Community-Based Chronic Disease Care in Rural Lesotho

Brief summary (registry, in English)

This ComBaCaL cohort study is to assess the impact of community-based, lay-led chronic disease screening and care interventions in rural Lesotho. It aims to establish a prospective research and service delivery platform in rural Lesotho that is managed by eHealth-supported Chronic Care Village Health Worker (CC-VHWs) providing regular chronic disease screening, monitoring and referral services. The implementation outcomes of the cohort as well as the effect of the cohort activities on disease-specific care cascades will be assessed. Subsequently, nested trials to assess the effectiveness of specific chronic disease control interventions will be developed. Measurements and data entry will be conducted by CC-VHWs. The CC-VHWs will be equipped with the essential tools required for chronic disease monitoring in the community (i.e. BP machines, scales, measuring band, glucometers, and urine dipsticks). They will undergo a theoretical and practical training covering all aspects required for correct data collection and chronic disease screening, diagnosing, referral and counselling services. At every visit, the CC-VHW will screen participants for warning signs and symptoms (i.e. shortness of breath, severe headache, chest pain, new-onset confusion, impaired consciousness, severely impaired general state of health) and refer participants to the closest health centre in case of any danger-sign. The CC-VHWs will be continuously monitored and supervised by health centre nurses of the respective village's catchment area, mainly through direct interaction during monthly VHW meetings and by CC nurses through field visits, remote interaction via phone calls or messages sent via the ComBaCaL app and through direct contact during the monthly VHW meetings at the health centre. The CC-VHWs are embedded within the Lesotho MoH VHW program and may during the project period be trained and equipped to provide further routine services in their communities.

What you commit to

• Study type: Observational
• Planned participants: 17500
• From 22 Feb 2023 to the primary completion date, 31 Dec 2027
• 2 sites in 2 countries
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Who the study is looking for

Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (2)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.