Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jun 16, 2022
Date Accepted: Jul 30, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 3, 2022
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Early Detection and Case Management of Skin Diseases with a Mobile Health Application ‘eSkinHealth’: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Pilot Study in Côte d’Ivoire
ABSTRACT
Background:
The prevalence of skin diseases is extremely high in sub-Saharan Africa, among which are skin neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs) that could lead to life-long disabilities and deformities if not diagnosed and treated early. To achieve early detection and early treatment of these skin diseases, we developed a mobile health application (mHealth app): ‘eSkinHealth.’
Objective:
Our primary outcome is to evaluate the early detection and effective management of skin diseases using the mHealth app in Côte d’Ivoire.
Methods:
A mixed-methods pilot trial will be conducted in Côte d’Ivoire and will consist of 3 phases: phase 1, the development and improvement of the mHealth app; phase 2, a pilot trial to evaluate the usability of the mHealth app for local medical staff in Côte d’Ivoire; and phase 3, a pilot trial to evaluate the effectiveness of early detection and case management of targeted skin NTDs (Buruli ulcer, leprosy, yaws, and lymphatic filariasis) with the mHealth app in Côte d’Ivoire. The pilot study will be implemented as a 2-arm trial with local healthcare providers and patients with skin NTDs over a 3-month follow-up period. The local healthcare providers will be assigned to an intervention group receiving the mHealth app to be used in their daily practices or a control group. The differences in case numbers diagnosed and followed up between the intervention and control groups will be measured as the primary outcome.
Results:
This study was funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Leprosy Research Initiative (LRI), and Osaka University. It was approved by the institutional review boards at the Ministry of Health of Côte d’Ivoire and at the Tulane University, in 2021. This study is still in progress, and we hope to have the results by the end of 2022. It is anticipated that the first results will be submitted for publication in 2023.
Conclusions:
The mobile health application could lead to significant improvement in early detection and case management of skin diseases in Côte d’Ivoire. Clinical Trial: 2020-2054 (Clinicaltrials.gov)
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