User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana.
<h4>Background</h4>The rapid advancement of mobile technology has fueled the use of mobile devices for health interventions and for improving healthcare provision in underserved communities. Despite the potential of mHealth being used as a health information and surveillance tool, its sc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261806 |
| _version_ | 1818298849735737344 |
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| author | Emmanuel Acquah-Gyan Princess Ruhama Acheampong Aliyu Mohammed Timothy Kwabena Adjei Emmanuel Agyapong Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah Augustina Sylverken Michael Owusu Ellis Owusu-Dabo |
| author_facet | Emmanuel Acquah-Gyan Princess Ruhama Acheampong Aliyu Mohammed Timothy Kwabena Adjei Emmanuel Agyapong Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah Augustina Sylverken Michael Owusu Ellis Owusu-Dabo |
| author_sort | Emmanuel Acquah-Gyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>The rapid advancement of mobile technology has fueled the use of mobile devices for health interventions and for improving healthcare provision in underserved communities. Despite the potential of mHealth being used as a health information and surveillance tool, its scale-up has been challenging and, in most cases, unable to advance beyond the pilot stage of implementation. The purpose of this study was to explore user experiences of a mobile phone-based interactive voice response (IVR) system among caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in the Asante Akim North District of Ghana.<h4>Methods</h4>The study adopted an exploratory design. A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit 35 participants who had used an IVR system for at least six months for the study. About 11 in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted among participants using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was utilized for the analysis of data in this study.<h4>Result</h4>The system was found to be acceptable, and the attitude of caregivers towards the system was also positive. The study discovered that the mobile phone-based Health Information and Surveillance System (mHISS) was useful for improving access to healthcare, communicating with health professionals, served as a decision support system, and improved caregivers' awareness about self-management of childhood illnesses. Poor network quality, unstable electricity power supply, and dropped/cut calls served as significant barriers to using the mHISS system.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The mHISS system was generally acceptable and could help improve access to healthcare and identify children with severe health conditions during outbreaks of diseases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T04:41:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6518794093fe47ec8365198420c05ccd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T04:41:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-6518794093fe47ec8365198420c05ccd2022-12-21T23:59:17ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01171e026180610.1371/journal.pone.0261806User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana.Emmanuel Acquah-GyanPrincess Ruhama AcheampongAliyu MohammedTimothy Kwabena AdjeiEmmanuel AgyapongSampson Twumasi-AnkrahAugustina SylverkenMichael OwusuEllis Owusu-Dabo<h4>Background</h4>The rapid advancement of mobile technology has fueled the use of mobile devices for health interventions and for improving healthcare provision in underserved communities. Despite the potential of mHealth being used as a health information and surveillance tool, its scale-up has been challenging and, in most cases, unable to advance beyond the pilot stage of implementation. The purpose of this study was to explore user experiences of a mobile phone-based interactive voice response (IVR) system among caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in the Asante Akim North District of Ghana.<h4>Methods</h4>The study adopted an exploratory design. A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit 35 participants who had used an IVR system for at least six months for the study. About 11 in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted among participants using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was utilized for the analysis of data in this study.<h4>Result</h4>The system was found to be acceptable, and the attitude of caregivers towards the system was also positive. The study discovered that the mobile phone-based Health Information and Surveillance System (mHISS) was useful for improving access to healthcare, communicating with health professionals, served as a decision support system, and improved caregivers' awareness about self-management of childhood illnesses. Poor network quality, unstable electricity power supply, and dropped/cut calls served as significant barriers to using the mHISS system.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The mHISS system was generally acceptable and could help improve access to healthcare and identify children with severe health conditions during outbreaks of diseases.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261806 |
| spellingShingle | Emmanuel Acquah-Gyan Princess Ruhama Acheampong Aliyu Mohammed Timothy Kwabena Adjei Emmanuel Agyapong Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah Augustina Sylverken Michael Owusu Ellis Owusu-Dabo User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. PLoS ONE |
| title | User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. |
| title_full | User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. |
| title_fullStr | User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. |
| title_full_unstemmed | User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. |
| title_short | User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. |
| title_sort | user experiences of a mobile phone based health information and surveillance system mhiss a case of caregivers of children under five in rural communities in ghana |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261806 |
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