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
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
PLOS ONE
Abstract
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.
Methods
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
par ticipants using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was utilized
for the analysis of data in this study.
Result
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
Description
This article is published by Plos One and is also available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261806
Keywords
Citation
Acquah-Gyan E, Acheampong PR, Mohammed A, Adjei TK, Agyapong E, Twumasi Ankrah S, et al. (2022) 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 17(1): e0261806