Case Study: mHealth On The African Continent

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

mHealth has been used to address pressing health issues in fascinating ways in the U.S., but it is also doing amazing things in other parts of the world.

A case study from Brookings, by Darrell M. West, VP and director of governance studies, and founding director of their Center For Technology Innovation headed up a report on the use of mHealth application in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, as well as other technological innovations in Morocco. The report covers ways mHealth has been used to:

• systematize the compilation of patient data
• track the spread of epidemics
• bring medical expertise to frontline health workers
• boost disease training, diagnosis, and treatment

Use In Maternal Health

Pregnancy is a risky endeavor. The U.S. has a mortality rate of 28 deaths to every 100,000 live births. Countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have numbers almost 20 times and higher that rate as of this year. These deaths are accompanied by similarly high rates of infant mortality.

mHealth has the potential to help reduce these numbers by strengthening worker training through access to current information and education on health conditions and treatment, as well as new ideas on treating certain problems. Additionally, it is being used to remind patients to take medication through personal reminders sent via email, automated phone calls, and text messages through mobile devices.

mHealth In Practice

Two innovations, Mobile Midwife and Text4Baby are mHealth programs that have been launched in the area.

They use mobile phones to call pregnant women on a weekly basis and check in on fetal care. They do simple things like encouraging women to seek prenatal care, give advice on delivery, breastfeeding, and immunization, as well as address myths about pregnancy and childbirth. They also give advice to the mothers on avoiding disease and managing pregnancy costs.

The results so far have been positive. At the time of the case study, 281,000 mothers had signed up for the Text4Baby services. In China, the service has increased appointment attendance by 7 percent. In Malaysia, a 40 percent drop in non-attendance was achieved when mothers were reminded of their appointments.

In Morocco, mobile ultrasound has been used to improve diagnostic times for expecting mothers with the help of Qualcomm’s Wireless Reach initiative.

The case study also highlights the benefits and challenges of the developing world, along with providing deeper insight into use in specific countries to address issues like Ebola and general inefficiencies in healthcare systems. The full study can be accessed here.

Going Deeper

To read more about the next stage of mHealth in the U.S., we recommend “mHealth: Moving Out Of The ‘Discovery Phase.’”