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Implementing mobile phone solutions for health in resource constrained areas: Understanding the opportunities and challenges


Author(s) : Tiwonge Davis Manda, Jo Herstad
Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

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.


Pages (from-to) 95-104
Publication status Published - 2010

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10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11

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This research output contributes to the following United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11
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UN SDGs

This research output contributes to the following United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

sdg

Access document

10.1007/978-3-642-12701-4_11