Use of a Social Accountability Tool - 20% Increase in Community Health Worker Visits to Pregnant Women

Strategy researched

A social accountability tool to improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes by empowering community members, health service providers, and others to identify and overcome obstacles in resource-limited settings

Impact achieved

The Community Score Card (CSC) intervention increased community health worker (CHW) visits to women during pregnancy by 20% and during the postnatal period by 6%, compared to control. Results also showed a 16% increase on overall service satisfaction for the women who had healthcare providers who underwent CSC intervention, as well as 57% higher use of contraceptives. There was a significant 37% increase in the indicator relationship between the community and health providers in the groups who underwent the intervention, and a 22% increase in the indicator on availability and accessibility of reproductive and maternal health information in the groups who underwent the intervention.

Country of study

Malawi

Research methodology

Cluster RCT

Journal

PLOS ONE; 2017

Journal paper title and link

Effects of a social accountability approach, CARE's Community Score Card, on reproductive health-related outcomes in Malawi: A cluster-randomized controlled evaluation

Excerpt from Abstract

"By facilitating the relationship between community members, health service providers, and local government officials, the CSC contributed to important improvements in reproductive health-related outcomes. Further, the CSC builds mutual accountability, and ensures that solutions to problems are locally-relevant, locally-supported and feasible to implement."

Summary at this link