Mama Tayo, a pregnant
mother of three lovely kids is in labor for her fourth child, but this is a
different experience. She is bleeding from her private part. This never
happened in her previous deliveries. She quickly picks up her mobile phone and
calls the local mid-wife (Nurse Sarah) and her husband who is on night shift as
a security guard in a bank outside the community. Nurse Sarah, realizing the
situation was out of her comfort zone calls the doctor in the local health
center. In the health center, Mama Tayo has to be referred to a hospital with
better facilities suitable for a surgery. Another call is made to a private
hospital in town and Papa Tayo is sent a text message on the new developments.
Now in a taxi cum ambulance, Nurse Sarah is on the phone with the nurses and
doctors from the private hospital. Vital signs, estimated volume of blood loss,
contraction strengths, uterine size, dilatation etc are being communicated. On
getting to the hospital, she is immediately prepped for surgery. Papa Tayo
is asked to make a deposit. He runs to a nearby ATM machine, makes the
withdrawal and the surgery is performed. Mama Tayo is delivered of a beautiful
baby girl. Mobile communication just reduced maternal and infant mortality by
ONE each.
mHealth (or mobile
health) is a sub-group of eHealth (electronic health). It involves the
use of mobile devices (phones, tablets laptops) in healthcare delivery and
service provision. The use of mobile telecommunication in healthcare delivery
and service is blowing up exponentially. As a public health enthusiast and a
tech addict, I am really excited about the prospects of the future of
healthcare delivery. Let’s put my excitement aside and talk about the
‘prospects’ of the mobile health communication in the near future.
The United Nations
reported in October 2012 that about 6 billion people worldwide have mobile
phone subscriptions. In some countries like South Africa, Peru, Singapore,
Iran, it is estimated that there are a higher proportion of mobile phones
to the human beings in the country. In Nigeria, about 72.3% of the over 150
million citizens have access to mobile phones. Also, internet users in Africa
have risen from 3% in 2006 to 11% in 2011. This has made accessing health and
health related information a lot easier. Health tips in form of text messages,
calls from special numbers made by mobile carriers, relative ease to accessing
the internet has improved peoples knowledge of certain diseases like HIV/AIDS,
malaria, breast cancer, etc.
mHealth is not only catering
for the needs of the patients. The doctors, nurses and other health workers
have come to appreciate the use of mobile health in making diagnosis,
exchanging ideas on treatment plans and in the case of mama Tayo, getting vital
patient history in emergency. It is estimated that about 81% of physicians use
medical applications on smart phones and tablets in seeking medical
information. Also, the ease in storing patient records, making and monitoring
of patient’s referrals, and reporting of new cases of diseases marked for
elimination and eradication.
Mobile health has made
information aspects of public health like epidemiology, bio-statistics and
reproductive health etc available not only to the developed nations, but also
to the people of the under-developed nations.
With all the talk of
mobile health revolutionizing healthcare delivery, it has to be noted that its
implementation is very expensive especially to governments of third world
nations. The cost of putting the necessary infrastructure and man-power
together has been one of the major factors militating against its
implementation and overall success in these countries. Notwithstanding, the
chorus is loud and clear for all to hear. Embracing mobile health will help
bridge the gap to attaining better and quality health care delivery.
Mama Tayo named her
daughter Ibukun, meaning blessings. Definitely, the Ibukun of mobile health is
here for all to share.
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