Mobile Health in Uganda: A Case Study of the Medical Concierge Group

L. Kamulegeya, Joseph Ssebwana, Wilson Abigaba, J. Bwanika, Davis Musinguzi
{"title":"Mobile Health in Uganda: A Case Study of the\n Medical Concierge Group","authors":"L. Kamulegeya, Joseph Ssebwana, Wilson Abigaba, J. Bwanika, Davis Musinguzi","doi":"10.24248/EASCI.V1I1.12","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"  The ubiquity of mobile phones offers an opportunity for a\n paradigm change in health-care delivery, which may offer solutions to\n some of the challenges faced by the health sector in Uganda. The Medical\n Concierge Group (TMCG) is a digital health company, headquartered in\n Uganda, which leverages on mobile phone-based platforms – such as short\n messaging service (SMS), voice calling – and social media to deliver\n health services. Just over two-thirds (68%) of users of TMCG’s services\n are males between 18 and 30 years of age. SMS reminders have improved\n the honouring of health facility appointments among HIV-positive\n clients, from 60% to 90%; retention rates at supported health facilities\n have improved from 45% to 89%. Furthermore, information dissemination\n has been achieved via mobile SMS, wherein subscribers can access health\n content on diverse topics – such as HIV/AIDS prevention and family\n planning – by sending messages to a pre-defined short code to a phone\n line. Over 900 beneficiaries have accessed health content via SMS\n subscriptions. Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter,\n are used for health information dissemination and have enabled a wider\n reach to over 13 million beneficiaries accessing health information on\n TMCG’s Facebook page alone. Tailoring mobile phone-based health content\n to meet the target beneficiaries’ needs is critical for TMCG’s impact\n and uptake. With rising rates of phone ownership and Internet\n connectivity in Uganda, mobile phones offer an affordable and proven\n adoptable avenue to overcome the chronic challenges faced by the health\n sector.","PeriodicalId":11398,"journal":{"name":"East Africa Science","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2019-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"East Africa Science","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.24248/EASCI.V1I1.12","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3

Abstract

  The ubiquity of mobile phones offers an opportunity for a paradigm change in health-care delivery, which may offer solutions to some of the challenges faced by the health sector in Uganda. The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG) is a digital health company, headquartered in Uganda, which leverages on mobile phone-based platforms – such as short messaging service (SMS), voice calling – and social media to deliver health services. Just over two-thirds (68%) of users of TMCG’s services are males between 18 and 30 years of age. SMS reminders have improved the honouring of health facility appointments among HIV-positive clients, from 60% to 90%; retention rates at supported health facilities have improved from 45% to 89%. Furthermore, information dissemination has been achieved via mobile SMS, wherein subscribers can access health content on diverse topics – such as HIV/AIDS prevention and family planning – by sending messages to a pre-defined short code to a phone line. Over 900 beneficiaries have accessed health content via SMS subscriptions. Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, are used for health information dissemination and have enabled a wider reach to over 13 million beneficiaries accessing health information on TMCG’s Facebook page alone. Tailoring mobile phone-based health content to meet the target beneficiaries’ needs is critical for TMCG’s impact and uptake. With rising rates of phone ownership and Internet connectivity in Uganda, mobile phones offer an affordable and proven adoptable avenue to overcome the chronic challenges faced by the health sector.
查看原文
分享 分享
微信好友 朋友圈 QQ好友 复制链接
本刊更多论文
乌干达的移动医疗:医疗礼宾组的案例研究
移动电话的普及为改变提供保健服务的模式提供了机会,这可能为乌干达卫生部门面临的一些挑战提供解决办法。医疗礼宾集团(TMCG)是一家总部设在乌干达的数字医疗公司,它利用基于移动电话的平台——如短信服务(SMS)、语音通话——和社交媒体来提供医疗服务。超过三分之二(68%)的TMCG服务用户是年龄在18到30岁之间的男性。短信提醒提高了艾滋病毒阳性患者对医疗机构预约的兑现率,从60%提高到90%;得到支持的卫生设施的保留率已从45%提高到89%。此外,还通过移动短信传播信息,用户可以通过向电话线发送预先定义的短代码,获取关于艾滋病毒/艾滋病预防和计划生育等各种主题的保健内容。900多名受益人通过短信订阅获得了保健内容。包括Facebook和Twitter在内的社交媒体平台被用于传播卫生信息,仅在TMCG的Facebook页面上就有1300多万受益人获得了卫生信息。定制基于移动电话的健康内容以满足目标受益人的需求,对于TMCG的影响和吸收至关重要。随着乌干达手机拥有率和互联网连接率的上升,移动电话为克服卫生部门面临的长期挑战提供了一种负担得起且经证明可采用的途径。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 去求助
来源期刊
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
期刊最新文献
Iron Deficiency and Iron Deficiency Anemia Among Children 3 to 59 Months of Age in Kinondoni Municipal, Dar es Salaam: A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study Dengue Virus and Blood Safety: A Mini-Review of Research Publications Self-Medication Practice with Antimalarials and Associated Factors Among Undergraduate Health Science Students in North Western - Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study Contamination of Automated Teller Machines Surfaces with Multi-drug Resistance Gram-negative Bacteria in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Associated Risk factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
现在去查看 取消
×
提示
确定
0
微信
客服QQ
Book学术公众号 扫码关注我们
反馈
×
意见反馈
请填写您的意见或建议
请填写您的手机或邮箱
已复制链接
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
×
扫码分享
扫码分享
Book学术官方微信
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术
文献互助 智能选刊 最新文献 互助须知 联系我们:info@booksci.cn
Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。
Copyright © 2023 Book学术 All rights reserved.
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号 京ICP备2023020795号-1