Implementing Mobile Phone Solutions for Health in Resource Constrained Areas: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges

Tiwonge Manda; Jo Herstad

E-Infrastructures and E-Services on Developing Countries. First International ICST Conference, AFRICOM 2009, Maputo, Mozambique, December 3-4, 2009. Proceedings

Research Article

Implementing Mobile Phone Solutions for Health in Resource Constrained Areas: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges

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@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11,
    author={Tiwonge Manda and Jo Herstad},
    title={Implementing Mobile Phone Solutions for Health in Resource Constrained Areas: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges},
    proceedings={E-Infrastructures and E-Services on Developing Countries. First International ICST Conference, AFRICOM 2009, Maputo, Mozambique, December 3-4, 2009. Proceedings},
    proceedings_a={AFRICOMM},
    year={2012},
    month={5},
    keywords={mobile phones use context paradox opportunities challenges},
    doi={10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11}
}

Tiwonge Manda
Jo Herstad
Year: 2012
Implementing Mobile Phone Solutions for Health in Resource Constrained Areas: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges
AFRICOMM
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11

Tiwonge Manda¹^,*, Jo Herstad²^,*

1: University of Malawi
2: University of Oslo

*Contact email: tiomanda@gmail.com, jo.herstad@ifi.uio.no

Abstract

This paper presents results from a study on mobile phone use to connect two rural hospitals in Malawi with community health workers (CHWs), the hospitals work with. Mobile phone use at the hospitals has helped reduce the need for face-to-face communication to permit patient information exchange, meetings and appointments scheduling, as well as work coordination. On the other hand mobile phone use has proved paradoxical as it has introduced users to challenges, like recharging of phone batteries, they did not anticipate. The paper highlights use context-centric and solution based opportunities and challenges associated with mobile phone use in rural settings.

Keywords: mobile phones use context paradox opportunities challenges

Published: 2012-05-28

: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11