, Malawi: Acceptability and Feasibility

Antonia Baum, Wakisa Mulwafu, Mwanaisha Phiri, Sarah Polack and Tess Bright
Additional contact information
Antonia Baum: International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1 E7HT, UK
Wakisa Mulwafu: Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi
Mwanaisha Phiri: Audiology Department, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi
Sarah Polack: International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1 E7HT, UK
Tess Bright: International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1 E7HT, UK

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: (1) Introduction : Poor uptake of referral for ear and hearing services in Malawi has been demonstrated in previous research. A multi-component educational intervention was developed to address poor uptake. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. In addition, we aimed to provide a case study of an intervention development and feasibility testing process in preparation for a potential randomised trial. (2) Methods : The intervention included three components: (i) an information booklet; (ii) personalised counselling by a community health worker and an expert mother; (iii) a text message reminder. To assess feasibility, the counselling and information booklet were provided for caregivers of eligible children (<18 years) at ear and hearing outreach camps in Thyolo. Text message reminders were sent to caregivers after the camps. After 4 weeks, all caregivers were revisited and completed a structured questionnaire and a subset were interviewed in-depth. (3) Results : 30 children were recruited, and 53% took up the referral. Interviews found counselling with a booklet was acceptable. It provided motivation, enabled a two-way conversation, and helped dispel fear. It allowed information to be shared with social networks, initiating conversations about raising funds. The text message reminder was reported to be a valued prompt. Challenges to feasibility included low network coverage, and time needed for counselling. Residual barriers included the costs of transportation. The cost was £3.70/camp. (4) Conclusions : The study found that counselling with an information booklet was feasible and acceptable. The process of testing the feasibility of the intervention identified some adaptations to the intervention components and delivery which could be implemented before it is tested in a trial. This study highlighted the value of the feasibility testing process.

Keywords: hearing loss; Malawi; children; access; feasibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3144/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3144/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:17:p:3144-:d:261919

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().