MoTeCH explores the potential for health service benefits of information technology even though little research has been done on the feasibility of utilizing mobile phone technology for reforming routine health information operations and improving community health care worker efficiency and health service effectiveness.
Why MoTECH?Grameen Foundation developed the Mobile Technology for Community Health project (MOTECH) in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. MOTECH was first piloted in the Kassena –Nankana West District in 2009 and later replicated in the Awutu Senya District in 2010. The intervention is now being scaled to three new districts, Gomoa West in Central, Ada East and West in Greater Accra and South Tongu in Volta. In Ghana MOTECH provides two interrelated services. The “Mobile Midwife” application enables pregnant women and their families to receive pre-recorded voice messages or SMS on their mobile phones that provide time-specific information about their pregnancy in their own language (the majority of women select voice messages). The messages continue throughout the first year of life for the newborn and reinforce well-child care practices and vaccination schedules. MOTECH MCH messages for pregnant parents include: Personal care during pregnant parents include: Newborn care, recognition of danger signs, developmental milestones, nutrition and breastfeeding, malaria, Immunizations, Postpartum family planning, diarrheal diseases and Pneumonia There is also a “Client Data Application” that enables Community Health Nurses based at Community Health Planning & Services (CHPS) facilities to use the mobile phone to electronically record care given to patients and identify women and newborns in their area that are due for care. The two components are linked so that if a patient has missed treatment that is part of the nationally defined care schedule, the Mobile Midwife service sends a message to remind the patient to go to the clinic for that particular service and the nurse is also informed that the patient is due for treatment. Goals and objectives of MoTECHMOTECH seeks to increase the quantity and quality of antenatal and infant health thus contributing directly to the achievement of the MDGs 4 & 5 in Ghana. The focus is on frontline community health facilities and poor rural women. MOTECH is currently functional in 5 out of the over 200 districts in Ghana and working towards national scale. To date MOTECH has reached out to 9,627 pregnant women and 24,145 children ( 5 years in 166 facilities (hospitals, polyclinics, Heath centers, CHPS facilities and private clinics and maternity homes). How can mothers and babies be saved with such a technology?By delivering timely actionable information targeting mothers on improved care seeking during pregnancy and the first year of life, by educating women about danger signs during pregnancy and early childhood and sending alerts and reminders to pregnant women and nursing mothers on timely care seeking for immunizations and other health checkups, MOTECH seeks to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality and increase infant and child survival. The technology will also improve health service provider capabilities for tracing defaulters and improving reporting on health outcomes. What kind of support do you need from the general public to make this a success?While MOTECH has proven to be a technology with great promise and potential for improved maternal and child health in the beneficiary districts, several challenges may prevent the realization of these laudable goals. They include poor network connectivity, low personal mobile phone ownership among women, poor connectivity to the national power grid and harmful traditional beliefs, myths and practices.Personal mobile phone ownership which is critical for MOTECH is roughly 57% in Awutu Senya, 23% for Kassena –Nankana West in Upper East and 63% in Gomoa West, implying many women without personal phones are unable to utilize MOTECH. Grameen Foundation would like the general public to donate generously to save lives. Funds to equip volunteers with mobile phones to enable access to messages for women without personal phones could help reduce maternal and infant deaths. Donations could be through corporate giving, or through annual gifts, matching gifts or project grants, or by sponsoring an event or program. The public could also support our work through short tern volunteer projects. There is more information on the Grameen Foundation HERE