Clinical trial NCT04603092: Digital Health Literacy Intervention for Disadvantaged Women During Corona
Official title: Digital Health Literacy Intervention by Community Health Workers for Corona Preventive Behaviors for Disadvantaged Women at Primary Level
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Health Literacy
Keywords: digital health literacy
community healthcare workers
coronavirus
primary healthcare
maternal and child health
Lead sponsor: Forman Christian College, Pakistan
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: doctHERs
name: Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi
First posted: 2020-10-26
Enrollment: 1010
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 15
Maximum age (years): 49
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The control and experiment group will both be provided a hard-copy of a health literacy booklet and electronically administered the: (a) base-line survey, and (b) the pre-test survey and the post-test survey.

The experiment group will receive a digital health literacy intervention in two target areas: (i) hygiene and sanitation, and (ii) coronavirus awareness and prevention.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The aim is to deliver a digital health literacy intervention to disadvantaged women to improve their health behaviors with regard to (i) hygiene and sanitation, and (ii) coronavirus awareness and prevention in four provinces of Pakistan through women community health workers.

Detailed description: There is a need to continue primary healthcare services through digital communication for disadvantaged women living in underdeveloped areas of Pakistan, especially in the age of coronavirus pandemic, social distancing, and lockdown of communities. This project will be the first of its kind in aiming to provide women with a smartphone and digital access for a digital health literacy intervention through community healthcare workers. The majority of poor women in Pakistan who are dependent on primary health services: 1. suffer from health challenges more than men due to multiple social and structural disadvantages, 2. are the dominant care-providers and nurturers in the home, and 3. need support in understanding public health messages during health crises due to low health literacy and awareness. The digital health literacy intervention will be delivered in target two areas: (i) hygiene and sanitation, and (ii) coronavirus awareness and prevention. Women will be sampled from disadvantaged areas across the four provinces of Pakistan- Baluchistan, KPK, Punjab, and Sindh. A target of 1,000 women will comprise the sample with 500 women each assigned to the control and experiment group.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Disadvantaged women dependent on primary healthcare services
* Women of the reproductive age group, 15 years to 49 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* Women above 49 years

Primary outcomes:
measure: Changes in health directed behavior
timeFrame: 3 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Lahore
country: Pakistan
facility: Forman Christian College University
state: Punjab
Study officials:
References:
citation: Jafree SR, Bukhari N, Muzamill A, Tasneem F, Fischer F. Digital health literacy intervention to support maternal, child and family health in primary healthcare settings of Pakistan during the age of coronavirus: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 2;11(3):e045163. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045163.