The Architecture of a Software System for Supporting Community-based Primary Health Care with Mobile Technology: The Mobile Technology for Community Health (MoTeCH) Initiative in Ghana
- PMID: 23569631
- PMCID: PMC3615808
- DOI: 10.5210/ojphi.v4i1.3910
The Architecture of a Software System for Supporting Community-based Primary Health Care with Mobile Technology: The Mobile Technology for Community Health (MoTeCH) Initiative in Ghana
Abstract
THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE OF A SYSTEM DESIGNED IN RESPONSE TO THE HEALTH DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF TWO CONCOMITANT TRENDS IN POOR COUNTRIES: i) The rapid expansion of community health worker deployment, now estimated to involve over a million workers in Africa and Asia, and ii) the global proliferation of mobile technology coverage and use. Known as the Mobile Technology for Community Health (MoTeCH) Initiative, our system adapts and integrates existing software applications for mobile data collection, electronic medical records, and interactive voice response to bridge health information gaps in rural Africa. MoTeCH calculates the upcoming schedule of care for each client and, when care is due, notifies the client and community health workers responsible for that client. MoTeCH also automates the aggregation of health status and health service delivery information for routine reports. The paper concludes with a summary of lessons learned and future system development needs.
Keywords: Child Health; Electronic Medical Records; Low Resource Settings; Maternal; Mobile Phones.
Figures
References
-
- Perry Henry, Freeman Paul, Gupta Sundeep, Rassekh Bahie Mary. “How effective is community-based primary health care in improving the health of children?” Report of the Community-Based Primary Health Care Working Group, International Health Section, American Public Health Association. Franklin West Virginia: Future Generations; 2009.
-
- Earth Institute of Columbia University Technical Task Force on Community Health Workers . Technical Report of the Earth Institute. New York: Columbia University; 2011. One Million Community Health Workers.
-
- International Telecommunication Union “Global mobile statistics 2011,” in the unpublished web report Mobithinking. http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats. 2011.
-
- Kwapong OATF. “The health situation of women in Ghana.”. Rural and Remote Health. 8:963. http://www.rrh.org.au. 2008. - PubMed
-
- Ngom Pierre, Debpuur Cornelius, Akweongo Patricia, Adongo Philip, Binka Fred N. “Gate-keeping and women’s health seeking behavior in Navrongo, northern Ghana. African Journal of Reproductive Health. 2003;7(1):17–26. - PubMed
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials
