One of the the key functions of mobile phones is their use in data collection. We have seen lots of online discussion here at MobileActive.org and elsewhere on the subject.
Here, we feature a peer-reviewed journal article from our growing list of resources on mobile data collection. In this 2009 paper, Ping et al. evaluated the effectiveness of PDA-based questionnaire verses a paper-based method for public health surveillance in Fiji.
Informing Development: Mobile Telephony, Governments, and Local Stakeholders in Africa data sheet 1614 Views
Author:
Brannon Cullum
Publication Date:
Aug 2010
Publication Type:
Other
Abstract:
It is believed that once groups acquire information and communication technologies (ICTs), they will prosper. When the most marginalized members of society have better access to information and knowledge, the likelihood of improving their livelihoods also increases. Past literature has dealt with the difficulties that such groups have had in accessing and acquiring technology because of institutional obstacles. This thesis examines the institutional obstacles and constraints faced by groups once they have acquired ICTs.
I intend to examine why, despite the rapid diffusion of ICTs in developing countries over the past decade, there has not been a dramatic improvement in the alleviation of poverty. In particular, this thesis will explore the use of mobile phones in the context of development and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa and the relationship between institutions and local stakeholders to strengthen livelihoods.
This thesis hypothesizes that development initiatives using a collaborative, hybrid approach that integrates effective institutional involvement with inclusive grassroots participation will be more sustainable and scalable than those that attempt solely topdown or bottom-up approaches. In other words, initiatives devised by institutions that rely upon structures incorporating local communities into projects will be found to be more successful in both the short-term and long-run. Case studies have been selected to illustrate how this hybrid approach is ultimately more successful in improving the livelihoods of the rural poor than approaches that are either primarily driven by the topdown or bottom-up.
The four cases considered in this thesis will describe the extent to which projects or initiatives using mobile phones have been successful in meeting the needs of local beneficiaries and improving their livelihoods.
Improving Efficiency of Monitoring Adherence to ARV at PHC Level: Case Study of Introduction of Electronic Technologies in SA data sheet 2443 Views
Author:
Xanthe Wessels; Nicoli Nattrass; Ulrike Rivett
Publication Date:
Oct 2007
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
This paper presents a case study of the efficiency gains resulting from the introduction of electronic technologies to monitor and support adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Guguletu, South Africa. It suggests that the rollout of HAART to such resource-poor communities can be assisted significantly by the introduction of modified cellphones (to provide home based support to people on HAART and improve the management of adherence data) and simple barcoding and scanning equipment (to manage drug supplies). The cellphones have improved the management of information, and simplified the working lives of therapeutic counsellors, thereby enabling them to spend less time on administration and to devote a constant amount of time per patient even though their case loads have risen threefold. It has helped integrate the local-level primary health service provision of HAART with the kind of centralised data capture and analysis that could potentially support a national HAART rollout.
Femi Soremekun, managing director of Nigeria-based Biofem Pharmaceuticals, is all too familiar with the fight against counterfeit drugs. In late 2008, a distributor notified him that he suspected that one of Biofem’s products, Glucophage, was being counterfeited. After checking batch and inventory numbers, Soremekun reassured him there was no evidence of such activity. It was only after more allegations surfaced that he sent a sample to French manufacturer Merck & Co. to be analyzed. Turns out the claims were correct. “I was very shocked,” Soremekun says. “[The counterfeiters] got into my market, counterfeited my product, and I wasn’t even aware of it. I was losing sales.”
It was around this time that Soremekun learned about Sproxil, a start-up company that is part of a consortium that includes Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry association and the country’s regulating agency. The group explores technology-based strategies to tackle drug counterfeiting. On the sidelines of the consortium, Biofem and Sproxil discussed implementing a drug-certification process in order to restore Biofem customers’ confidence in Glucophage. Following a successful five-month trial in Nigeria involving about one million units of Biofem’s product, the company has seen sales pick up again. “We ended up being called the guinea pig,” Soremekun jokes.
Participant and Interviewer Attitudes toward Handheld Computers in the Context of HIV/AIDS Programs in Sub- Saharan Africa data sheet 1785 Views
Author:
Karen G. Cheng, Francisco Ernesto and Khai N. Truong
Publication Date:
Apr 2008
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
Handheld computers have untapped potential to improve HIV/AIDS programs in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the collection of survey data. We conducted an experiment in three neighborhoods of Luanda, Angola to assess the impact of the technology on people’s comfort and willingness to disclose sensitive personal information, such as sexual behavior.
Participants were asked about their HIV/AIDSrelated knowledge, attitudes, and practices by local interviewers using either handheld computers or paper surveys. T-tests showed no differences between participants’ self-reported comfort across handheld and paper conditions. However, participants in the handheld condition were more likely to give socially desirable responses to the sexual behavior questions than participants in the paper condition. These results suggest that using handheld computers in data collection in sub-Saharan Africa may lead to biased reports of HIV/AIDS-related risk behaviors.
Barriers and Gaps Affecting mHealth in Low and Middle Income Countries: Policy White Paper data sheet 2301 Views
Author:
Mechael, P., Batavia, H., Kaonga, N., Searle, S., Kwan, A., Goldberger, A., Fu, L., Ossman, J.
Publication Date:
May 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
This White Paper, written by a team of researchers at the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, examines and synthesizes the existing mHealth literature to assess the current state of mHealth knowledge, evaluate the impact of mHealth implementations in LMICs and to examine programming, policy and research-related barriers to and gaps in mHealth scale and sustainability.
The paper is divided into two main sections. The first section reviews and summarizes the peer-reviewed literature on mHealth initiatives (focus on LMICS) to highlight trends and challenges. The second section examines the existing mHealth policy environment, barriers and gaps, and key drivers needed for an enabling policy environment.
The major thematic areas include:
Treatment Compliance
Data Collection and Disease Surveillance
Health Information Systems and Point of Care Support
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Emergency Medical Response
The review identified significant gaps in mHealth knowledge stemming from the limited scale and scope of mHealth implementation and evaluation, a policy environment that does not link health objectives and related metrics to available mHealth tools and systems, and little investment in cost-benefit studies to assess mHealth value and health outcomes research to assess success factors and weed out poor investments.
Handheld Computers for Self-Administered Sensitive Data Collection: A Comparative Study in Peru data sheet 1540 Views
Author:
Bernabe-Ortiz, A. et al.
Publication Date:
Mar 2008
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
A PDA-based program for data collection was developed using Open-Source tools. In two cross-sectional studies, we compared data concerning sexual behavior collected with paper forms to data collected with PDA-based forms in Ancon (Lima).
The first study enrolled 200 participants (18–29 years). General agreement between data collected with paper format and handheld computers was 86%. Categorical variables agreement was between 70.5% and 98.5% while numeric variables agreement was between 57.1% and 79.8%. Agreement and correlation were higher in those who had completed at least high school than those with less education.
The second study enrolled 198 participants. Rates of responses to sensitive questions were similar between both kinds of questionnaires. However, the number of inconsistencies (p = 0.0001) and missing values (p = 0.001) were significantly higher in paper questionnaires.
This study showed the value of the use of handheld computers for collecting sensitive data, since a high level of agreement between paper and PDA responses was reached. In addition, a lower number of inconsistencies and missing values were found with the PDA-based system. This study has demonstrated that it is feasible to develop a low-cost application for handheld computers, and that PDAs are feasible alternatives for collecting field data in a developing country.
Patient Education on Mobile Devices: An e-Health Intervention for Low Health Literate Audiences data sheet 552 Views
Author:
Michael Mackert, Brad Love and Pamela Whitten
Publication Date:
Oct 2010
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
Providing health information to low health literate audiences remains a challenge. Beyond message design, realistic delivery models are needed for delivering information to a traditionally hard-to-reach audience. This study investigated two e-health interventions to provide health information on mobile devices – one providing diabetes information and one offering childcare information. Both were well-received, and most of the subjects’ usability issues related to the translation of these interventions to the mobile device’s smaller screen. The diabetes website was effective in providing information to study participants (as measured by pre- and post-tests of knowledge), while the childcare website was not. Continued work in this area could explore improved design strategies for mobile devices – a delivery model that could be used in doctors’ offices, for example. Effective delivery of health information to low health literate audiences is an important issue, and this research highlights a critical element by targeting another potential delivery model.
The Use of Personal Digital Assistants for Data Entry at the Point of Collection in a Large Household Survey in Southern Tanzani data sheet 526 Views
Author:
Shirima K, Mukasa O, Schellenberg JA, Manzi F, John D, Mushi A, Mrisho M, Tanner M, Mshinda H, Schellenberg D.
Publication Date:
Jun 2007
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
Background: Survey data are traditionally collected using pen-and-paper, with double data entry, comparison of entries and reconciliation of discrepancies before data cleaning can commence. We used Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for data entry at the point of collection, to save time and enhance the quality of data in a survey of over 21,000 scattered rural households in southern Tanzania.
Methods: Pendragon Forms 4.0 software was used to develop a modular questionnaire designed to record information on household residents, birth histories, child health and health-seeking behaviour. The questionnaire was loaded onto Palm m130 PDAs with 8 Mb RAM. One hundred and twenty interviewers, the vast majority with no more than four years of secondary education and very few with any prior computer experience, were trained to interview using the PDAs. Logical checks were performed and skip patterns taken care of at the time of data entry. Data records could not be edited after leaving each household, to ensure the integrity of the data from each interview. A small group of interviewees from the community, as well as supervisors and interviewers, were asked about their attitudes to the use of PDAs.
Results: Following two weeks of training and piloting, data were collected from 21,600 households (83,346 individuals) over a seven-week period in July-August 2004. No PDA-related problems or data loss were encountered. Fieldwork ended on 26 August 2004, the full dataset was available on a CD within 24 hours and the results of initial analyses were presented to district authorities on 28 August. Data completeness was over 99%. The PDAs were well accepted by both interviewees and interviewers.
Conclusion: The use of PDAs eliminated the usual time-consuming and error-prone process of data entry and validation. PDAs are a promising tool for field research in Africa.
Family Planning via Mobile Phones: Proof-of-Concept Testing in India (CycleTel) data sheet 2761 Views
Author:
Katherine Sarah Lavoie, Victoria H. Jennings, Meredith Puleio, Priya Jha, Rebecka Lundgren
Publication Date:
Nov 2009
Publication Type:
Other
Abstract:
Results of proof-of-concept testing for an mHealth solution for reproductive health in Uttar Pradesh, India. The text messaging tool based on FrontlineSMS, is a family planning service that relies on the Standard Day Method system of birth control. This method of birth control depends on the woman's fertility cycles to avoid pregnancy. Women can text the date of their menses and user receives their fertility status. Additionally, women can receive information about other family planning options, and support. Presented are observations on the appropriatenss of the technology from focus group discussions. The authors share the input given by target users in the product and service design. Women tested the solution to give insight on feasibility and design.
RedChatZone: HIV Counselling via Mobile Instant Messaging Chat data sheet 7201 Views
In South Africa, the number of cellphones greatly outweighs the number of landlines. The National Aids Helpline (NAHL) is free to call from a landline, but regular cellphone rates apply. This makes the NAHL expensive to use from a cellphone, or people have to make use of public phones which are often within earshot of others.
Cell-Life and LifeLine worked together to make HIV counselling more accessible to young South Africans in a medium which is comfortable and familiar to them. Marlon Parker, who started the successful Angel drug counselling service on MXit, was brought in to implement a similar system.
MXit is a very popular downloadable (instant messaging) chat application, where users can add contacts and text/chat to each other at a very low cost. Without getting into a technical description of the system, here is the basic outline of how the service was created:
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage about contactless mobile payments in the U.S., a report on trends in technology and health, research that covers how mobiles can help economic development in Africa and the challenges that are hindering that development, a data gathering platform from Nokia that is now open-source, and the announcement of the mHealth Summit's keynote speaker.
ACS CAN is the nation’s leading cancer advocacy organization that is working every day to make cancer issues a national priority.ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society
The Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (Sida) recently published a report, The Innovative Use of Mobile Applications in East Africa, that provides an overview of the current state of mobile phone applications for social and economic developments in East Africa. The report seeks to answer “what hinders the take-off of m-applications for development in East Africa" and asks what role donors should play.
While mobile phones are the main channel for information in East Africa, with mobile penetration covering over 40% of the population, sustainable, scalable mobile services for social and economic development are limited. The report is supported by secondary data, statistics, and field work carried out in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, along with numerous interviews, meetings and discussions with key stakeholders in East Africa. Major trends in mobile usage, barriers for increased use of m-applications, as well as opportunities for scaling are discussed.
This paper provides an overview of the implications of this trend for the delivery of healthcare services and population health. In addition to addressing how mobile phones are changing the way health professionals communicate with their patients, a summary is provided of current and projected technologic capabilities of mobile phones that have the potential to render them an increasingly indispensable personal health device. Finally, the health risks of mobile phone use are addressed, as are several unresolved technical and policy-related issues unique to mobile phones. Because these issues may influence how well and how quickly mobile phones are integrated into health care, and how well they serve the needs of the entire population, they deserve the attention of both the healthcare and public health community.
Today's Mobile Minute covers how mobiles are improving students' performance in a North Carolina school, personal data theft from a malicious Android app, a $100 million USAID grant for health services in Malawi, the effect of mobile applications on the East African economy, and the release of Opera's "State of the Mobile Web."
Airtime For Selling More Condoms: Social Marketing Tricks and Tips from Tanzania data sheet 5758 Views
In Tanzania, a non-profit organization is using airtime as an incentive for increased condom sales. “Ongeo Zaidi na Salama,” or “Talk More with Salama,” offers mobile airtime incentives to shopkeepers who stock and sell condoms (Salama, which means 'safe', is the largely PSI-distributed Tanzanian condom brand), bringing greater visibility to safe sex practices.
The program, run by Population Services International, an organization widely known for pioneering condom social marketing since the 1970s and 1980s, was developed in reaction to the lack of condoms in Tanzanian stores.
85 million condoms at 100,000 retail outlets were sold in 2009, with the vast majority distributed by PSI. Because the PSI-distributed condoms are subsidized, they are considered lower-value by the shopkeepers than other products as they have low profit margins. Retailers were also reliant on the PSI agents to push and deliver the product and were not incentivised to proactively requests re-supplies when their condom stocks ran low. As a result, promotion and requisition (and sales) of these Salama condoms is not a priority for shopkeepers.
Reconstructed Living Lab: Supporting Drug Users and Families through Co-operative Counselling using Mobile Phone Technology data sheet 2432 Views
Author:
Marlon Parker, Julia Wills, Gary Wills
Publication Date:
Jun 2010
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
Background: There is a recognised problem with drug taking in South Africa. In socially deprived areas immediate help for drug users and their families is a problem. As part of their work in a community in tension, Impact Direct Ministries (IDM) and Reconstructed Living Lab (RLabs) in Cape Town provide a drug advisory service using mobile phone technology that can support multiple conversations. It is staffed by trained volunteers and is available to drug users and their families.
Methods: This article investigates historical counselling help for drug users. It explains the importance of family involvement in the life-changing process of a drug user and the importance of co-operative counselling. The Drug Advice Support (DAS) service provided by IDM and RLabs is introduced as a case study to explore how mobile phone technology can support the co-operative counselling model in a Living Lab context.
Results: The advantages of the DAS technology and what it offers to community-based organisations are discussed. Data on relatives of drug users using the system are included.
Conclusion: The use of mobile phone technology has advantages for community-based organisations acting as a first point of contact to drug users and their families. Minimal cost to the person in crisis and the organisation serves as an example. The co-operative counselling model it employs is also of benefit. As the community experiencing tension due to the problem of drug abuse becomes aware of this service, help and support for family members will increase in time.
The Case for mHealth in Developing Countries data sheet 2574 Views
Author:
Patricia N. Mechael
Publication Date:
Jan 2009
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to encourage reflection and discussion around the potential of mHealth in developing countries and to consider how early experiences can inform the way forward. Toward this aim, I synthesize many reviews and presentations from the eight years I have been studying the evolution of mobile phones and health in developing countries. I include observations and discussions that are now shaping the creation of mHealth as a field, to highlight the ingredients we need to move from a series of pilot projects and isolated business opportunities to a full-scale maximization of health-related benefits.
I begin by reviewing the strategic priorities within global health, where mobile telephony can have the greatest impact, along with organic health-related uses of mobile phones, and examples of formal mHealth interventions. I then demonstrate the potential for mobile phones to become an extension and an integral component of eHealth, describing how information and communication technology (ICT) can be used in health care, as well as mHealth, as a subset of mServices: using mobile devices to deliver services such as banking and health. I also show how trends and interests are converging among key stakeholders within the mHealth ecosystem, thus forming a foundation on which we can scale up and sustain more and better mHealth activities. Finally, I present some tactical guidance for a way forward that will further the objectives of both public health and business, particularly in outreach efforts to emerging markets, the bottom of the pyramid, and the next billion mobile phone subscribers.
The use of mobile phones for quick-time data collection is proliferating around the world. To get a better understanding of the scale and scope of these new data collection efforts, we partnered with UN Global Pulse initiative to conduct a survey of present and planned mobile data collection efforts. The survey results will help identify new, quick-time data sources.
The first findings of the global survey have been compiled in an inventory. The inventory is a living document that will be regularly updated as we become aware of new projects. If you are managing a mobile data collection project and you would like to have it featured in the inventory, please contact us or leave a comment.
We are also currently conducting for UN Global Pulse a mobile phone survey across multiple countries including Uganda, India, Mexico, Ukraine and Iraq. The survey is being conducted via text message and uses simple questions to understand how populations in different parts of the world perceive. We are drawing on our extensive network of partners on the ground to conduct the survey and will make the results publicly available (albeit in an anonymous and aggregate format). The survey is an exercise in rapid, bottom-up data collection. Questions in the survey focus on economic perceptions, including:
This guest-post is by Arturo Morosoff who completed recently a project with D-Tree International and BRAC Tanzania to provide videos on mobile phones to assist Community Health Workers (CHWs) for health education. It is posted here with permission.
I recently completed a five week volunteer project working with Irene Joseph and Gayo Mhila of D-Tree International to provide videos on mobile phones to Community Health Volunteers with BRAC Tanzania in the Mbagala district of Dar Es Salaam.
A bit about me: I have no formal training in ICT or public health. My background is in technology and business and I live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I was on a two month trip in Tanzania and volunteered to help D-Tree with this project. As such, the project needed to be completed in a short time and we began with modest goals.
Among BRAC’s programs to help alleviate poverty is its health program, which relies on an all-female team of Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) to conduct monthly home visits to provide health education and support. Each CHV visits 150 – 200 homes each month, asking health related questions and providing healthcare information. In Tanzania, D-Tree has been collaborating with BRAC to provide the CHVs with a mobile phone-based tool called Commcare, to help improve the effectiveness of their home-based programs. About a year ago there was discussion with the CHVs of providing them with health education videos suitable for use on phones to provide additional support for their home visits.
The mission of PSI is to measurably improve the health of poor and vulnerable people in the developing world, principally through social marketing of family planning and health products and services, and health communications. Social marketing engages private sector resources and uses private sector techniques to encourage healthy behavior and make markets work for the poor.
Mobile Quizzes For HIV/AIDS Awareness: Zain and Text to Change data sheet 6593 Views
In Kenya, a partnership between the non-profit organization Text to Change and the telecommunications company Zain used SMS mobile quizzes to keep Zain’s employees up-to-date on the latest HIV/AIDS information.
For four weeks in November and December of 2009, Zain’s Kenyan employees were part of a pilot program for SMS mobile quizzes. Employees received three multiple choice questions each week that focused on different aspects of HIV/AIDS such as prevention and treatment. The quizzes also directed participants to testing centers in order to learn their HIV/AIDS status. Says Bas Hoefman, co-founder and managing director of Text to Change, the choice to partner their mobile program with a telecommunications company was logical: “We thought, ‘why isn’t Zain using its own products – mobile telephony and SMS – to educate its own employees?’ Use your own product for your own employees.”
Text Messaging as a Tool for Behavior Change in Disease Prevention and Management data sheet 3582 Views
Author:
Heather Cole-Lewis and Trace Kershaw
Publication Date:
Mar 2010
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
Mobile phone text messaging is a potentially powerful tool for behavior change because it is widely available, inexpensive, and instant.
This systematic review provides an overview of behavior change interventions for disease management and prevention delivered through text messaging. Evidence on behavior change and clinical outcomes was compiled from randomized or quasi-experimental controlled trials of text message interventions published in peer-reviewed journals by June 2009. Only those interventions using text message as the primary mode of communication were included. Study quality was assessed by using a standardized measure. Seventeen articles representing 12 studies (5 disease prevention and 7 disease management) were included. Intervention length ranged from 3 months to 12 months, none had long-term follow-up, and message frequency varied.
Of 9 sufficiently powered studies, 8 found evidence to support text messaging as a tool for behavior change. Effects exist across age, minority status, and nationality. Nine countries are represented in this review, but it is problematic that only one is a developing country, given potential benefits of such a widely accessible, relatively inexpensive tool for health behavior change.
Methodological issues and gaps in the literature are highlighted, and recommendations for future studies are provided.
Comprised of data from 17 articles representing 12 studies (five of which focused on disease prevention and seven of which focused on disease management), the authors draw conclusions on the effectiveness of using mobile phones (and more specifically, text messaging on mobile phones) to change health behaviors.