Supplement | HBS Case Collection | 2010

Deworming Kenya: Translating Research into Action (B)

by Nava Ashraf, Neil Buddy Shah and Rachel Gordon

Abstract

Karen Levy and her colleague, Margaret Ndanyi, learn the results of their nation-wide effort to rid Kenyan school children of parasitic worm infection.

Keywords: Programs; Health Care and Treatment; Research; Policy; Outcome or Result; Kenya;

Format: Print

2 pages

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Ashraf, Nava, Neil Buddy Shah, and Rachel Gordon. "Deworming Kenya: Translating Research into Action (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 910-027, March 2010.

This case describes barriers to adoption of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in Zambia and highlights the importance of understanding end users in promoting product adoption. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are simple, easy-to-use tools that provide a relatively reliable, inexpensive way to confirm diagnoses of malaria. In addition to ensuring that patients' febrile illnesses are properly diagnosed and treated, confirming malaria diagnoses has broader public health benefits, including promoting the efficient use of limited malaria medications and preventing increased resistance to first-line malaria treatment. However, despite the evident potential benefits of RDTs, many clinicians in Zambia do not use them or simply ignore their results. Why don't they trust these tools, and what can be done to improve adoption? Various barriers to uptake and methods to overcome these challenges are explored, with broad implications for technology adoption and health policy. A particular emphasis is placed on the role of behavioral preferences.

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