Electronic data capture in a rural African setting: evaluating experiences with different systems in Malawi

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Mobile Health (mHealth)
• Data Management in Research

Background:

• Increasing availability and affordability of electronic data capture (EDC) hardware like smartphones and tablets.
• Growing potential for EDC tools in routine healthcare and research applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of four simultaneously used EDC systems in rural Malawi.
• Compare Android-based systems (CommCare, ODK Collect, Mobile InterVA) and a PALM/Windows system (Pendragon).

Main Methods:

• Report on the field and development experiences of users including fieldworkers, project managers, and EDC developers.
• Qualitative assessment based on practical implementation and system usability.

Main Results:

• Fieldworkers preferred EDC over paper, despite initial technology challenges.
• CommCare and ODK Collect offer user-friendly interfaces and good support; CommCare has a notable 'case' function.
• Mobile InterVA required significant expertise and customization, while Pendragon involved complex programming and less support.
• All EDC systems had higher start-up costs than paper but were deemed cost-effective due to low running costs.

Conclusions:

• EDC presents significant opportunities for efficient data collection in research and healthcare.
• System selection should align with study objectives, budget constraints, and local environmental factors, particularly connectivity.
• Careful consideration of hardware and software is crucial for successful EDC implementation.