USE CASE

Remote Engagement

Automated reminders, two-way messaging, and remote monitoring, keeping people connected between visits.

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◆  Automated Reminders
Two-Way Messaging
Chatbots
Remote Monitoring

The Challenge

Teams increasingly support people remotely, where low engagement and scattered channels hide real needs.

Language and literacy barriers

Messages must reach people in their own language.

Long-term follow-up and retention

Staying in touch over months tests every program.

Protecting personal data

Remote contact still has to keep records private.

CommCare in action

CommCare for Remote Engagement

HIGHLIGHT 1 · CONFIGURE

Build message flows without writing code

  • Trigger by case data, date, or program event
  • Multi-language message libraries
  • SMS, IVR, WhatsApp, and in-app in one platform
  • Cohort-based and individual targeting
HIGHLIGHT 2 · REACH

Automated outreach that meets people where they are

  • Appointment and medication reminders
  • Vaccine and campaign mobilization alerts
  • Farmer advisory and market price messages
  • Attendance check-ins and wellbeing follow-up
  • Batch sending to cohorts or case groups
HIGHLIGHT 3 · INTERACT

Two-way conversations and chatbots, every reply tied to a case

  • Inbound replies matched to open case records
  • Keyword detection for danger signs or key responses
  • Chatbot flows for structured surveys and check-ins
  • Full conversation history on each case record
HIGHLIGHT 4 · ACT

Every trigger fires the right response, automatically

  • Automatic task creation on field worker devices
  • Supervisor dashboard alerts with case summary
  • Auto-acknowledgement message to beneficiary
  • Full escalation log on case record for audit

Curious how this would work for your remote programs?

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PARTNER STORIES

Remote engagement, powered by CommCare

Featured Program

Zvandiri: youth-led HIV support, delivered through digital engagement

Zvandiri’s peer-led model for young people living with HIV in Zimbabwe runs on CommCare, connecting Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters (CATS) with the clients they mentor at national scale.

Read the story
Zvandiri peer counselors supporting young people living with HIV in Zimbabwe
YOUTH-LED HIV CARE
Zvandiri
Zimbabwe · CATS peer-support model
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The USAID-funded Suaahara II program used CommCare to register 2 million households and reach 10 million people across 42 of Nepal’s 77 districts.

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Nutrition behavioral-change SMS program in Gorongosa, Mozambique
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Gorongosa, Mozambique: nutrition behavioral change by SMS

GiveDirectly cash transfers paired with SMS nutrition behavior-change content for families around Gorongosa National Park.

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High Impact Growth podcast: Jacaranda Health on reaching mothers through messaging and government partnership
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Jacaranda Health: reaching mothers at scale through messaging

Jacaranda Health works with Kenya’s public health system to strengthen maternal and newborn care, using SMS-based engagement to reach mothers at scale.

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ACROSS SECTORS

Remote engagement, built for every sector.

Use the power of CommCare to keep people engaged between visits, in any sector.

See it tuned for
Any sector

Reminders and two-way messaging, in any domain.

Two-way messaging, reminders, and decision support that keep people engaged between visits, across every sector CommCare serves. Pick a sector to see how it tunes.

  • SMS, IVR, and in-app reminders out of the box
  • Two-way messaging tied to each case file
  • Decision support to escalate at the right moment
Browse all solutions
COMMON QUESTIONS

Remote Engagement FAQs

Channels & Languages

Which messaging channels does CommCare support?
CommCare supports SMS (via major gateways including Twilio, Infobip, and Africa's Talking), IVR (interactive voice response), WhatsApp Business, and in-app messaging. You can run several channels at once, for example SMS for basic feature phones and in-app for smartphone users, with the channel chosen by a field on the case record.
Can CommCare send messages in multiple languages?
Yes. CommCare supports multi-language message libraries, with the right language chosen automatically from a field on the case record, and IVR audio can be recorded in multiple languages with automatic routing. Programs in the Sahel and South Asia commonly run three or more languages at once.

Flows & Follow-up

Can messages be personalized with case record data?
Yes. Any field on a case record, name, gestational age, diagnosis, last visit date, assigned worker, crop type, can be inserted into message templates. Messages can also branch on case data, so different cohorts receive the right content automatically.
How does CommCare handle structured chatbot flows?
Chatbot flows are built in CommCare's message flow builder using branching logic, similar to form skip logic. A participant replies with a keyword or number, and CommCare routes them to the next question or action. Responses are saved to the case record and can trigger escalation rules, task creation, or further automated messages.
What happens if a beneficiary doesn't reply?
You set non-response rules in the message flow, for example send a follow-up after 48 hours, then create a visit task on the nearest worker's device if there is still no reply. All non-response events are logged on the case record and visible in the supervisor dashboard.
LET’S TALK

Interested in how CommCare can support your remote engagement work?

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