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Abstract: This paper discusses issues involved in the development of a mobile-based Tuberculosis (TB) contact tracing system. The proposed system involves the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology to contact and interact with contacts of TB patients via a mobile phone to ask a set of questions to determine if a follow-up or TB test is required on the contact. Central to this system is use of a secure centralized database that will store data and provide health workers with access to the collected data to analyze, follow-up and view individual submissions, summaries and reports through either a mobile or web interface. An essential step in the development process is the setup of major infrastructure for the system which involves setup of the application and database server(s), USSD connectivity setup, and determination of the interaction process which is fundamental to the implementation of the mobile application. Issues involved include database setup and interoperability, protection of personal health information, and system security issues, both at the frontend and backend. This paper discusses these issues and decisions taken to address them. In addition, future work is outlined.
Keywords: USSD system, mobile phone, TB contact tracing
1. Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that Botswana has one of the highest prevalence rate of TB in the world. It is also reported that 75% of those with TB were also HIV/AIDS positive, making TB and HIV/AIDS a big health and financial burden on the country. WHO reports that this may be due to "poor monitoring and evaluation and weak patient referral tracking". The TB contact tracing (TBCT) system is a mobile-based USSD system that is designed to help in the process of tracing close contacts of TB patients. The system aims to computerize the process of physically locating, screening and following up of contacts by health workers in Botswana. The design of the system was presented in (Mosweunyane et al 2014). The problems encountered with current system include shortage of health personnel, time and travel costs, poor data records and distribution, and poor data analysis. With high mobile penetration of 150 per 100 people in Botswana, and USSD compatibility with all mobile phones plus its advantage of interactivity, a USSD-based solution was identified as...