Articles & Presentations
 mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World
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. mHealth for Development discusses issues at the heart of the rapidly evolving intersection of mobile phones and healthcare. It summarizes 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. The report examines the building blocks required to make mHealth more widely available through sustainable implementations.
mHealth for Development surveys the current landscape of mHealth, including profiles of over 50 mHealth programs across 26 developing countries. mHealth project application areas include education and awareness, remote data collection, remote monitoring , communication and training for healthcare workers, disease and epidemic outbreak tracking, and diagnostic and treatment support.
Release Date: February, 2009
Available format: PDF
Pages: 66
Tables and Figures: 9 (see below for complete list)
Table of Contents: (see below)
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Tables
Table 1: Looking ahead: Evolving mHealth services for evolving health needs
Table 2: Evolving mobile technology capabilities
Table 3: mHealth value chain players and incentives
Figures
Figure A: Technology and health-related statistics for developing countries (millions)
Figure B: Distribution of mHealth programs by location and application area
Figure C: Distribution of mHealth programs by location and application area
Figure D: Impact of mHealth applications across the developing world
Figure E: Value chain model for ‘one-way’ mHealth applications
Figure F: Value chain model for ‘two-way’ mHealth applications.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Contents
Introduction
Potential of Mobile Phones to Improve Health in the Developing World
• The Promise of Mobile Technologies for Health
Defining mHealth Within the Context of eHealth
Meeting Health Needs Through a Broad Array of Applications
• Education and Awareness
• Remote Data Collection
• Remote Monitoring
• Communication and Training for Healthcare Workers
• Disease and Epidemic Outbreak Tracking
• Diagnostics and Treatment Support
Examining the Impact of mHealth Projects
Assessing mHealth and Future Health Needs in Developing Countries
• Evolution of Mobile Technologies
Identifying the Building Blocks for Sustainable and Scalable mHealth Programs
• Key Building Blocks for Success
• Project Masiluleke
• Multiple Health Issues Addressed by SMS Campaigns
• Text to Change (TTC) |
• Data Gathering
• Open Source Movement: A Building Block for mHealth Success
Understanding the Incentives for Multiple Players: mHealth Value Chain
• Value Chain Models for mHealth: One-way Data Applications
• Value Chain Models for mHealth: Two-Way Data Applications
A Call for Action
• Operators
• NGOs
• Policymakers
• Funders
Conclusion: Looking Forward
Compendium of mHealth Projects
• Education and Awareness
• Remote Data Collection
• Remote Monitoring
• Communication and Training for Healthcare Workers
• Disease and Epidemic Outbreak Tracking
• Diagnostic and Treatment Support
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