Case management and longitudinal tracking: HealthRight International

HealthRight International is a global health and human rights organization. They believe that health is a human right, and recognize that all over the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries, marginalized communities such as vulnerable women and children, people living with or at elevated risk for HIV, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and survivors of trafficking, survivors of gender-based or intimate partner violence, have worse health outcomes than the general population.

Through the Integrated Physical and Psychological Rehabilitation Assistance for Victims project, HealthRight International provides both mental health and physical rehabilitation for former victims of the LRA war in Northern Uganda. Using the Dharma platform, mobile community health extension workers and HealthRight International staff screen patients at the community and hospital levels.

The purpose of the initial screening is to check demographics and also begin the psychological evaluation to start treatment. Follow-up using the same tools (Dharma) has allowed the health extension workers and HealthRight International staff to more accurately measure the patient’s improvement, and the results help them to see if the patient qualifies for a certain intervention (e.g. group counselling). One project team member commented, “This is why Dharma has been so helpful for us. We have been able to see how someone is progressing, according to the data received.”