Abstract:
Background:
Although Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention ( was introduced in 2012 to
mitigate challenges with early diagnosis and treatment manual documentation and logistics
issues remain. To address these problems, the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in Children
Application ( was developed to enhance data management and streamline SMC
implementation. This study was conducted to ass ess community healthcare workers' (
knowledge of SMC, SiCApp's usability, and to analy s e the quality of data from SiCApp in the
Upper West Region of Ghana.
Methodology
A cross sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted from
March 2024 to August 2024. The study utilized a random sampling technique and had a sample
size of 346 CHWs The study assessed SiCApp’s effectiveness by evaluating CHWs' SMC
knowledge, usability and data quality in terms of timeliness and completeness Binary logistic
regression analysed the influence of socio demographic factors and SMC knowledge on
usability and data quality.
Results
The study found that 58.1% of CHWs had high knowledge of SMC, while 41.9% had
low knowledge, and although the SiCApp's accura cy and completeness were high, 52% of
users deemed its usability unacceptable. CHWs from Nadowli (AOR 0.262, 95% CI: 0.0956
0.718, p 0.009), Nandom (AOR 0.135, 95% CI: 0.0395 0.461, p 0.001), and Wa West
(AOR 0.266, 95% CI: 0.1307 0.543, p 0.00 1) were more knowledgeable about SMC than
those in Lawra. Additionally, those with 11 years of experience were more knowledgeable than
those without experience (AOR 0.243, 95% CI: 0.0931 0.633, p 0.004).
Conclusion:
The study highlighted the need for specialised training for less experienced
CHWs, improvements to SiCApp's user interface, and better resource allocation to
underperforming regional districts to enhance malaria interventions and ensure the
effectiveness and sustainability of digital health tools in public health.
