Using Mobile Phones to Collect End Line Evaluation Data for the Essential Drug Logistics System Pilot in Zambia: Dr Arturo Sanabria/Wendy Nicodemus

1. Using Mobile Phones to Collect
End Line Evaluation Data for
the Essential Drug Logistics
System Pilot in Zambia
Dr. Arturo Sanabria
Wendy Nicodemus

2. Background
• Zambian MoH has invested substantial funds in the
public sector drug system
– Health centres continue to have difficulty accessing these
drugs and medical supplies
• MoH and key partners proposed a pilot project to
improve drug availability at health centres and
hospitals across Zambia

3. Goal of the Pilot
Test two different logistics system models to select one (or a
combination/variation) that can be rolled out nationally, in order to
significantly improve the availability of key essential drugs at service
delivery sites

4. The Pilot Models
System A System B
• District Store • District Store
remains as converted to cross-
stockholding point docking point
VS
• Districts submit • Districts submit
consolidated orders individual orders for
every month and each facility and
receive consolidated receive goods packed
deliveries from MSL for individual
facilities

5. 16 Pilot Districts and 8 Control Districts

6. Essential Drug Logistics System Pilot
Evaluation
• Facilities in pilot and control districts evaluated at
baseline and endline to determine impact
• Endline evaluation used mobile phones to collect
data at 259 health facilities and district health offices
in 16 pilot districts and 8 control districts

7. Methodology
• Mobile phones used to collect data, including:
– Stock status at facility
– Storage conditions at facility
– Order fulfillment rate
– Impact of training in logistics management
• Data from mobile phones sent to EpiSurveyor
(www.episurveyor.org) for aggregation
• Data shared via the website to all partners involved

9. Lessons Learned
• Final results presented 5 days after last facility visit
– Previous evaluations took a month to present final results
• Mobile phone use requires
detail-oriented data
management reviewing the
online database regularly
– Requires continuous review
of data
– Need IT support to address
any bugs with the mobile
phones

10. Lessons Learned
• Preliminary data analysis
ongoing throughout
evaluation
• Technology works best
when mobile phone
network is strong and can
be transmitted to server
immediately
– When no mobile network,
data sent to server at a later
point negating benefit of real-
time data review

11. Conclusions
• Mobile phone technology for data collection is
appropriate when conducting health facility level
surveys.
• The technology is user-friendly and easy to train.
• This technology is not necessarily the appropriate
tool for routine site-level data collection as it requires
a reliable mobile network.

12. Thank you!