American Public Health Association (APHA)
138th Annual Meeting and Exposition
6–10 November 2010
Abstract
"Use of mobile technology by health care providers to strengthen service delivery in rural Uttar Pradesh"India could be distinguished for having the largest working mobile sets in the world that are increasing at the fastest rate in the world. It is estimated that almost 100% of families in the urban sector and almost 45% in rural areas have mobile. The spread of mobile has resulted in many economic and social dividends including in the health sector. The present paper provides insight on how mobile technology in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh is being used by health care providers to improve and strengthen service delivery. Data have been collected from about 600 community health workers (public and private ) spread over 200 villages from 12 districts using both quantitative (600 interviews) and qualitative (30 in-depth interviews) approaches. The results demonstrate that mobile technology is being used to strengthen service delivery by improving supervision (among ICDS staff) and coverage of pregnant women for antenatal care and institutional delivery by identifying pregnant women using networks among ANMs, AWWs, and ASHA or timely alerting of primary health care staff about the arrival of women experiencing delivery pain or families contacting providers for care and services. While all these point to the use of mobile technology, it is all natural and not planned. The paper highlights what is already happening and how it could be formally mainstreamed to get best out of the emerging mobile technology.
Learning areas
- Communication and informatics
- Conduct evaluations related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
- Plan health education strategies, interventions, and programs
- Program planning
- Social and behavioral sciences
Learning objectives
- Provide insight on how mobile technology in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh is being used by health care providers to improve and strengthen service delivery.
- Better utilize and mainstream the emerging mobile technology
Return to: Guide to Population Council activities
Offsite link: APHA 2010 Conference Web site
Media inquiries
pubinfo@popcouncil.org; +1 212 339 0509
Contacts and Resources
- Office of Strategic Communications
pubinfo@popcouncil.org
+1 212 339 0509
- Population Council experts are available to discuss global health issues. Contact pubinfo@popcouncil.org for more information.
Get Involved
- Make a contribution to the Population Council
- Sign up to receive e-mail announcements
Connect
