Saving the Lives of Mothers One Cellphone at a Time
As indicated by the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal Five, reducing the maternal mortality ratio worldwide by 75% and increasing the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel, maternal health is a global priority. As maternal mortality continues to plague many countries, technology—particularly cellular technology—has exploded throughout the developing world and development practitioners and health workers are rushing to capitalize upon the intersection of the two trends.
Based upon in-depth studies of two current mobile-based health projects in Africa— the Mobile Technology for Community Health Project in Ghana and the Rapid SMS Program in Malawi—cellular technology offers a promising medium to promote maternal education and awareness, enable remote data collection and monitoring, ease communication and training among health workers, track diseases and epidemics, and provide diagnostic and treatment support. The successes and failures of the two studies in Ghana and Malawi provide a foundation upon which to launch similar mobile-based health initiatives in communities in Latin America where the trends of maternal mortality and the technology boom are poised to cross paths. Can mobile-based maternal health programs succeed in countries like Brazil, where cellular penetration is high, and Peru, where cellular penetration is low?
Through the findings elaborated within the following sections, we have concluded that mobile technology is indeed a powerful, and potentially life-saving, tool, and can be successfully applied to Brazil and Peru. However, prior to implementing a cellular technology program targeting maternal health, it is important to thoroughly research the target population, establish a breadth of valuable partnerships, and emphasize cellular technology as a complement to—versus a replacement for— personal interactions. In a society where six in ten people have a mobile phone, it is vital that development practitioners and health personnel harness the power of cellular technology to address a critical issue, and support and empower the mothers of the future.
The Mobile Technology for Community Health Project in Ghana is still in its infancy, but in order to guarantee longevity, the Government of Ghana must seek partnerships with telecommunications companies to maintain the service provision or introduce a subsidy for health purposes. Additionally, there needs to be know-how support resources to maintain the platform and integrate it into the heath care system of the country.
The RapidSMS Project in Malawi shows how mobile phone technology can create a networked structure for data gathering, which in turn can help both accuracy of health information and the speed at which it is gathered. That being said, while cell phones can greatly speed up data collection and reduce errors, they do not serve the same function as a properly trained health practitioner. Cell phone technology used in this manner cannot provide better education and training of health professionals, a factor that has huge consequences for maternal and child health.
Brazil has immense potential for the development of a mobile phone and maternal health project. With over 100% mobile penetration, Rio and Sao Paolo are the obvious locations to launch a program. Data collected from the pilot could then be used to craft a plan to tackle the more complicated challenge of expanding the initiative to the Northeast, the poorest region of the country. However, it is important to understand that even though a mobile-based maternal health initiative could greatly improve the delivery of care, prevention and counseling to pregnant women and mothers in Brazil, high rates of functional illiteracy and technological challenges may mean that such initiative wont work for all patients. Therefore, the project should be seen as strictly complementary to existing healthcare delivery mechanisms, and not as substitute in any way. but usage patterns differ considerably according to social classes.
Unlike Brazil, Peru does have some mobile phone and maternal health programs in development. However, the current projects target urban populations near Lima. If these projects are successful in the city, we believe there should be an expansion to reach not only rural populations, but indigenous populations, as well. The indigenous Quechua population has the least access to care, and experiences language barriers with health workers. Thus, mobile phone technology must be combined with Quechua language training of health workers in order for successful implementation.
Emma Gardner | ebgardner@gmail.com | @EmmaBGardner
Monica Adame | ma2894@columbia.edu
Emily Donnan | emilydonnan@gmail.com
Alessandra Orofino | alessandra@purpose.com
Sarina Virk | sv2333@columbia.edu
Katerina Koinis | katkoinis@gmail.com | @katoula