Table 4 Example of an ACE Tool assessment (adapted from [34])
Description of the document or source | |
|---|---|
Type of source material | Other [please describe]: press release [61]* |
Pre-assessment questions | |
Is the source material based on, or does it include, empirical data? | Yes |
ACE assessment criteria | Assessment | Justification for the assessment |
|---|---|---|
1. Is the aim, objective or purpose for the source material described? | Unclear | No stated aim, but the source intends to describe a mHealth initiative |
2. Is the source of the information reported? | Partial | Some sources are described but others are not described fully |
3. Is there a description of the programme or intervention or policy or reform on which the source material focusses? | Yes | “Innovative mobile application designed to make birth registration of children smart, quick and reliable in Ghana” (p. 1). “The automated birth registration system is an Android App which has been customized for Tigo Network only…[]… The tablets use the mobile app to collect data related to the child’s name, gender, date of birth and other family details, which are then sent to the central database managed by the Births and Deaths Registry. Once received, the data is stored and an automated response is sent to the Births and Deaths Registry official on the field, confirming that a certificate can be issued. Whereas data collected though the paper-based system takes six months to be registered in the central system, the mobile registration process achieves this in less than two minutes” (p. 2). |
4. Is there a description of the context/s to which the information described in the source material relates? | Partial | Only some sub‐assessment criteria described, as the source notes only that the intervention was implemented in Ghana and does not provide information on the areas of Ghana that are covered by the intervention or how and by whom it was delivered |
5. Is the information complete? | Unclear | The source does not describe efforts to ensure that the information is complete and accurate |
6. Is the information accurate? | Unclear | The source includes some empirical data but insufficient information is provided to assess whether it is accurate (see response to Q8 below) |
7. Is the evidence representative? | Unclear | The source does not provide sufficient detail to assess whether the information is complete and representative (see response to Q8 below) |
8. Is information provided to support any findings or conclusions made? | Partial | The source describes implementation but includes very limited information or empirical data. The source notes that “According to analysis done by Births and Deaths Registry, UNICEF and Tigo, at the end of the one year pilot, over 670 800 new births will be registered on the new system by the end of May 2017. This would increase Ghana’s birth registration rate to 75 percent, from the previous 65 percent” (p. 2). |
9. Are any limitations of the information and / or methods discussed in the source material? | No | Not described |
10. Are relevant rights and ethics considerations described? | No | Not described |
11. Are any interests declared and any potential conflicts of interest noted? | Partial | The organizations involved in producing the press release are described but there is no explicit declaration of interests or discussion of conflicts of interventions |
Overall assessment of the limitations of the source material and explanation | Serious concerns | Concerns about limited information regarding the sources of information and the context/s described. In addition, the source material did not describe in sufficient details efforts to ensure that the information presented was complete and accurate and did not describe the limitations of the information or any relevant rights or ethics considerations |