MobileActive.org

This report for mHealthEd 2011 at the Mobile Health Summit focuses on the effectiveness of mHealth Education applications, analyzing at length the first wave of projects and the steps to be taken into consideration for further initiatives.

The first wave of mHealthEd applications for health workers – most introduced within the last 4 years and some of which are 7 presented in this report – include ones which enable workers to learn new treatment procedures, test their knowledge after training courses, take certification exams remotely, look up information in medical reference publications, and trade ideas on crucial diagnostic and treatment decisions. It is too early to test for impacts on health outcomes, but projects suggest that mHealthEd applications are improving the provision of care and levels of knowledge. Improved training can also increase job satisfaction and reduce attrition rates for healthcare workers.

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 
• 8. A call for action 
• 9. Looking forward 
• 10. Compendium of mHealth projects