ClickDiagnostics is a global mHealth enterprise formed to address the world’s problem of lack of access to medical specialists and real-time health data needed for strategic intervention.
The concept of ClickDiagnostics was born in an MIT class and nurtured in campuses of Harvard University and MIT by a few graduate students and fellows. In the process of emerging as the winner of the Development Track of the MIT 100K Business Competition in 2008, ClickDiagnostics turned into a company that quickly spread its operations across several countries in the developing world, striking key partnerships with governments and large NGOs.
ChildCount: Monitoring Children's Health Through SMS data sheet 9371 Views
Many mobile projects struggle with scale and impact. While a mobile health project may run well with a small number of patients in one hospital, expanding the scope of a project until it is large enough to have real impact takes money, time, and widespread support of key stakeholders in a given community. ChildCount is well on its way to show scale and, so we hope, significant health impacts using mobile technology for patient support.
In a little over eight months, ChildCount has enrolled nearly 10,000 children under five in their catchment area into the ChildCount health monitoring system – an acceptance rate of more than 95%.
Mobile Phones' Potential to Address Information and Communication Needs of Healthcare Workers in Isolated Rural Areas in Peru data sheet 3047 Views
Author:
David Crespo
Publication Date:
Jan 2009
Publication Type:
Other
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the interviews and observation undertaken in health locations in rural areas of Peru, aimed at exploring the application of mobile technology for health in isolated areas, and thereby to provide wider reflections about the use of mobile phones to improve health delivery in isolated areas in developing countries. It also reflects on methodological complexities, particularly those related to the application of online research methods, through the experience gained during the research.
The great growth of the penetration of mobile phones in developing countries has attracted the attention of the ICT4D community and numerous publications reflect about their impact for development (see for example Donner, 2005; Vodafone, 2004; Sullivan, 2007 or Scott et al., 2004). A part of this literature is focused on the application of mobile phones for health delivery (bridges.org, 2005; Katz, 2005 or Voxiva, 2005). Nevertheless, publications about the application of mobile phones for health focused in rural areas of developing countries are still scarce. This paper focuses on this gap of the literature, focusing on rural areas of Peru and wider reflecting about the behavior of mobile phones in this specific context.
Given the evolution and forecasts of penetration of mobile phones in developing countries (see Gartner, 2006 or Donner, 2005) as well as the appealing of these devices for the population (Castells et al.,2007), it is important to remark that Health Ministries in developing countries and development agencies have not paid enough attention to the possibilities that mobile technology brings for health delivery.
This paper reports on the interviews to healthcare workers undertaken in rural areas of Peru, aimed at exploring their perception about how mobile phones can contribute to the resolution of their information and communication needs, as well as provide wider reflections about the general debate about the benefits of mobile phones for health for development. The workers were chosen as participants in two innovative and contrasting ICT4D projects: CellPREVEN and EHAS, seeking at obtaining valuable feedback about their experience on one side, and their opinion as healthcare workers with no previous experience on the use of mobile telephony within an ICT4D initiative, on the other. Additionally, the paper aims at exploring the complexities involved in the methodology, particularly the difficulties in the appliance of online research methods during the research.
The article is structured as follows: first, the context of the research is presented; after that, some methodological issues about the field work in Peru are discussed. Next, the most remarkable findings of the interviews are presented, linked to wider reflections about the benefits of mobile phones in rural areas of developing countries. These results highlight three important advantages provided by mobile phones: the value of the immediacy in the communication for emergencies, the potential of multimedia capabilities of mobile phones and the improved reliability comparing to other technologies, but they also reflect on the recent limitations for their adoption and use in isolated communities. The article ends concluding that the application of mobile phones for health delivery is clear and of great impact in isolated areas of developing countries, but limited at this moment, with great potential in the short term.
Two of the fastest-growing and popular mobile data collection tools have recently seen some exciting upgrades in newly released versions.
Open Data Kit recently released v1.1 of ODK Collect. Open Data Kit (ODK) is a suite of tools to help organizations collect, aggregate and visualize their data. ODK Collect is powerful phone-based replacement for paper forms. Collect is built on the Android platform and can collect a variety of form data types: text, location, photos, video, audio, and barcodes. ODK Collect can be downloaded in the Android marketplace or here. The developers also have a demo video that describes the new features of the release. Open Data Kit is a member of the Open Mobile Consortium of which MobileAtive.org is a founding member.
Some of the new features of ODK Collect include barcode scanning, image/audio/video capture and playback, editing of saved forms, and device metadata (phone number, IMEI, IMSI) support. GPS acquisition and form processing is a faster, and the developers added review data entry. The user interface has been field tested and reworked to make training and use much easier. ODK Collect also supports question grouping, repeats, constraints, complex logic, and multiple languages.
ODK is currently deployed for HIV counseling with AMPATH in Kenya, user feedback gathering for Grameen's AppLab in Uganda, war crime documentation with the Berkeley Human Rights Center in the Central African Republic, and forest monitoring with the Brazilian Forest Service.
Meanwhile, our friends over at Datadyne have released version 2.0 of their popular mobile data collection platform EpiSurveyor. For some of the very cool GPS features of that, see the video below. EpiSurveyor is a free, user-friendly mobile-phone-and-web-based data collection system. Version 2.0 has many new features such as GPS (users with GPS-enabled phones (like the Nokia E71) can automatically create a "GPS stamp" for every record collected AND automatically see the results on a Google map, all within EpiSurveyor.org), advanced logic, including skip logic; numeric range limits for data entry; and a much better user interface for the web-backend.
EpiSurveyor is used by organizations around the world. One organization, TulaSalud in Guatemala, uses EpiSurveyor for maternal health. The video below (en Espanol) explains how the organization is using the tool.
Video informativo de TulaSalud, sobre la aplicación del sistema de monitoreo epidemiológico aplicado con la tecnología de EpiSurveyor, el cual pretende tener a tiempo real el reporte epidemiológico de las comlunidades.
The potential for mobile technology to impact development has been researched and reported on in areas ranging from job matching services to financial inclusion. More and more development agencies are adopting mobile communications in their programmes in innovative ways. However, there is a lack of research on how mobile technology is being used to monitor and evaluate programs in the field.
Mobile Phones and Development: An Analysis of IDRC-Supported Projects data sheet 3593 Views
Author:
Ahmed T. Rashid, Laurent Elder
Publication Date:
Jan 2009
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
In the context of the rapid growth of mobile phone penetration in developing countries, mobile telephony is currently considered to be particularly important for development. Yet, until recently, very little systematic evidence was available that shed light on the developmental impacts of mobile telecommunication.
The Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, has played a critical role in filling some of the research gaps through its partnerships with several key actors in this area.
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the case of mobile phones as a tool in solving development problems drawing from the evidence of IDRC supported projects. IDRC has supported around 20 projects that cut across several themes such as livelihoods, poverty reduction, health, education, the environment and disasters. The projects will be analyzed by theme in order to provide a thematic overview as well as a comparative analysis of the development role of mobile phones. In exploring the evidence from completed projects as well as the foci of new projects, the paper summarizes and critically assesses the key findings and suggests possible avenues for future research.
Here are some mobile events for the month of October that we thought are noteworthy and of interest to the MobileActive.org community. If you know of others, please mail us at info at MobileActive dot org.
The first Mobile Web Conference in Africa is a two-day event in Johannesburg that focuses on some of these key questions: How will the mobile industry evolve to a point where the vast majority of people have access to the mobile web and the content they want to view? How can societal and economic problems be tackled by the development of the capabilities of the mobile device?
PopTech explores major trends shaping our future, the social impact of new technologies, and new approaches to addressing the world’s most significant challenges. Several PopTech Fellows are part of the MobileActive.org community, including Deb Levine from Isis.inc, a leader in using mobile phones for sexual health education.
CommCare is a mobile-phone based application that will enable community health workers to provide better, more efficient care while also enabling better supervision and coordination of community health programs.
MoTeCH: mHealth Ethnography Report data sheet 1908 Views
Author:
Mechael, Patricia N.; Dodowa Health Research Center
Publication Date:
Aug 2009
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
The number of mobile phone subscriptions has increased by approximately one billion between the end of 2007 and the end of 2008 (ITU, 2009). At the beginning of 2009, the number has surpassed four billion. With this, the use of mobile phones and networks in the mobile health has become increasingly popular in low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana where a broad range of mHealth initiatives are now being implemented.
This offers many opportunities to translate information and communications technology into gains, particularly for fighting disease and improving population health. This mHealth Ethnography serves as a critical entry point to both assess the initial state of information, communication, and mobile phone use for maternal and newborn health both within the health sector and the general population in the Dangme West District in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
Key study findings illustrate that there is a strong foundation upon which the MoTECH Project can build to advance the use of mobile telephony to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for health. These can be divided into two broad categories – those within the health sector and those that extend services to target beneficiaries in the general population.
Claim Mobile is a platform designed to support a project that subsidizes healthcare by reimbursing health service providers in Uganda for treatment of patients with sexually transmitted infections. Claim Mobile is the subject of a research paper by Melissa R. Ho, Emmanuel K. Owusu, and Paul M. Aoki called "Claim Mobile: Engaging Conflicting Stakeholder Requirements in Healthcare in Uganda."
Smartphones for Output-Based Aid data sheet 1787 Views
Author:
Melissa Ho
Publication Date:
Apr 2008
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Providing effective health care in poor countries is an essential component to economic development and poverty reduction. Unfortunately donors supporting this endeavor often find that resources given are not matched by desired gains.
The output-based aid (OBA) model of financing seeks to address this by paying healthcare providers directly for services rendered instead of paying for the service provision up front. However, the program management is information intensive, necessitating much paperwork to track and reimburse payment claims. Smartphones (mobile phones with advanced features) have the potential to alleviate this burden.
Based on recent work in Uganda we have identified some of the constraints and realities of the context in which these devices could improve the quality and speed of payment claims. In collaboration with Marie Stopes International and Microcare, we propose to deploy a number of smartphones for use in the Uganda OBA project, with dual goals of reducing claim processing time and improving communication between the health care providers and the management agency running the OBA project.
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then-Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.
Since that time, more than 195,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.
Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs data sheet 3803 Views
Author:
Kinkade, Sheila; Verclas, Katrin
Publication Date:
Jan 2008
Publication Type:
Magazine or newspaper article
Abstract:
This report explores the ways in which non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and
other groups deploy and use mobile
technology in their work to help solve some
of the world’s greatest problems. This study
is not meant to be exhaustive or definitive,
but rather to provide a view into how a
number of organizations are using mobile
technology to achieve social impact. The authors
selected case studies that enabled an
exploration of significant innovations,
opportunities, and emerging trends, as well
as the obstacles, in the use of mobile
technology to advance social goals.
RapidResponse is a m-health platform built on RapidSMS developed for the Millennium Villages Project with support from the UNICEF Innovation Group. RapidResponse uses SMS text messages to facilitate and coordinate the activities of health care providers in the field. These are usually lay community health care workers who tend to provide the majority of patient care in many developing countries.
Using simple text messages, the community health workers are able to register patients and send in health reports to a central web dashboard that allows a health team to closely monitor the health of a community. Powerful messaging features help facilitate communication between the members of the health system and an automated alert system helps reduce gaps in treatment.
This video gives an overview of the platform in a clear and accessible step-by-step manner. While Rapid Response in this case is focused on child malnutrition, Rapid Response has applicability in many other health and non-health settings.
mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World data sheet 6148 Views
Author:
Vital Wave Consulting
Publication Date:
Feb 2009
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Mounting interest in the field of mHealth—the provision of health-related services via mobile communications—can be traced to the evolution of several interrelated trends. In many parts of the world, epidemics and a shortage of healthcare workers continue to present grave challenges for governments and health providers. Yet in these same places, the explosive growth of mobile communications over the past decade offers a new hope for the promotion of quality healthcare. Among those who had previously been left behind by the ‘digital divide,’ billions now have access to reliable technology. There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the potential of mobile communications to radically improve healthcare services—even in some of the most remote and resource-poor environments.
This report examines issues at the heart of the rapidly evolving intersection of mobile phones and healthcare. It helps the reader to understand mHealth’s scope and implementation across developing regions, the health needs to which mHealth can be applied, and the mHealth applications that promise the greatest impact on heath care initiatives. It also examines building blocks required to make mHealth more widely available through sustainable implementations. Finally, it calls for concerted action to help realize mHealth’s full potential. The report is organized into the following sections:
1. Identifying the potential of mobile phones to improve health in the developing world
2. Defining mHealth within the context of eHealth
3. Meeting health needs through a broad array of mHealth applications
4. Examining the impacts of mHealth projects
5 Assessing mHealth and future health needs in developing countries
6. Identifying the building blocks for sustainable and scalable mHealth programs
7. Understanding the incentives for multiple players: mHealth value chains
Deploying a Medical Record System in Rural Rwanda data sheet 1797 Views
Author:
Anokwa, Yaw; Allen, Christian; Parikh, Tapan
Publication Date:
Jan 2008
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Efficient electronic medical record (EMR) storage and retrieval
systems for treating the millions of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
(TB) patients in the developing world is largely an unsolved
problem. One attempt at addressing this need is the Open Medical
Record System (OpenMRS) – a framework that provides a free
and flexible EMR system for resource-constrained environments.
Although OpenMRS is a step in the right direction, implementers
of such systems face a question that is largely unanswered by
previous work. Where in the existing paper-based workflow can
such plastic technology be injected and how does one evaluate the
efficacy of this intervention?
In this paper, the authors describe the role manual processes have played
in a rural hospital in Rwanda and how they determined where to
implement appropriate technology solutions of these challenges through an open source framework that provides a free and flexible electronic medical record system
(EMR) for resource-constrained environments. In this
paper, the authors describe the role manual, paper-based processes have
played in a rural hospital and how they determined where to
implement appropriate technologies.
Towards a Distributed Crisis Response Communication System data sheet 1690 Views
Author:
Bradler, Dirk; Schiller, Benjamin; Aitenbichler, Erwin; Liebau, Nicolas
Publication Date:
May 2009
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Reliable communication systems are one of the key success factors for a successful first response mission.
Current crisis response communication systems suffer from damaged or destroyed infrastructure or are just
overstressed in the case of a large scale disaster. We provide an outline for a distributed communication
approach, which fulfills the requirements of first responders. It is based on a layered network topology and
current technology used in research projects or already established products. In addition, we propose a testing
framework for the evaluation of a crisis response communication system
The Aceh Besar Midwives with Mobile Phones Program: Design and Evaluation Perspectives using the ICT for Healthcare Model data sheet 3095 Views
Author:
Chib, Arul
Publication Date:
May 2012
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
This paper examines the design process of the health communication process within the framework of the ICT-for-healthcare-development model (ICT4HC) (Author, Lwin, Ang, Lin, & Santoso, 2008). The paper analyzes the planned deployment of an ICT4H project that introduced a mobile telephony-based system to a specific group of users, rural midwives, and examine the myriad impacts and constraints that arise. The broad research question the paper aims to answer pertains to the design and evaluation of mobile phone-based ICT4H projects using a generalizable theoretical frameworks, specifically the ICT4HC model.
