Community Health Worker User Documentation
The Community Health Workers who will be using the LMI Community Health Worker Data Collection System (CHWDCS) will only need to learn how to use the phone-based forms. They should never have to worry about the system being presented to Volunteer Coordinators or Projects Administrators which is all in OpenMRS.
Logging In
A log-in for every volunteer is added by the system administrator within OpenMRS. Although OpenMRS sees all people in the system as "patients" we have been using the signifier "CHW" for Community Health Worker. Once we have added that to the patient information that person can be tracked as a worker instead of a patient. When this is done the administrator can then set-up a username and password for the worker which can then be entered in the forms via that phone.
Creating a new household
When the worker logs in, if they left off with unfinished forms from the last time they are presented with that screen so they may continue. When they come around to the Household forms again they have the option to Create a New Household with a link in the middle of the screen. The simply click the link and the system will ask for the first person in the new household - the system automatically assigns a number to the household and simply waits for patient data to be entered into that household number. Once all the screens are complete for each person it recycles into allowing a new person to be created into that household.
If the household is complete the worker can simply enter "Create new household" to start another house in the village.
Input
Input for the forms is entirely up to the phone being used and how it inputs data into its browser. Text input can be done on most phones either with a full-fledged keyboard or with multi-touch character input for phones with smaller keyboards. Pointing devices vary a great deal and are even toggles moving to the next field with the push of a button.
Saving Data
The CHWDCS saves data instantly upon entry into each screen. There is no Save button to worry about. If incorrect data is entered the only way to correct it at this point is to log into the OpenMRS system as an administrator and correct the problem. It is also possible to enter more than one encounter for a person and remove the incorrect encounter in OpenMRS at a later time. This may be the best path to take as it mean the volunteer can simply continue with the person and not worry about calling an administrator to correct a problem immediately.
