LESSONS LEARNED ON USING DIGITAL TOOLS TO IDENTIFY RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILD WELL-BEING OUTCOMES

Matshidiso Sello, Wits university

Reliable real-time data is essential for monitoring and estimating child well-being outcomes and is also critical for planning interventions that cater for children’s needs. The Child Well-being Tracking Tool (CWTT) is a digital tool designed to monitor and identify risk factors associated with child well-being. It was developed for a Communities of Practice for Social Systems Strengthening study involving 249 early-grade children in Johannesburg’s poorest areas and in a rural community of Moutse, South Africa. Data was collected from children, caregivers, teachers, and nurses, covering six well-being domains (health, nutrition, economics, education, protection, and psychosocial health) at three different time points. The CWTT synthesized data to provide well-being scores and identify vulnerable children who were then referred for interventions. Despite challenges in tool design, data collection, integration, visualization, and privacy protection, the CWTT successfully assessed child well-being longitudinally. By offering real-time data access, the tool can improve service delivery and integrated care, potentially leading to better child well-being outcomes.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Data and Methods, Qualitative data/methods/approaches, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

See paper.