Quality of Health CareNCT06304831
Use of Facility Ratings to Improve Satisfaction With Heath Care for Children
A study testing Quality ratings of health care providers for children in people with Quality of Health Care, run by Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute at 1 site in Laos.
Trial summary
Despite increasing options for public and private health care providers in Laos, choosing a high-quality health provider or a facility is difficult because timely and reliable information about providers is not readily available. People rely on social networks or previous experiences to select providers. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Quality of Health Care
- What is being tested?
- Quality ratings of health care providers for children
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 559 participants
- Where
- 1 siteLaos
- Study dates
- 11 Mar 2024to 23 Oct 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- Women only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- All women 18 years of age and older and enrolled in Vientiane Multigenerational Birth Cohort (VITERBI) with at least one child less than two years old, able to read, have exclusive access to a mobile phone, have a WhatsApp account, understand and sign the ICF will be eligible to participate in the study. The eligibility criteria will be assessed using data collected from VITERBI. Ability to read will be tested using a script in Lao, "I use my mobile phone every day."
Who cannot join
- Eligible women unwilling to sign informed consent, without exclusive access to a mobile phone, unable to read the test script, or unable operate a mobile phone will be excluded from the study.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Facility Ratings to Improve Satisfaction With Heath Care for Children
Despite increasing options for public and private health care providers in Laos, choosing a high-quality health provider or a facility is difficult because timely and reliable information about providers is not readily available. People rely on social networks or previous experiences to select providers. However, in Laos, only 28% describe their recent visit to a health care provider as high-quality suggesting that while there are increasing options for care, people may need support to find providers that meet their quality needs. Rapid adoption of mobile phones in Laos, particularly in urban areas, offer opportunities to enhance people's access to timely quality information about health care providers. The study team will use mobile phones to collect and disseminate quality information about providers - known to be valued by Laotians - to improve their access to quality care as well as their overall satisfaction with care.
Read the detailed description
While access to health care is expanding globally, there is appreciable variation in the quality of care among providers with low-quality care accounting for up-to 5 million deaths each year. These numbers are expected to grow as more people seek care and as the burden of disease shifts to complex conditions.
Expanding access has also resulted in increasing options for public and private health care providers. Selecting a health provider or a facility, however, is difficult because timely and reliable information about providers is not readily available. People often rely on social networks or previous experiences to select providers. However, in Lao PDR, only 28% describe their recent visit to a health care provider as high-quality, suggesting that while there are increasing options for care, people may need support to find providers that meet their quality needs.
In order to inform efforts to improve people's access to high-quality care, there is a need for evidence on mechanisms to empower people to identify and use high-quality care. In LMICs, majority of efforts to date has focused on supply-side efforts. While there are new initiatives to study population perspectives and people's care experiences, measures to "ignite demand" for high-quality care are not well understood.
The investigators plan to conduct a randomized-controlled experiment using mobile-phones to study whether routinely collected information on quality of care received by peers can improve access to high-quality care and patient satisfaction. The investigators plan to study whether participants switched providers based on the information provided and the type of information mothers used to switch providers. Additionally, The investigators plan to study whether information about providers led women to be more satisfied with health care services for their child or children. Study participants will include mothers living in an urban setting with less than 2-year old children and already enrolled in an on-going VITERBI cohort in Vientiane, the capital city.
- Conditions
- Quality of Health Care
- Being tested
- Quality ratings of health care providers for children
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Quality ratings of health care providers for childrenBehavioural
Ratings of overall and components of quality (provider knowledge, respectfulness of provider, respectfulness of staff, cleanliness, cost) of health care providers for children will be provided on a webpage. The webpage will be updated every week and participants will be invited to access the latest ratings biweekly.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Experimental | The intervention group will receive biweekly updates about quality ratings of recently visited health care providers for children by everyone enrolled in the study. Receives: Behavioral: Quality ratings of health care providers for children |
| Control | No intervention | The control group will not receive any information about health care providers for children. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Proportion of mothers that change their preferred health care providers for children for non-urgent care
The primary outcome of this study is the proportion of mothers that changed their preferred health care facility for non-urgent child care services between baseline and endline surveys. Non-urgent care is defined as children with mild fever of 38 degrees along with cough. During the baseline and endline surveys, participants will be asked to specify their preferred location for non-urgent child care as follows: "If your child is sick tomorrow with mild fever of 38 degrees Celsius and cough, which hospital, clinic or health center will you take your child to?" The primary outcome will be a binary indicator for participants changing their preferred location between baseline and endline.
Measured: 3 months
Secondary outcomes (6)
Proportion of mothers satisfied with health care for their children of their most recent visit
The secondary outcome measure will be satisfaction with the health care facility visited most recently for care for their child under age 2. This measure will only be available for mothers seeking care for their child during the study period. This will be a binary variable and satisfaction will be defined as answering "Excellent" or "Very good" (instead of "Good", "Fair", or "Poor") to the question, "How would you rate the overall quality of care you received?", referring to the most recent visit for their child under age 2 within the past 3 months.
Measured: 3 months
Number and type of health care providers used in the past 3 months
This secondary outcome is the number and types of providers (government health centers, government hospitals, private clinics and private hospitals) visited by mothers for health care for their children during the study period. Every 2 weeks, all enrolled participants will be asked: "Did you visit a health center, hospital or clinic for child in the last two weeks?" using a mobile application. Ones that respond "Yes," will be requested to complete an online survey about the visit, which will ask them to specify the health facility visited.
Measured: 3 months
Proportion of mothers that change their most recently visited health care providers for children
This secondary outcome is the proportion of mothers that changed the most recently visited health care facility for child care services between baseline and endline surveys. This measure will be a binary variable and will only be available for caregivers using care both within the three months periods preceding the baseline and endline survey.
Measured: 3 months
Proportion of mothers choosing the preferred facility for non-urgent care because of online or digital information sources
This secondary outcome is the proportion of mothers that used online or digital information sources reasons for choosing providers for non-urgent care. During the baseline and endline surveys, participants will be asked to specify their preferred location for non-urgent child care as follows: "If your child is sick tomorrow with mild fever of 38 degrees Celsius and cough, which hospital, clinic or health center will you take your child to?" After this question, participants will be asked, "Was this choice informed by online or digital information services?" This outcome will be a binary variable.
Measured: 3 months
Proportion of mothers that change their preferred health care providers for children for urgent care
This secondary outcome is the proportion of mothers that changed their preferred health care facility for urgent child care services between baseline and endline surveys. Urgent care is defined as children with high fever and a red rash covering their body. During the baseline and endline surveys, participants will be asked to specify their preferred location for urgent child care as follows: "If your child is sick tomorrow with a very high fever of 39-40 degrees and a red rash covering their body, which hospital, clinic or health center will you take your child to?" This outcome will be a binary indicator for participants changing their preferred location for urgent care between baseline and endline.
Measured: 3 months
Proportion of mothers confident they can identify the best place for getting care for sick children
This secondary outcome is the proportion of mothers can identify the best place for getting care for sick children based on his/her health problems. During the baseline and endline surveys, all participants will be asked to respond with "Strongly agree," "Agree," "Unsure," "Disagree" or "Strongly disagree" to the following question: "I am able to identify the best place to get care for my child when he/she is sick." This outcome will be a binary variable. Participants responding with "Strongly Agree" or "Agree" will be defined as being confident that they can identify the best place for getting care for sick children and participants responding with "Unsure," "Disagree," or "Strongly Disagree" will be defined as not being confident where to seek care.
Measured: 3 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted12 Mar 2024
- Study start11 Mar 2024
- Primary completion23 Oct 2024
- Study completion23 Oct 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Quality of Health CareStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Model description
- This study consists of a randomized controlled experiment involving 660 mothers with children less than 2 years old. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) a control group that will not receive any information about providers and 2) an intervention group that will receive biweekly updates about quality ratings based on reviews collected from mothers of young children in the study areas. The unit of randomization will be the individual participant. A simple random number draw generated by the ODK package installed on the tablets will be used to assign participants to treatment and control with equal probability.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 559 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Günther Fink, PhD, Study chair, Swiss Tropical & Public Health InstituteAmit Aryal, MPH, Principal investigator, Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06304831
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SwissTI
- Status last verified
- Mar 2024
- First submitted
- 5 Mar 2024
- Last updated
- 13 Jan 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: De-identified survey data will be retained for at least 15 years on a public data repository after publication of study findings.
Publications
Aryal A, Clarke-Deelder E, Sayasone S, Fink G. Informing Facility Selection Through a Web-Based User Ratings System: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Among Mothers in Urban Lao People's Democratic Republic. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Sep 4;14:e66085. doi: 10.2196/66085.
PubMed 40907019
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 Jan 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Facility Ratings to Improve Satisfaction With Heath Care for Children
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06304831
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SwissTI
- Conditions
- Quality of Health Care
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 559 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Swiss Tropical & Public Health InstituteUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute
- Study start
- 11 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 23 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 23 Oct 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 12 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Despite increasing options for public and private health care providers in Laos, choosing a high-quality health provider or a facility is difficult because timely and reliable information about providers is not readily available. People rely on social networks or previous experiences to select providers. However, in Laos, only 28% describe their recent visit to a health care provider as high-quality suggesting that while there are increasing options for care, people may need support to find providers that meet their quality needs. Rapid adoption of mobile phones in Laos, particularly in urban areas, offer opportunities to enhance people's access to timely quality information about health care providers. The study team will use mobile phones to collect and disseminate quality information about providers - known to be valued by Laotians - to improve their access to quality care as well as their overall satisfaction with care.
Detailed description
While access to health care is expanding globally, there is appreciable variation in the quality of care among providers with low-quality care accounting for up-to 5 million deaths each year. These numbers are expected to grow as more people seek care and as the burden of disease shifts to complex conditions.
Expanding access has also resulted in increasing options for public and private health care providers. Selecting a health provider or a facility, however, is difficult because timely and reliable information about providers is not readily available. People often rely on social networks or previous experiences to select providers. However, in Lao PDR, only 28% describe their recent visit to a health care provider as high-quality, suggesting that while there are increasing options for care, people may need support to find providers that meet their quality needs.
In order to inform efforts to improve people's access to high-quality care, there is a need for evidence on mechanisms to empower people to identify and use high-quality care. In LMICs, majority of efforts to date has focused on supply-side efforts. While there are new initiatives to study population perspectives and people's care experiences, measures to "ignite demand" for high-quality care are not well understood.
The investigators plan to conduct a randomized-controlled experiment using mobile-phones to study whether routinely collected information on quality of care received by peers can improve access to high-quality care and patient satisfaction. The investigators plan to study whether participants switched providers based on the information provided and the type of information mothers used to switch providers. Additionally, The investigators plan to study whether information about providers led women to be more satisfied with health care services for their child or children. Study participants will include mothers living in an urban setting with less than 2-year old children and already enrolled in an on-going VITERBI cohort in Vientiane, the capital city.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- This study consists of a randomized controlled experiment involving 660 mothers with children less than 2 years old. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) a control group that will not receive any information about providers and 2) an intervention group that will receive biweekly updates about quality ratings based on reviews collected from mothers of young children in the study areas. The unit of randomization will be the individual participant. A simple random number draw generated by the ODK package installed on the tablets will be used to assign participants to treatment and control with equal probability.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Quality ratings of health care providers for childrenThe intervention group will receive biweekly updates about quality ratings of recently visited health care providers for children by everyone enrolled in the study. |
| Control | No intervention | –The control group will not receive any information about health care providers for children. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- All women 18 years of age and older and enrolled in Vientiane Multigenerational Birth Cohort (VITERBI) with at least one child less than two years old, able to read, have exclusive access to a mobile phone, have a WhatsApp account, understand and sign the ICF will be eligible to participate in the study. The eligibility criteria will be assessed using data collected from VITERBI. Ability to read will be tested using a script in Lao, "I use my mobile phone every day."
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Eligible women unwilling to sign informed consent, without exclusive access to a mobile phone, unable to read the test script, or unable operate a mobile phone will be excluded from the study.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Quality ratings of health care providers for childrenRatings of overall and components of quality (provider knowledge, respectfulness of provider, respectfulness of staff, cleanliness, cost) of health care providers for children will be provided on a webpage. The webpage will be updated every week and participants will be invited to access the latest ratings biweekly. | Behavioural | Intervention |
Primary outcome
Proportion of mothers that change their preferred health care providers for children for non-urgent care
Time frame: 3 months
The primary outcome of this study is the proportion of mothers that changed their preferred health care facility for non-urgent child care services between baseline and endline surveys. Non-urgent care is defined as children with mild fever of 38 degrees along with cough. During the baseline and endline surveys, participants will be asked to specify their preferred location for non-urgent child care as follows: "If your child is sick tomorrow with mild fever of 38 degrees Celsius and cough, which hospital, clinic or health center will you take your child to?" The primary outcome will be a binary indicator for participants changing their preferred location between baseline and endline.
6 secondary outcomes
Proportion of mothers satisfied with health care for their children of their most recent visit
Time frame: 3 months
Number and type of health care providers used in the past 3 months
Time frame: 3 months
Proportion of mothers that change their most recently visited health care providers for children
Time frame: 3 months
Proportion of mothers choosing the preferred facility for non-urgent care because of online or digital information sources
Time frame: 3 months
Proportion of mothers that change their preferred health care providers for children for urgent care
Time frame: 3 months
Proportion of mothers confident they can identify the best place for getting care for sick children
Time frame: 3 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 13 Jan 2025.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 40907019Aryal A, Clarke-Deelder E, Sayasone S, Fink G. Informing Facility Selection Through a Web-Based User Ratings System: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Among Mothers in Urban Lao People's Democratic Republic. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Sep 4;14:e66085. doi: 10.2196/66085.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. De-identified survey data will be retained for at least 15 years on a public data repository after publication of study findings.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Günther Fink, PhD study chair
Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
Amit Aryal, MPH principal investigator
Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Quality ratings of health care providers for children in people with Quality of Health Care, run by Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute at 1 site in Laos.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 13 Jan 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Laos. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Proportion of mothers that change their preferred health care providers for children for non-urgent care (time frame: 3 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06304831, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 13 Jan 2025.