NCT03406221: ICT-CCS

Use of Mobile Technology by Community-Based Health Workers to Promote Maternal and Child Health in Bihar, India

Completed NA Last updated 19 April 2023

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Information Communication Technology Continuum of Care Service in Health in 3,112 participants. Completed in 31 August 2014.

Timeline

1 January 2012

Primary endpoint
31 August 2014

31 August 2014

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Stanford University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	non randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	health services research
Enrollment	3,112
Start date	1 January 2012
Primary completion	31 August 2014
Estimated completion	31 August 2014

Drugs / interventions tested

• Information Communication Technology Continuum of Care Service
• Control Condition

Conditions studied

• Health — all drugs for Health →
• Pregnancy — all drugs for Pregnancy →
• Infant — all drugs for Infant →
• Nutrition — all drugs for Nutrition →

Sponsor

Stanford University

Who can join

Adults 15 to 65, female only, with Health or Pregnancy. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

This study is designed to evaluate the impact of use of mobile technology by community-based health workers on health-promoting behaviors among women related to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition in Bihar, India.

The intervention was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and in collaboration with CARE was implemented from 2012 to 2014. Health sub-centers in the catchment areas of four blocks (sub-districts) of the district of Saharsa were randomly assigned to treatment or control arms (35 sub-centers were assigned to each). Data were collected in the Intervention and Control areas from mothers of infants 0-12 months at baseline and at 2-year follow-up, to assess the intervention's effects on quality and quantity of FLW home visits, postnatal health behaviors, and among older infants/toddlers, complementary feeding and vaccination. Difference in difference analyses were used to assess outcome effects in this quasi experimental study.

The ICT-CCS intervention was implemented in areas where the BMGF-funded Ananya program (official title: Bihar Family Health Initiative) was also being implemented. Thus, the impact is of the \[ICT-CCS intervention + Ananya\] versus \[Ananya alone\]. The Ananya program was developed and implemented via a partnership of BMGF, CARE, and the Government of Bihar. The ultimate purpose of Ananya was to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality; fertility; and child undernutrition in Bihar, India. Ananya involved multi-level interventions designed to build front line health worker (FLW) capacities and reach to communities and households, as well as to strengthen public health facilities and quality of care to improve maternal and neonatal care and health behaviors, and thus survival. It was implemented from 2012 to 2014. Eight focal districts in western and central Bihar received Ananya, while 30 districts did not.

Publications & conference data

3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Use of mobile technology by frontline health workers to promote reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition: a cluster randomized controlled Trial in Bihar, India.
   Carmichael SL, Mehta K, Srikantiah S, Mahapatra T, et al · · 2019 · cited 52× · PMID 31788233 · DOI 10.7189/jogh.09.020424
2. Effects of team-based goals and non-monetary incentives on front-line health worker performance and maternal health behaviours: a cluster randomised controlled trial in Bihar, India.
   Carmichael SL, Mehta K, Raheel H, Srikantiah S, et al · · 2019 · cited 25× · PMID 31543982 · DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001146
3. Digital tracking, provider decision support systems, and targeted client communication via mobile devices to improve primary health care.
   Agarwal S, Chin WY, Vasudevan L, Henschke N, et al · · 2025 · cited 9× · PMID 40193137 · DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd012925.pub2