CAI Meza: a digital solution revolutionizing access to data from remote clinics
Instant data from the field
Remote clinics rely upon paper-based data systems
We can't tackle what we don't know or can't measure. Effective programme management requires good data that can be analyzed in a timely manner so that resources can be targeted effectively and on time to save lives.
In humanitarian and development projects, critical data is generated in remote or low-resource situations with limited or no access to computers and the internet. Teams rely upon paper-based data systems. Reliably transcribing, summarizing and transporting these paper records often presents, such an obstacle to teams in the field that this data move slowly and, all too often, is ignored or lost entirely. Given the vital importance of data to improving operations, we must find a way to capture and transport this data to the staff—analysts, managers, and operators—who need it most.
Introducing CAI Meza
CAI Meza is a digital solution revolutionizing access to data from the field. The granular information held in log-books even in the most remote areas can now be accessible almost instantly. With up-to-date information on the situation and progress of each worker, clinic, team, or beneficiary, your team will be able to monitor progress and appropriately steer interventions, as well as plan for the long-term.
CAI Meza is a ground-breaking technology built by Charitable Analytics International (CAI), a specialist non-profit organization for data science and technology for social good initiatives, with strong partnership from the Nutrition Division of the World Food Programme (WFP). The initial CAI Meza pilots were funded by WFP ́s Innovation Accelerator and CAI Meza has been running for over a year in community health centres in the Republic of Congo.
CAI Meza quickly digitizes logbook data to make it instantly accessible to analysts in regional or international offices
How it works
Health clinic workers take a picture of logbook entries using the CAI Meza Mobile App.
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Health clinic workers take a picture of log-book entries with generic smartphones and send it via the CAI Meza Mobile App
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CAI Meza receives the picture and extracts the data via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software
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CAI Meza feeds back to the user in the health clinic on successful/unsuccessful submission of pictures
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The CAI Meza database can be accessed by registered users to select their needed datasets to download, for example as an Excel file
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This can then be transferred into other data analysis tools (e.g. Tableau, other databases)
Benefits
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Real-time data to enable real-time decisions: Digitizing data with CAI Meza enables access to paper-based records so offices can monitor the success of programmes in real time and enable timely interventions where needed. Up-to-date, reliable data can also inform planning and analyses of programmes.
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Saving time and costs: CAI Meza saves significant cost and time for staff in country offices and the field in collecting, cleaning and organizing the data from each health clinic.
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Maximizing data accuracy: Digitizing data collection further reduces errors that occur when tallying data or manual data entry along different levels of the reporting chain.
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Reducing lag-time: The lag time between the actual assessment of individual cases and the analysis and review of the aggregated data can be considerable–in some countries up to 6 months. CAI Meza offers a direct, fast and cost-effective way to get this data almost instantly
CAI Meza uses advanced optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically extract data.
Getting started with CAI Meza
Integrating CAI Meza into your operations involves an initial kickoff phase so your team can use the tools on a day-to-day basis for maintaining a detailed view of operations in the field.
While CAI Meza is an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use platform, it’s important to get the necessary training, best practices, and installations in place. While CAI Meza is an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use platform, it’s important to get the necessary training, best practices, and installations in place. The kickoff phase is designed to ensure your team has the tools and knowledge to use CAI Meza to support existing and new deployments. The kickoff includes:
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Identification of a Meza lead on your team: success with CAI Meza depends on having someone on your team who is responsible for supporting CAI Meza users in the field and analysts in the office as well as being a point of contact with our CAI support team when questions or needs arise.
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Detailed integration scoping: establish the requirements and constraints that CAI Meza must meet for your operations.
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Logbook, phone, and platform preparation: develop the materials needed for CAI Meza to be used for your operations.
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Deployment field visit: training office personnel, configuring phones (and helping with internet providers), guiding/assisting with CAI Meza app training and deployment in the field, and debugging issues that may arise.
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Bi-weekly checkins, support, and quality control: over the following 2-3 months, our team will follow the CAI Meza deployment, help debug issues, and assess and improve the quality of data being captured.
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Assessment field visit: check up on the deployment, address any unresolved issues, and provide follow up support.
Ongoing operations
After the kickoff phase, your team will be comfortable with using CAI Meza in their day-to-day operations. Particularly vital will be the Meza lead on your team. Typically this will be a part-time responsibility – but having that person to help support will be important to ensure effective use of the platform and to quickly address any issues that may arise.During this phase, CAI will provide:
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Immediate upgrades to most up-to-date versions of CAI Meza: CAI is constantly improving both the Meza platform and the Meza phone app, ensuring better digitization, communication, and smoother operations.
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6 hours of dedicated support each month: these can be used for technical support, training, log book adjustments, and other support services.
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Data quality checks: every month, our team will code and check 40 random pages to ensure digitization is performing well.
In addition to these services, CAI also provides a number of optional services that can enable your team to maximize the value of CAI Meza to your operations. These include: on-site support visits, additional logbook design, platform customizations, and custom OCR performance tuning
During ongoing operations, your team always has access to the most up-to-date version of the CAI Meza system.