NCT03589625

Electricity Access and Maternal Care in Rural Health Facilities in Uganda

Evaluation of the Impact of the 'Solar Suitcase' Installation in Healthcare Facilities in Uganda on Quality of Care During Labor and Delivery and Reliability of Electricity

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,268 (actual)
• Sponsor: Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 16 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The investigators will conduct a stepped wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial in maternity care facilities in Uganda to evaluate the impact of the provision of a reliable light source on the quality of delivery care provided. The facility-level intervention is the installation of a "Solar Suitcase", a complete solar electric system providing essential lighting and power for charging phones and small medical devices and a fetal doppler. The intervention will be rolled-out sequentially to all facilities over two time periods, in a randomized order.

Detailed description

Ensuring universal access to electricity is essential for global development. In the health sector, lack of reliable light and electricity is a major challenge for health workers when conducting deliveries at night. However, there is very little evidence of the impact of improving access to reliable electrification at maternity facilities on the quality of maternity care they provide. This stepped wedge cluster-randomized trial will evaluate the impact of a reliable light and electricity source - the "Solar Suitcase" - on outcomes of availability and brightness of light, the quality of maternal care provided, and health worker satisfaction. The study will take place in rural health facilities conducting deliveries in Uganda. The eligible facilities have either no connection to electricity or a modern light source or have reported to have very unreliable light (blackouts occur frequently). The intervention is a "Solar Suitcase", provided by the non-governmental organization "We Care Solar". The Solar Suitcases are complete solar electric systems that provide essential lighting and power for charging phones and small medical devices. Data collection will include direct observation of deliveries during daytime and nighttime hours, as well as interviews with facility staff. The intervention will be implemented in about 30 facilities in a step process, whereby at each 'step', half of the facilities (selected randomly) will receive the intervention. Data will be collected at three time points: a baseline period in which no facilities have received the intervention, a midline period in which the first group of facilities has received the intervention but the other half has not, and an endline period in which all facilities have received the intervention. In addition, facility-level data will be collected at three time points over a 9-month period after the completion of the endline. This data will be used to monitor delivery and ANC volumes at facilities.

Conditions

• Quality of Care

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Solar Suitcase	The intervention is a "Solar Suitcase". The Solar Suitcase comes with: 2 LED lights, 1 battery, 1 aluminum glass 100 watt solar panel, 2 rechargeable LED headlamps, 1 universal cell phone charger, 1 USB adapter, 1 fetal Doppler, 1 AA/AAA battery charger and expansion box (provides 2 additional lights). Installers will teach health workers how to use and maintain the Solar Suitcase on the day of installation. Within one week following installation, the contractor will contact the facility over the phone and/or in-person to check if there are any problems with the Suitcase. Additional checks will be made to ensure the solar suitcase is functioning and being used properly.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-06-13
• Primary completion: 2020-02-28
• Completion: 2020-02-28
• First posted: 2018-07-18
• Last updated: 2020-07-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Uganda