Mobile Technologies for Health (mHealth)

  • K4Health Highlights
    January 25, 2013

    Using eHealth to Improve Health Delivery in Bangladesh

    Heidi Good Boncana

    JHU∙CCP | Program Officer II

    Bangladesh, one of the world’s most populous countries, has some of the worst maternal health indicators. One of the contributing factors to poor maternal health is the lack of life-saving information on family planning and reproductive health, maternal nutrition, safe delivery, antenatal care, and postnatal care. The government-supported community-based frontline health workers (CHWs) that provide counseling to mothers often lack accurate and up-to-date information around these topics themselves. However there are reasons to be optimistic! The government’s commitment to improving maternal health, and its goal of a Digital Bangladesh, provides a unique opportunity to explore solutions through innovative technology in communities.

    The Bangladesh Knowledge Management Initiative (BKMI) is improving access to and use of essential maternal health information in Bangladesh communities through simple and cost-effective eHealth solutions. Working closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), BKMI has developed an easy to use eToolkit, or digital library, and eight interactive eLearning course videos for a low-literacy audience. The eToolkit contains well-organized and cross-cutting behavior change communication (BCC) health resources vetted by technical experts and CHWs, for use with community clients. The eLearning courses are designed to supplement health worker trainings. They cover these maternal health topics, and also include interpersonal communication and counseling, and integrated messaging.

    Read More
    Share
    Add a Comment
  • K4Health Highlights
    January 14, 2013

    Announcing a special supplement to the K4Health Newsletter: Focus on mHealth

    Becca Simon

    JHU∙CCP | Communications Manager

    K4Health is proud to announce a special supplement to the monthly K4Health Newsletter: Focus on mHealth.

    At last month’s mHealth Summit, the Global Health Track was launched, accompanying Business, Healthcare Delivery, Policy, Research, and Technology as key themes in mobile health. K4Health was part of the 16-member committee tapped to develop an agenda featuring efforts to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

    Now that the Summit is over, we want to continue the conversation about mHealth in international development. K4Health brings together leaders in mHealth via the mHealth Working Group and has aggregated the latest mHealth knowledge on the mHealth Toolkit. Now we want to share that knowledge with you.

    Read More
    Share
    Add a Comment
  • Health Innovations
    December 21, 2012

    Telemedicine and mHealth

    Jarret Cassaniti

    JHU∙CCP | Communications Specialist

    As a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Zambia from 2003-2005, I relied on word of mouth, bush notes or a bike ride to the district capital to try the unreliable landlines to communicate.  In 2006, I got news that a cell tower was raised in the district capital and people there had a new option for communication. Back in the U.S., I quickly found out I had missed most of web 2.0’s opening act and rushed to set up accounts on Friendster and MySpace. I bought a feature phone and read about the Blackberry craze.

    Fast-forward to 2010 when I was delivering HIV capacity building assistance for a U.S. non-profit. I traveled to rural parts of the U.S. including places like Hattiesburg, MS, and Lafayette, LA. In Alpine, CA, I worked with Mountain Health and Community Services in rural eastern San Diego and learned about their participation in a telemedicine pilot project: Cisco’s HealthPresence.

    Read More
    Share
    2 Comments
    Add a Comment
  • December 20, 2012

    4 Innovations in Maternal and Child Health

    Elizabeth Futrell

    JHU∙CCP | Technical Writer

    Many innovations are being tested around the world to decrease the cost of providing maternal and child health (MCH) services while increasing access to essential information and care. As I read about the innovative approaches described in Soma Ghoshal’s blog post, I couldn’t help but reflect on how vastly technology has improved my own access to MCH information and services as a new mother here in the U.S. These solutions promise to deliver knowledge and care to mothers in need in developing countries. Knowing how many mothers in the U.S., particularly in inner cities and rural areas, also lack access to prenatal, postpartum, and well-child information and services, I hope that creative, evidence-based approaches such as these take hold not only in developing countries but also here in the U.S.

    This blog post was written by Soma Ghoshal of the Center for Health Market Innovations.

    In its newly published Highlights 2012, the Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI) identifies a number of new trends in solutions that aim to improve the quality, affordability and accessibility of healthcare for the poorest and most vulnerable. These new approaches are being pioneered by social enterprises, nonprofits and governments to better organize, finance, and regulate the delivery of private-sector healthcare.

    CHMI focuses on maternal and child health as many private organizations are utilizing innovative approaches to improve maternal and child health outcomes.  As the Millennium Development Goals deadline looms, maternal mortality rates still overwhelm many developing countries. Many organizations are combating maternal and child mortality rates, however, through the implementation of new technologies and practicing emerging business models.

    Read More
    Share
    1 Comment
    Add a Comment
  • December 14, 2012

    More mobile phones than toilets?

    Laura Raney

    FHI 360 | Senior Technical Officer

    Are there more mobile phones than toilets in some places? Yes, in some developing countries, that’s true. This was one of the take-aways from the mHealth Summit that took place last week in Washington, DC, where over 3,800 people gathered to hear about the fast-growing health-related mobile phone industry.

    Read More
    Share
    Add a Comment

Pages