"I feel like a nurse and my clients learn more": mHealth, Capacity Building and Empowerment in Community Based Care

Abstract

Community health workers, led by trained nurses who are linked to a health facility are well positioned to play an important role in improving health of the communities in low and middle-income countries. The South African Department of Health has implemented various mobile health programmes to improve community-based services. This paper presents a component of a study that evaluates mHealth interventions in South Africa. The study was conducted in Pretoria urban and semi-urban areas, with the aim of understanding how community health workers experience mHealth technologies. Three focus group interviews were conducted and data analysis followed Thorne Interpretive Description framework. An overarching theme was that the mHealth application provided clinical content that empowered community health workers to develop confidence, higher efficacy, independent decisions making and experience higher social standing with their clients. This in turn, translated into informed clients. There is evidence of strengthened capacity in the use of mHealth technology and application of knowledge to provide an engaged client care. Functionalities in the application allowed timely exchange of information and decision support.

Keywords: Capacity building; mHealth application; psycho-social aspects; self-efficacy; user satisfaction.