World Hope International Improves Documentation Management for Trafficking in Persons

April 26, 2021

By Savana Bailey, Lina Abutalib and John Barbadoro

Our team was asked to develop an mHealth application for the World Hope International Organization (WHI). WHI is an organization focused on addressing trafficking in persons (TIP) within Sierra Leone and the Philippines. They provide protection to TIP survivors, implement preventive programs within both nations, and distribute aftercare recovery services. One challenge WHI faces is an overload of required paper forms that can only be stored in one location. These forms sometimes ask for duplicate information which may require a TIP survivor to recount their trauma multiple times posing a threat to their mental health. Our goal as a team is to work with WHI to develop an mHealth application that integrates forms used in Sierra Leone when working with TIP survivors in their recovery center and the community in order to have accessible digital data.  By using the CommCare application building software, our team created an application that will help streamline the process for accessing and addressing the health of survivors while reducing the amount of times the survivor needs to repeat their story. This application will essentially minimize the time given to organizing forms which will give staff more opportunities to connect and care for TIP survivors. Additionally, the value of digital case notes allows caseworkers to access secure information on demand, without requiring scanning and email of paper forms.