Below are the findings of a recent (2020) Cochrane review of 43 studies mostly from LMICs. Read in full: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011942.pub2/...
Do any of these findings resonate with your experience?
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1. mHealth changed how health workers worked with each other : health workers appreciated being more connected to colleagues, and thought that this improved coordination and quality of care. However, some described problems when senior colleagues did not respond or responded in anger. Some preferred face‐to‐face connection with colleagues. Some believed that mHealth improved their reporting, while others compared it to "big brother watching".
2. mHealth changed how health workers delivered care : health workers appreciated how mHealth let them take on new tasks, work flexibly, and reach clients in difficult-to-reach areas...
3. mHealth led to new forms of engagement and relationships with clients and communities : health workers felt that communicating with clients by mobile phone improved care and their relationships with clients, but felt that some clients needed face-to-face contact. Health workers were aware of the importance of protecting confidential client information when using mobile devices. Some health workers did not mind being contacted by clients outside working hours, while others wanted boundaries...
4. Health workers' use and perceptions of mHealth could be influenced by factors tied to costs, the health worker, the technology, the health system and society, poor network access, and poor access to electricity...
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Best wishes, Neil
Joint Coordinator, HIFA mHEALTH-INNOVATE
https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/mhealth-innovate-1-what-can-we-learn-he...
Let's build a future where every person has access to reliable healthcare information and is protected from misinformation - Join HIFA: www.hifa.org
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is global coordinator of the HIFA global health movement (Healthcare Information For All - www.hifa.org ), a global community with more than 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting on six global forums in four languages in collaboration with WHO. HIFA brings stakeholders together to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information.
Twitter: @hifa_org neil@hifa.org
