1. Community case management to accelerate access to healthcare in Mali: A realist process evaluation nested within a cluster randomised trial
- Author
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Whidden, Caroline, Cissé, Amadou Beydi, Cole, Faith, Doumbia, Saibou, Guindo, Abdoulaye, Karambé, Youssouf, Treleaven, Emily, Liu, Jenny, Tolo, Oumar, Guindo, Lamine, Togola, Bréhima, Chiu, Calvin, Tembely, Aly, Keita, Youssouf, Greenwood, Brian, Chandramohan, Daniel, Johnson, Ari, Kayentao, Kassoum, and Webster, Jayne
- Subjects
Public Health ,Health Sciences ,Clinical Research ,Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities ,Health Services ,Behavioral and Social Science ,8.1 Organisation and delivery of services ,Generic health relevance ,Good Health and Well Being ,Cluster randomized trials ,Community health workers ,Health services research ,Health systems evaluation ,Primary health care ,Process evaluation ,Realist evaluation ,Public Health and Health Services ,Policy and Administration ,Political Science ,Health Policy & Services ,Health services and systems ,Public health ,Policy and administration - Abstract
The Proactive Community Case Management (ProCCM) trial in Mali reinforced the health system across both arms with user fee removal, professional Community Health Workers (CHWs), and upgraded primary health centres (PHCs)-and randomized village-clusters to receive proactive home visits by CHWs (intervention) or fixed site-based services by passive CHWs (control). Across both arms, sick children's 24-hour treatment and pregnant women's four or more antenatal visits doubled, and under-five mortality halved, over three years compared to baseline. In the intervention arm, proactive CHW home visits had modest effects on children's curative and women's antenatal care utilization, but no effect on under-five mortality, compared to the control arm. We aimed to explain these results by examining implementation, mechanisms, and context in both arms. We conducted a process evaluation with a mixed method convergent design that included 79 in-depth interviews with providers and participants over two time-points, surveys with 195 providers, and secondary analyses of clinical data. We embedded realist approaches in novel ways to test, refine, and consolidate theories about how ProCCM worked, generating three context-intervention-actor-mechanism-outcome nodes that unfolded in a cascade. First, removing user fees and deploying professional CHWs in every cluster enabled participants to seek health sector care promptly and created a context of facilitated access. Second, health systems support to all CHWs and PHCs enabled equitable, respectful, quality healthcare, which motivated increased, rapid utilization. Third, proactive CHW home visits facilitated CHWs and participants to deliver and seek care, and build relationships, trust, and expectations, but these mechanisms were also activated in both arms. Addressing multiple structural barriers to care, user fee removal, professional CHWs, and upgraded clinics interacted with providers' and patients' agency to achieve rapid care and child survival in both arms. Proactive home visits expedited or compounded mechanisms that were activated and changed the context across arms.
- Published
- 2024