Mobile app to help community health workers improve cervical cancer screening in western Kenya
mSaada: A Mobile Health Tool to Improve Cervical Cancer Screening in western Kenya
A smartphone app called mSaada to help community health volunteers track patients and specimens, provide counseling, and improve HPV-based cervical cancer screening for women in western Kenya.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11195676 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are a woman in western Kenya, this project is building a phone app that community health volunteers will use to track screening samples, share results, and remind people about follow-up care. The team will finalize the app with input from local stakeholders and developers and add features for patient and specimen tracking. They will pilot the app alongside HPV-based screening programs and collect feedback from health workers and patients to refine the tool. The goal is to strengthen counseling, improve follow-up, and make screening easier to manage where electronic medical records are not available.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Women eligible for cervical cancer screening in the program area of western Kenya who can be reached by community health volunteers and clinics participating in the project.
Not a fit: Women who live outside the project’s catchment area, lack any access to local community health volunteer services or mobile phone communication, or already have reliable screening and follow-up services are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the app could increase screening uptake and timely follow-up, helping detect and treat precancerous changes earlier.
How similar studies have performed: Other mHealth programs and CHV-supported screening efforts in low-resource settings have shown promising improvements in screening and follow-up, though results vary by context and scale.
Where this research is happening
Durham, United States
- Duke University — Durham, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Huchko, Megan J. — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Huchko, Megan J.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.