Global Health Hub: news and blogosphere aggregator » mHealth http://www.globalhealthhub.org Keeping up with global health & development news, blogosphere, forums, events, jobs and more Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 mHealth ECG Monitor http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/17/mhealth-ecg-monitor/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/17/mhealth-ecg-monitor/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 14:16:00 +0000 Health UnBound http://www.globalhealthhub.org/?p=96805 We have developed an inexpensive portable ECG with pulseoximeter called mobmon that works with an Android smartphone or tablet. We are looking to connect with clinics and doctors in poor and rural areas that need this critical monitoring capability. The key feature is the real-time transmission of the patient’s ECG and vital signs to a remote physician anywhere in the world. This allows clinics and rural villages to have a remote doctor diagnose their cardiac condition.

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mHealth ECG Monitor

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Open mHealth

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/17/open-mhealth/feed/ 0 Plugging in to Global Health: The Proliferation of Mobile Apps http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/16/plugging-in-to-global-health-the-proliferation-of-mobile-apps/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/16/plugging-in-to-global-health-the-proliferation-of-mobile-apps/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 14:38:00 +0000 CGDev http://www.globalhealthhub.org/?p=96562

This is a joint post with Kate McQueston. Mobile applications – or ‘apps’ – seem to be the latest craze in mobile technology for global health programming. The proliferation of these apps is converging around a growing interests in open (and big) data, so you don’t have to look far to find creative ways they are being used to collect and display data in the development sector. More on mobile technology for health from CGD: The Elusive Power of mHealth Six billion connections for health? Mobile users can download apps that map USAID’s portfolio and Development Expertise Clearinghouse (DEC) evaluations.

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Plugging in to Global Health: The Proliferation of Mobile Apps

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/16/plugging-in-to-global-health-the-proliferation-of-mobile-apps/feed/ 0 Ownership and use of mobile phones among health workers, caregivers of sick… http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/14/ownership-and-use-of-mobile-phones-among-health-workers-caregivers-of-sick/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/14/ownership-and-use-of-mobile-phones-among-health-workers-caregivers-of-sick/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000 GlobalizationAndHealth http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/14/ownership-and-use-of-mobile-phones-among-health-workers-caregivers-of-sick/

Background: The rapid growth in mobile phone penetration and use of Short Message Service (SMS) has been seen as a potential solution to improve medical and public health practice in Africa. Several studies have shown effectiveness of SMS interventions to improve health workers’ practices, patients’ adherence to medications and availability of health facility commodities. To inform policy makers about the feasibility of facility-based SMS interventions, the coverage data on mobile phone ownership and SMS use among health workers and patients are needed. Methods: In 2012, a national, cross-sectional, cluster sample survey was undertaken at 172 public health facilities in Kenya.

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Ownership and use of mobile phones among health workers, caregivers of sick…

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/14/ownership-and-use-of-mobile-phones-among-health-workers-caregivers-of-sick/feed/ 0 PBS blog series explores mhealth in Africa http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/pbs-blog-series-explores-mhealth-in-africa/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/pbs-blog-series-explores-mhealth-in-africa/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 04:18:00 +0000 Maternal Health Task force http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/pbs-blog-series-explores-mhealth-in-africa/

PBS is in the midst of publishing a ten-part blog series exploring the connections between between mobile technology and health in Africa. In its latest post, the series highlights the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action’s (MAMA) Ask MAMA Mobi, which … Continue reading →

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PBS blog series explores mhealth in Africa

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/pbs-blog-series-explores-mhealth-in-africa/feed/ 0 South Africa Service Uses Text Messaging to Help Expectant Mothers http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/south-africa-service-uses-text-messaging-to-help-expectant-mothers/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/south-africa-service-uses-text-messaging-to-help-expectant-mothers/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 12:40:53 +0000 GHHub http://www.globalhealthhub.org/?p=96057 An innovative program combining maternity advice and mobile phones is launching in South Africa, and could affect the lives of millions of mothers and babies. The service has already been launched in Bangladesh, and will soon come to India.

 

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]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/05/13/south-africa-service-uses-text-messaging-to-help-expectant-mothers/feed/ 0 Means of Exchange: Enabling more resilient economies http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/30/means-of-exchange-enabling-more-resilient-economies/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/30/means-of-exchange-enabling-more-resilient-economies/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:29:00 +0000 Ken Banks http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/30/means-of-exchange-enabling-more-resilient-economies/ “Citizen movements are compelling reforms that were unimaginable only a short time ago. Solutions to today’s challenges involve a complex mix of actors that include governments, nonprofits, foundations, civil society and the business sector in major new ways” – Rockefeller Foundation This year, the Rockefeller Foundation will be one hundred years old. As part of the celebrations, the Foundation recently launched the Next Century Innovators Awards which seeks to identify the top 100 innovations likely to solve some of the more pressing challenges of the next century. We’re excited to announce that Means of Exchange has made the list. You can read the project profile on the Rockefeller website here, or below.

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Means of Exchange: Enabling more resilient economies

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/30/means-of-exchange-enabling-more-resilient-economies/feed/ 0 Using SMS to mobilize the community clean-up of Ciliwung River, Indonesia:… http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/24/using-sms-to-mobilize-the-community-clean-up-of-ciliwung-river-indonesia/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/24/using-sms-to-mobilize-the-community-clean-up-of-ciliwung-river-indonesia/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:00:00 +0000 FrontlineSMS http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/24/using-sms-to-mobilize-the-community-clean-up-of-ciliwung-river-indonesia/ FrontlineSMS has had a strong connection with environmental issues since our Founder had the initial spark of an idea while working on an anti-poaching project in South Africa. We’re delighted to be able to host Een Irawan Putra of KPC Bogor and the Indonesia Nature Film Society to our blog, to share how he used FrontlineSMS in Indonesia to invite he community to help clean up the garbage clogging the Ciliwung River. KPC Bogor members collecting plastic garbage from the Ciliwung River 2012. Image: KPC Bogor Community Care Ciliwung Bogor (known locally as KPC Bogor) was founded in March 2009 in West Java, Indonesia to harness the growing community concern for the sustainability of the Ciliwung River in the city of Bogor.

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Using SMS to mobilize the community clean-up of Ciliwung River, Indonesia:…

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/24/using-sms-to-mobilize-the-community-clean-up-of-ciliwung-river-indonesia/feed/ 0 Vital registration systems are vitally important to global health http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/22/vital-registration-systems-are-vitally-important-to-global-health/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/22/vital-registration-systems-are-vitally-important-to-global-health/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:03:00 +0000 Karen Grepin http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/22/vital-registration-systems-are-vitally-important-to-global-health/ In today’s world of “Big Data”, it seems hard to believe that less than one third of all births and over two thirds of all deaths are still not recorded around the world. For all intents and purposes, births and deaths that are not recorded don’t count – and that is a big problem. In the words of Nandini Oomman and co-authors put it so eloquently in a recent commentary in the Lancet: Functioning vital registration systems are global public goods that help with the collection, storage, retrieval, and analysis of accurate population and demographic data to support development policy and monitor health outcomes, particularly for maternal and child health. However, without strong vital registries, individuals do not have legal documentation of their own personhood, citizenship, and all associated rights; national policy makers do not have necessary data for resource allocation and planning; and the international community does not have evidence to monitor development progress against global benchmarks—eg, the Millennium Development Goals. For far too long the excuse has been a lack of resources, but I really don’t buy this argument

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Vital registration systems are vitally important to global health

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/22/vital-registration-systems-are-vitally-important-to-global-health/feed/ 0 Big Data & social media for crisis management: Lecture at ETH, Zurich http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/19/big-data-social-media-for-crisis-management-lecture-at-eth-zurich/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/19/big-data-social-media-for-crisis-management-lecture-at-eth-zurich/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000 ICT4Peace http://www.globalhealthhub.org/?p=92979 Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation, delivered a public lecture on Big Data & social media for crisis management at Zurich’s ETH University, one of the leading international universities for technology and the natural sciences in the world. Sanjana’s presentation looked at events on the ground from his home country, Sri Lanka, as well as, at the time of the presentation, content generation on and around the bombings at the Boston marathon, as key examples of how today information is produced at exponentially increasing rates, leading to new ethical, philosophical, scientific, journalistic, scientific, computational and other challenges, as well as opportunities. The presentation looked at cities around the world, including from the African subcontinent, embracing big data and making decades of hitherto closed or hard to access information available, for free, in the public domain via the web, and relevant APIs and frameworks. The presentation looked at how even the UN, often perceived as extremely conservative and conventional, is today leading the way in flagging the value of big data and leading the development of platforms as well as political leadership to meaningfully use it in key operations.

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Big Data & social media for crisis management: Lecture at ETH, Zurich

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/19/big-data-social-media-for-crisis-management-lecture-at-eth-zurich/feed/ 0 ‘Humanitarianism in the Network Age’ by OCHA highlights shared… http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/15/humanitarianism-in-the-network-age-by-ocha-highlights-shared/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/15/humanitarianism-in-the-network-age-by-ocha-highlights-shared/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:02:00 +0000 ICT4Peace http://www.globalhealthhub.org/?p=92533 The ICT4Peace Foundation recognises UN OCHA’s new publication Humanitarianism in the Network Age as a significant contribution to our understanding of how new technologies including new web based social media, are reshaping our fundamental understanding as well as the design and delivery of humanitarian aid and relief work across the world, and indeed, beyond the UN. The report cites our publication Peacebuilding in the Information Age: Sifting Hype from Reality. As far back as 2011, the Foundation’s paper looked at difficult questions and provided concrete recommendations concerning: the effectiveness of current systems of crisis information management; the need for a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the use of ICTs in crisis response by the academic community; the need for better coordinative mechanisms amongst the key players, including the UN and its various agencies; the humanitarian responsibility of various actors, in particular new players such as crowdsourcing providers and social media; the serious challenges that still need to be overcome in terms of underlying political, hierarchical and traditional resistance to information-sharing amongst diverse organizations; the negative potential of ICTs in compromising the security of persons at risk in conflict situations; the lessons learned from the earthquake in Haiti on the use of new ICTs in disaster response situations and, the big picture of what this shift to an ICT-focused approach really means for existing humanitarian response systems. OCHA new paper underscores many of these points and records notable developments in the field since 2011. The ICT4Peace Foundation has worked very closely with OCHA to develop best practices around the use of new media in aid, crisis information management, interfacing and working with volunteer and technical communities (V&TCs) that are now global in nature and local in impact, helped establish vital platforms for the dissemination of fundamentally important datasets of UN member states in relation to disaster risk reduction and crisis response, helped ideate and communicate pathbreaking new technologies like HXL, supported exercises led by OCHA that have strengthened the work of digital humanitarians, published papers on Big Data and humanitarian aid and every year, convened leading UN agencies, including OCHA, and some of the world’s most recognised and respected actors from V&TCs as part of the Crisis Information Management Advisory Group (CiMAG) retreats held in New York.

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‘Humanitarianism in the Network Age’ by OCHA highlights shared…

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/15/humanitarianism-in-the-network-age-by-ocha-highlights-shared/feed/ 0 mHealth ‘could save a million African lives by 2017 http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/mhealth-could-save-a-million-african-lives-by-2017/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/mhealth-could-save-a-million-african-lives-by-2017/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:22:00 +0000 SciDev.net http://www.globalhealthhub.org/?p=92057 Mobile phone health projects could drastically cut deaths from HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and pregnancy-related conditions, says report.

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mHealth ‘could save a million African lives by 2017′

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/mhealth-could-save-a-million-african-lives-by-2017/feed/ 0 The Guardian reports on project using GPS in effort to improve maternal… http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/the-guardian-reports-on-project-using-gps-in-effort-to-improve-maternal/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/the-guardian-reports-on-project-using-gps-in-effort-to-improve-maternal/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:24:00 +0000 Maternal Health Task force http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/the-guardian-reports-on-project-using-gps-in-effort-to-improve-maternal/

A blog post published over the weekend in The Guardian describes one effort to use mobile technologies, specifically handheld GPS-enabled devices, to collect evidence on the distribution of health facilities. The project combines geographic data, interviews as part of an … Continue reading →

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The Guardian reports on project using GPS in effort to improve maternal…

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/10/the-guardian-reports-on-project-using-gps-in-effort-to-improve-maternal/feed/ 0 Spirituality, being human, and how to change the world. http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/spirituality-being-human-and-how-to-change-the-world/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/spirituality-being-human-and-how-to-change-the-world/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:19:00 +0000 Ken Banks http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/spirituality-being-human-and-how-to-change-the-world/ “Despite all of the ghastliness in the world, human beings are made for goodness. The ones that are held in high regard are not militarily powerful, nor even economically prosperous. They have a commitment to try and make the world a better place” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu I’ve been home for about three weeks since leaving the Unreasonable at Sea ship in India. I spent just over a month helping mentor eleven technology startups which, if that was all I’d done, would have been a fantastic experience.

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Spirituality, being human, and how to change the world.

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/spirituality-being-human-and-how-to-change-the-world/feed/ 0 Hesperian Health mobile app now available in Spanish and English http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/hesperian-health-mobile-app-now-available-in-spanish-and-english/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/hesperian-health-mobile-app-now-available-in-spanish-and-english/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:46:00 +0000 Maternal Health Task force http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/hesperian-health-mobile-app-now-available-in-spanish-and-english/

Hesperian Health has announced the launch of its comprehensive app on healthy pregnancy and birth in Spanish. This version joins Hesperian’s English-language app, “Safe Pregnancy and Birth,” which has been downloaded more than 60,000 times, and provides information, including illustrations, … Continue reading →

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Hesperian Health mobile app now available in Spanish and English

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/02/hesperian-health-mobile-app-now-available-in-spanish-and-english/feed/ 0 Lowering barriers to adoption isn’t just one approach – it’s critical… http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/01/lowering-barriers-to-adoption-isnt-just-one-approach-its-critical/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/01/lowering-barriers-to-adoption-isnt-just-one-approach-its-critical/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:01:00 +0000 FrontlineSMS http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/28/lowering-barriers-to-adoption-isnt-just-one-approach-its-critical/ This post is a write-up of a talk I gave at the recent Mobile Web East Africa conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Thanks to the team for inviting us to speak! Technology companies are in the business of changing habits. Creating a new tool, and getting people to use it consistently, means trying to change something about the way people get things done – moving from analogue to digital, from manual to automated, from one app to another, from WordPress to Tumblr.

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Lowering barriers to adoption isn’t just one approach – it’s critical…

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/04/01/lowering-barriers-to-adoption-isnt-just-one-approach-its-critical/feed/ 0 Keeping it Simple with SMS http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/26/keeping-it-simple-with-sms/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/26/keeping-it-simple-with-sms/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:00:00 +0000 FrontlineSMS http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/26/keeping-it-simple-with-sms/ We are delighted to feature a guest blog post from Rosa Akbari and her work in Algeria, funded by a  grant from UNOCHA. Rosa used what was already in place – a mobile phone in each household – capitalized on existing information flows as they worked without technology, and only added FrontlineSMS to ease the communication at the camp. Fantastic stuff! UN Special Envoy to the Western Sahara Christopher Ross landed in Morocco last Wednesday. While the international community anxiously waits to see where his next round of negotiations go, here’s a peek into the lives of those affected most by the outcome – Sahrawi refugees.

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Keeping it Simple with SMS

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/26/keeping-it-simple-with-sms/feed/ 0 mHealth ‘Not Yet Living Up To Its Potential’ To Transform Health Care… http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/21/mhealth-not-yet-living-up-to-its-potential-to-transform-health-care/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/21/mhealth-not-yet-living-up-to-its-potential-to-transform-health-care/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:25:00 +0000 Kaiser GH Update http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/21/mhealth-not-yet-living-up-to-its-potential-to-transform-health-care/ “mHealth can be defined as medical and public health practices supported by mobile technologies, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless devices,” Patricia Mechael, executive director of the mHealth Alliance, and Sarah Struble, a program associate at the mHealth Alliance, write in an Al Jazeera opinion piece. “Patients, providers, health administrators, and public health advocates can all use mHealth to strengthen health systems by improving health services and expanding their reach,” they continue, adding, “There are several opportunities for mHealth to transform health care systems, particularly in developing countries, where public health information and access to health services are severely limited by the lack of facilities, trained personnel, and supplies.”

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mHealth ‘Not Yet Living Up To Its Potential’ To Transform Health Care…

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/21/mhealth-not-yet-living-up-to-its-potential-to-transform-health-care/feed/ 0 MfarmerSMS service links farmers to better markets in Nakaseke- Uganda http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mfarmersms-service-links-farmers-to-better-markets-in-nakaseke-uganda/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mfarmersms-service-links-farmers-to-better-markets-in-nakaseke-uganda/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:39:00 +0000 FrontlineSMS http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mfarmersms-service-links-farmers-to-better-markets-in-nakaseke-uganda/ We’re delighted to share this guest post from FrontlineSMS user Peter Balaba, project manager for Nakaseke Community Telecenter in Uganda.  The MFarmer SMS service, a project of the Nakaseke Community Telecentre in Uganda, helps farmers in rural areas to connect with better markets. It encourages two-way feedback with farmers, buyers and agro-processors, and other service providers. The project is designed to help farmers access agricultural market price information and weather information through their mobile phones. We are using FrontlineSMS to manage, send and receive SMS. The key advantage of FrontlineSMS is that it can be customised to suit any organisation’s needs.

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MfarmerSMS service links farmers to better markets in Nakaseke- Uganda

]]> http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mfarmersms-service-links-farmers-to-better-markets-in-nakaseke-uganda/feed/ 0 mHealth Programs Must Measure Health Outcomes http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mhealth-programs-must-measure-health-outcomes/ http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mhealth-programs-must-measure-health-outcomes/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:30:00 +0000 Kaiser GH Update http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2013/03/14/mhealth-programs-must-measure-health-outcomes/ “Since a lot of health revolves around information, public health experts had high expectations for the mobile phone,” author and columnist Tina Rosenberg writes in the New York Times’ “Opinionator” blog, adding, “But roughly a decade after the start of mHealth, as the mobile health field has come to be known, these expectations are far from being met. The delivery system is there. But we don’t yet know what to deliver.” She continues, “In the vast majority of cases, if mHealth projects have been evaluated at all, they’ve been evaluated for feasibility … rather than impact on health,” and “[w]hen programs have tested health outcomes, the results have usually been dismal.” She discusses several studies and their outcomes.

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mHealth Programs Must Measure Health Outcomes

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