HIFA forum colleagues
The mHealth-Innovate project addresses a major issue in this area; health workers’ informal use of mobile phones to support their work. I have been pleased to contribute to this project – commenting on draft papers, participating in working group meetings and so on. As well as investigating an important issue, the project is an impressive example of effective collaboration between two very different countries and bringing together highly experienced researchers with those at the beginning of their careers.
( By way of background : I became interested in the potential new uses of telecommunication services to improve health care – particularly selfcare - back in the mid 1990s. That went on to my becoming project leader for the introduction in England of NHS Direct (later to become NHS111); a national health helpline. The global spread of mobile phones clearly opened up world-wide possibilities for what was by then called “m-health” or “e-health” and I became involved with HIFA’s work in this area (see for example https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(15)00054-6/fulltext )
The current HIFA online discussion on this project, following a successful earlier discussion at its start in 2022, is a key opportunity for HIFA forum members to reflect on the findings of the research about the benefits and challenges of health workers’ informal use of mobile phones. The 2022 discussion noted for example the value of mobile phones in supporting healthcare in conflict and disaster situations (including pandemics) ; it would be good to see this revisited in the 2025 discussion. More generally HIFA has noted the potential of m-Health to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage (via accelerating universal access to reliable healthcare information see https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/5/e002475 ); it would be good, as the 2025 discussion progresses, to have comments related to the informal use of mobile phones in this context, especially if they can provide recent examples (or ideally, evaluations).
Best regards
Geoff
HIFA profile: Geoff Royston is an independent health analyst and researcher, former Head of Strategic Analysis and Operational Research in the Department of Health for England, and Past President of the UK Operational Research Society. His work has focused on informing the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programmes in health and social care, and on fostering the capabilities of others to work in these areas. Associated activities have included modelling for understanding the performance of complex systems, analysis and communication of risk, and horizon scanning and futures thinking. He has also worked on information and communication technology in the health sector, notably in leading the design and national launch of the telephone and online health information and advice service NHS Direct, and has been an adviser to OFCOM. He has served on both scientific and medical UK Research Council panels, and as an impact assessor for the UK higher education Research Excellence Framework. He has been a consultant for the World Health Organisation, and is a long-standing member of the EURO Working Group on Operational Research Applied to Health Services. He is a member of the HIFA Steering Group, and of the mHIFA and the HIFA evaluation Working Groups. geoff.royston AT gmail.com https://www.hifa.org/support/members/geoff