Co-creation and prototyping of an intervention focusing on health literacy in management of malaria at community-level in Ghana

Abstract

Plain English summary Introduction To develop useful interventions, it is important to involve the users of the intervention in its development. Such interventions address the unique needs of the users. This study reports on the design and evaluation of an intervention which was designed to meet the health literacy needs of caregivers with children under 5 years in the management of malaria in Ghana. Method The development process involved three phases. Firstly, the study identified the health literacy needs of caregivers using questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews and observations. Secondly, there was collaboration with stakeholders in the design of a board game and brochures as health education tools to be used at the Child Welfare Clinics and lastly, the practicality of the designed materials as health education tools for caregivers was assessed. Findings The intervention addressed the identified health literacy needs of caregivers. Stakeholders involved in the development process expressed ownership in varying degrees depending on the extent of their involvement. Users of the board game and brochures showed high interest and participation in the intervention delivery. Sustainability was challenged with periodic transfer and loss of health workers to career development, as well as irregular visits by some caregivers to the Child Welfare Clinics. Conclusion The use of interactive game and brochures at the Child Welfare Clinics improved caregiver and health worker relationship and encouraged a participatory method of healthcare. For long-term sustainability and scale-out of the intervention, there is the need for more support of top-level management of health in the country.

Keywords

• Health literacy
• Co-creation
• Board game
• Intervention
• Caregivers
• Malaria