Evaluating the prerequisites for adapting a paediatric nighttime telemedicine and medication delivery service to a setting with high malarial burden: A cross-sectional pre-implementation study

• Published in: Tropical medicine & international health 2023-09, Vol.28 (9), p.763-770
• Main Authors: Flaherty, Katelyn E, Klarman, Molly B, Zakariah, Ahmed N, Mahama, Mohammed-Najeeb, Osei-Ampofo, Maxwell, Nelson, Eric J, Becker, Torben K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Cross-sectional studies; Delivery services; Demographics; Feasibility; Health care; Health care access; Health services; Households; Night; Nighttime; Pediatrics; Rural health care; Surveys; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 1360-2276; 1365-3156
• DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13921

We sought to evaluate the prerequisites (demand, interest, feasibility) for adapting a paediatric nighttime telemedicine and medication delivery service (TMDS) to Ghana. A cross-sectional survey of households and associated healthcare providers was conducted in urban and rural Ghana. Households were identified through randomised geospatial sampling; households with at least one child 75% of these events; 54% of households expressed dissatisfaction with their current access to paediatric care at night; 99% of households expressed that a nighttime TMDS service for children would be directly useful to their families. Correspondingly, 17 of 18 providers stated that a TMDS was needed in their community; >99% of households had access to a cellular phone. All households expressed willingness to use their phones to call a TMDS and allow a TMDS provider into their homes at night. Willingness to pay and provider-recommended price points varied by setting. Prerequisites for adapting a TMDS to Ghana were met. A nighttime paediatric TMDS service was found to be needed, appealing, and feasible in Ghana. These data motivate the adaptation of a TMDS to urban and rural Ghana.