Resource Spotlight: mHealth for Midwives: A Call to Action
Mobile phones are in the hands of increasingly more women and midwives, including those in some of the poorest and most difficult to reach areas of the world. These phones are creating unprecedented opportunities for improving maternal and child health outcomes. The evolution of mobile technology and the role it will play in the future of health care delivery will have a great impact on the midwifery profession, especially in lesser developed countries. Unfortunately, there are very few midwifery voices helping to shape this new approach to health care delivery. This article aims to describe the evolution, current applications, and future challenges of mobile technology in reproductive health, focusing primarily on resource-poor settings, and makes the case for greater midwifery involvement in this exciting new field.
Specifically, this article describes the evolution and challenges of mHealth, discusses the role of mHealth in achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, and addresses the potential impact of mHealth for midwives. mHealth represents a new area of global health that warrants the attention of midwifery advocates. Midwifery leadership in the field of mHealth at this early stage of its development will ensure future health programming that is relevant to the needs of women and the midwives who care for them. [from author]
View this resource.
The HRH Global Resource Center has other resources on this topic including:
- Mobile Phones Improve Case Detection and Management of Malaria in Rural Bangladesh
- Mobile Health (mHealth) Approaches and Lessons for Increased Performance and Retention of Community Health Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review
- Mobile Learning for HIV/AIDS Health Care Workers' Training in Resource-Limited Settings
For additional resources on this topic, visit the eHealth & mHealth and Midwifery subject categories.
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