Journal Article•
Mobile for Health (mHealth) in Developing Countries: Application of 4 Ps of Social Marketing
TL;DR: The essay analyses the role of mobile technology for public health by using 4 Ps of marketing mix-products and services, price, place, and promotion from social marketing perspective and also shows how it helps for democratizing public health programs in the developing world.
Abstract: Mobile technology is emerging as the first extensive form of electronic communication which is culturally and socially feasible and appropriate for strengthening health system. As a public health intervention, the world of mobile is just beginning. The essay analyses the role of mobile technology for public health by using 4 Ps of marketing mix-products and services, price, place, and promotion from social marketing perspective and also show how it helps for democratizing public health programs in the developing world.
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TL;DR: The first to conduct a case study on the public health system of Pakistan showing that mHealth can offer tremendous opportunities for a developing country with a severe scarcity of health infrastructure and resources is conducted.
Abstract: The mHealth trend, which uses mobile devices and associated technology for health interventions, offers unprecedented opportunity to transform the health services available to people across the globe In particular, the mHealth transformation can be most disruptive in the developing countries, which is often characterized by a dysfunctional public health system Despite this opportunity, the growth of mHealth in developing countries is rather slow and no existing studies have conducted an in-depth search to identify the reasons We present a comprehensive report about the factors hindering the growth of mHealth in developing countries Most importantly, we outline future strategies for making mHealth even more effective We are also the first to conduct a case study on the public health system of Pakistan showing that mHealth can offer tremendous opportunities for a developing country with a severe scarcity of health infrastructure and resources The findings of this paper will guide the development of policies and strategies for the sustainable adoption of mHealth not only in Pakistan but also for any developing country in general
118 citations
Cites background from "Mobile for Health (mHealth) in Deve..."
...In this system, doctors can remotely access patients’ ECG and heart reports [58]....
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TL;DR: Detectable drug concentrations showed modest associations with self-report and pill count adherence, and drug levels were higher among those self-reporting 100 % adherence than those reporting <100 %.
Abstract: This study examined study product adherence and its determinants in the Botswana oral pre-exposure prophylaxis efficacy trial. Among the 1,219 participants, the mean adherence by pill count and 3-day self-report was 94 % for each. In multivariable models, pill count adherence was significantly associated with adverse events (nausea, dizziness, vomiting) (RR 0.98 95 % CI 0.98–1.00; p = 0.03) and side effect concerns (RR 0.98 95 % CI 0.96–0.99; p = 0.01). Self-reported adherence was significantly associated with having an HIV-positive partner (RR 1.02 95 % CI 1.00–1.04; p = 0.02) and Francistown residence (RR 0.98 95 % CI 0.96, 0.99; p = 0.0001). Detectable drug concentrations showed modest associations with self-report and pill count adherence, and drug levels were higher among those self-reporting 100 % adherence than those reporting <100 %. Most common adherence barriers involved refill delays and other logistic challenges; cellphone alarm reminder use was the most common facilitator.
26 citations
TL;DR: For both interventions, introducing SMS reduced barriers to effective and timely delivery of services by simplifying the tracking and analysis of data and improving communication between healthcare providers, but the primary implementation challenges were related to broader program delivery characteristics that are not easily addressed by the addition of SMS.
Abstract: As interest in mHealth (including Short Message Services or SMS) increases, it is important to assess potential benefits and limitations of this technology in improving interventions in resource-poor settings. The authors analyzed two case studies (early infant diagnosis of HIV and nutrition surveillance) of three projects in Malawi and Zambia using a conceptual framework that assesses the technical complexity of the programs, with and without the use of SMS technology. The authors based their findings on literature and discussions with key informants involved in the programs. For both interventions, introducing SMS reduced barriers to effective and timely delivery of services by simplifying the tracking and analysis of data and improving communication between healthcare providers. However, the primary implementation challenges for both interventions were related to broader program delivery characteristics (e.g., human resource needs and transportation requirements) that are not easily addressed by the addition of SMS. The addition of SMS technology itself introduced new layers of complexity.
22 citations
Cites background from "Mobile for Health (mHealth) in Deve..."
...To date, rigorous evaluation of programs using SMS technology has been limited, and further research in this area will be vital to ensure that potential benefits of mHealth innovations reduce health inequities and reach those most in need (Patil, 2011)....
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...In addition, it has been argued that SMS technology presents an opportunity to reduce the complexity of health interventions and reduce inequities in service delivery (Patil, 2011)....
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TL;DR: There is low level use of the internet by cervical cancer clients attended in Public referral facilities in Kenya, and high level of access to mobile phones was reported, indicating great potential for use of mobile phones in the management of cervical cancer through short messaging services (sms), without internet connectivity.
Abstract: Background: Cervical cancer remains a devastating disease in Kenya accounting for more than 2000 deaths each year. Lack of information on cervical cancer prevention and management has been attributed to the apathy among women in seeking health interventions. Use of internet-based and mobile e-health tools could increase information access among cervical cancer patients. The objective of the study was; to establish the extent of use of mobile phones and internet by cervical cancer patients in accessing information related to cancer treatment and management.; find out the characteristics of patients associated with internet use and identify barriers faced by the patients in internet use. A cross sectional descriptive survey of 199 cervical patients visiting the two main referral hospitals in Kenya was done. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings: The average length of illness was 2.43 years (SD ± 3.0). Only 7.5 %( n=15) reported to having used the internet as a source of information. 92.5 %( n=184) did not use internet. With Multiple options, 70.9% did not know how to use a computer, 29.2% did not have access to a computer, 14.6% lacked the money to use computers at the local cyber cafe while other barriers identified accounted for 11.1%. Patients reported that the internet had an important role in the management of cancer of the cervix in health education (17.6%), online consultation (14.6%), booking of patients (13.6%), referrals (8.5%) and collecting data (7%). The 96.5% of the respondents who had access to a mobile phone, recommended mobile phones for health education messages (31.7%), reminder alerts for medication (29.7%) and booking appointments (21.6%). There was a statistically significant association between income of the patients and internet use (p = 0.026) in this study.
19 citations
Cites background from "Mobile for Health (mHealth) in Deve..."
...This study confirmed report by International Telecommunication Unions (ITU) that mobile phone access was higher than internet access in developing countries [24] and supports study by Patil [12] who reported that 64% of all mobile phone users are found in developing countries....
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...Figure 2 Use of mobile phone Technology as suggested by Cervical C This study confirmed report by International Telecommunication Unions (ITU) that mobile phone access was higher than internet access in developing countries [24] and supports study by Patil [12] who reported that 64% of all mobile phone users are found in developing countries....
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...Patil Dhanraj A: Mobile for Health (mHealth) in Developing Countries: Application of 4 Ps of Social Marketing....
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...E-health can help improve access to healthcare in settings where traditional delivery of health care is affected by geographical barriers, high cost of transportation as well insufficient number of healthcare specialists, particularly for management of chronic conditions [10,12,13]....
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...Development and investment of e-health in developing countries need to be contextual in nature in order to meet the peculiar characteristics of developing countries whereby; use of the mobile phone is the sole ICT communication gadget catching up drastically and the use of mobile phone in ehealth will be proportionally greater in low resource setting [12]....
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01 Jan 2012
19 citations
Cites background from "Mobile for Health (mHealth) in Deve..."
...Seventy percent of the cellular phone subscribers globally live in middle and low income countries [5]....
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...One is the limited number of health experts; there is critical shortfall in health officials in the developing world and therefore this makes the process of effective data collection more tedious [5][25][13]....
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...Limitation of resources such as human resources and health data processing tools [5][25][13]....
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References
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TL;DR: Can marketing concepts and techniques be effectively applied to the promotion of social objectives such as brotherhood, safe driving, and family planning? The applicability of marketing concepts to... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Can marketing concepts and techniques be effectively applied to the promotion of social objectives such as brotherhood, safe driving, and family planning? The applicability of marketing concepts to...
2,060 citations
TL;DR: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are programs that transfer cash, generally to poor households, on the condition that those households make pre specified investments in the human capital of their children.
Abstract: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are programs that transfer cash, generally to poor households, on the condition that those households make pre specified investments in the human capital of their children. The report shows that there is good evidence that CCTs have improved the lives of poor people. Transfers generally have been well targeted to poor households, have raised consumption levels, and have reduced poverty, by a substantial amount in some countries. Offsetting adjustments that could have blunted the impact of transfers, such as reductions in the labor market participation of beneficiaries, have been relatively modest. The report also considers the rationale for conditioning the transfers on the use of specific health and education services by program beneficiaries. Thus CCTs have increased the likelihood that households will take their children for preventive health checkups, but that has not always led to better child nutritional status; school enrollment rates have increased substantially among program beneficiaries, but there is little evidence of improvements in learning outcomes. These findings suggest that to maximize their potential effects on the accumulation of human capital, CCTs should be combined with other programs to improve the quality of the supply of health and education services, and should provide other supporting services.
2,017 citations
TL;DR: Aker and Mbiti as mentioned in this paper examined the growth of mobile phone technology over the past decade and considered its potential impacts upon quality of life in low-income countries, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
Abstract: Jenny Aker and Isaac Mbiti examine the growth of mobile phone technology over the past decade and consider its potential impacts upon quality of life in low-income countries, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. They first provide an overview of the patterns and determinants of mobile phone coverage in sub-Saharan Africa before describing the characteristics of primary and secondary mobile phone adopters on the continent. They then discuss the channels through which mobile phone technology can impact development outcomes, both as a positive externality of the communication sector and as part of mobile phone-based development projects, and analyze existing evidence. While current research suggests that mobile phone coverage and adoption have had positive impacts on agricultural and labor market efficiency and welfare in certain countries, empirical evidence is still somewhat limited. In addition, mobile phone technology cannot serve as the “silver bullet” for development in sub-Saharan Africa. Careful impact evaluations of mobile phone development projects are required to better understand their impacts upon economic and social outcomes, and mobile phone technology must work in partnership with other public good provision and investment.
1,560 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that SMS-delivered interventions have positive short-term behavioral outcomes and the quality of studies in this emerging field of research needs to improve to allow the full potential of this medium to be explored.
1,178 citations
TL;DR: Mobile telephony has brought new possibilities to the continent of sub-Saharan Africa as discussed by the authors, and 60 percent of the population has mobile phone coverage, which is the highest rate in the world.
Abstract: Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the lowest levels of infrastructure investment ub-Saharan Africa has some of the lowest levels of infrastructure investment in the world. Merely 29 percent of roads are paved, barely a quarter of the in the world. Merely 29 percent of roads are paved, barely a quarter of the population has access to electricity, and there are fewer than three landlines population has access to electricity, and there are fewer than three landlines available per 100 people (ITU, 2009; World Bank, 2009a). Yet access to and use of available per 100 people (ITU, 2009; World Bank, 2009a). Yet access to and use of mobile telephony in sub-Saharan Africa has increased dramatically over the past mobile telephony in sub-Saharan Africa has increased dramatically over the past decade. There are ten times as many mobile phones as landlines in sub-Saharan decade. There are ten times as many mobile phones as landlines in sub-Saharan Africa (ITU, 2009), and 60 percent of the population has mobile phone coverage. Africa (ITU, 2009), and 60 percent of the population has mobile phone coverage. Mobile phone subscriptions increased by 49 percent annually between 2002 and Mobile phone subscriptions increased by 49 percent annually between 2002 and 2007, as compared with 17 percent per year in Europe (ITU, 2008). 2007, as compared with 17 percent per year in Europe (ITU, 2008). Mobile telephony has brought new possibilities to the continent. Across urban– Mobile telephony has brought new possibilities to the continent. Across urban– rural and rich–poor divides, mobile phones connect individuals to individuals, rural and rich–poor divides, mobile phones connect individuals to individuals, information, markets, and services. In Mali, residents of Timbuktu can call relainformation, markets, and services. In Mali, residents of Timbuktu can call relatives living in the capital city of Bamako—or relatives in France. In Ghana, farmers tives living in the capital city of Bamako—or relatives in France. In Ghana, farmers in Tamale are able to send a text message to learn corn and tomato prices in Accra, in Tamale are able to send a text message to learn corn and tomato prices in Accra, over 400 kilometers away. In Niger, day laborers are able to call acquaintances over 400 kilometers away. In Niger, day laborers are able to call acquaintances in Benin to fi nd out about job opportunities without making the US$40 trip. In in Benin to fi nd out about job opportunities without making the US$40 trip. In Malawi, those affected by HIV and AIDS can receive text messages daily, reminding Malawi, those affected by HIV and AIDS can receive text messages daily, reminding them to take their medicines on schedule. Citizens in countries as diverse as Kenya, them to take their medicines on schedule. Citizens in countries as diverse as Kenya, Nigeria, and Mozambique are able to report violent confrontations via text message Nigeria, and Mozambique are able to report violent confrontations via text message to a centralized server that is viewable, in real time, by the entire world. to a centralized server that is viewable, in real time, by the entire world.
1,170 citations