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Table 1 Description of MOTECH program activities and inputs

From: Mobile Technology for Community Health in Ghana: what happens when technical functionality threatens the effectiveness of digital health programs?

Program Activities

Description and Inputs

Development

 Program Design

National leadership meetings held among central program leadership, regional and district health management teams

 Content development, provider training materials

GF staff worked with GHS Family Health Division and Health Promotion Unit at National level, and with District counterparts to develop messaging content, training materials, and marketing materials

 Telecommunications

• Voice message program national negotiations and ongoing partnership with Telecommunications Companies

• Infrastructure establishment to manage call system

 Technology

Platform support and server hosting

 Personnel

Central, Regional, and District staff time allocated to develop the program for each district

Start Up

 National level

Established MOTECH National Steering Committee

 District Profiling

Data on health system and telecommunication infrastructure compiled by DHMT for central database

 District capacity building

Establish partnerships with Regional and District Health Management Teams

• Establish Regional MOTECH sub-Steering Committee for Greater Accra and Volta regions

• Establish district Technical Working groups

• Placement of 1 full time GF staff in each district and concurrent appointment of one DHMT staff member to serve as “District MOTECH Coordinator” and lead day to day operations. Both staff work under direction of District Director of Health.

 Content Localization

Standardization, translation, and testing of Voice health messaging content

 Equipment

Phone purchases for facilities

 Customer Support

Customer service referral system for technical or programmatic issues

 Training

• Orientation for leadership

• Nurse training on Simplified Registers and technical data entry application,

• Sub-District orientation on program

 Community Mobilization

District Launch events, Durbars and other marketing

 Partnership Building

• Regional steering committee meeting for program planning in district;

• Technical steering committees in the district meet monthly for 4 months to direct start up

 Vehicle Maintenance

Cost to maintain and use existing vehicles without new capital cost purchase

 Office Maintenance

Central Office space

 Telecommunications

Airtime for voice messages, Nurse data upload cost

 Personnel & Benefits

Grameen, Regional, and District staff time allocated to initiating the program for each district

 Technology

Platform support, server hosting, system modification to absorb call capacity

Implementation

 Technical Groups

DHMT included program tasks in current workflow

 M&E

Routine data entry application for use in monitoring

 Continued Training

Refresher training, Training of new hires

 Equipment & Materials

Replacement/resupply of phones and Simplified Registers

 Field Office Maintenance

GHS District Office space

 Office Maintenance

Central Office space— Grameen Foundation

 Personnel & Benefits

Central, Regional, and District staff time allocated to maintaining the program

 Telecommunications

Airtime for voice messages, Nurse data upload cost

 Technology Maintenance

Data platform, IT technical assistance

  1. *Modified from Willcox M et al. 2017 (Willcox M, et al. Is Mobile Technology for Community Health good value for money? Evidence on the cost effectiveness of mobile health in Ghana. Submitted for publication)