Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe
Background: Gaps still exist in reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 10–24 years. High Internet coverage and mobile phone penetration rates present opportunities for the use of mobile health (mHealth) to support access to health services. We present results...
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doaj-73ebe75256874821b211793828b551fb2021-09-28T14:50:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Reproductive Health2673-31532021-09-01310.3389/frph.2021.656351656351Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From ZimbabweDominica Dhakwa0Fungai H. Mudzengerere1Mulamuli Mpofu2Emmanuel Tachiwenyika3Florence Mudokwani4Blessing Ncube5Mutsa Pfupajena6Tendai Nyagura7Getrude Ncube8Taurayi A. Tafuma9Family Health International 360, Harare, ZimbabweZimbabwe Health Interventions, Harare, ZimbabweFamily Health International 360, Gaborone, BotswanaFamily Health International 360, Harare, ZimbabweZimbabwe Health Interventions, Harare, ZimbabweZimbabwe Health Interventions, Harare, ZimbabweZimbabwe Health Interventions, Harare, ZimbabweUnited States Agency for International Development Zimbabwe Mission, Harare, ZimbabweAIDS and TB Department, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Harare, ZimbabweZimbabwe Health Interventions, Harare, ZimbabweBackground: Gaps still exist in reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 10–24 years. High Internet coverage and mobile phone penetration rates present opportunities for the use of mobile health (mHealth) to support access to health services. We present results of an FHI 360 and Zimbabwe Health Interventions-implemented mHealth intervention for reproductive health (RH) and HIV testing service (HTS) referral among AGYW aged 10–19 years between October 2019 and September 2020.Methods: Adolescent girls and young women referred for RH and HTS under the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program had automatic reminders sent to their phones to facilitate access to services through short message service (SMS) and also using a paper-based system. These data were captured in a web-based District Health Information System (DHIS) database, which captured the referral completion status of the AGYW. Data for AGYW referred for RH and HTS for the period October 2018 to September 2019 for the paper-based system and October 2018 to September 2020 for the mHealth were extracted from District Health Information System version 2 (DHIS2) database and analyzed using SPSS to generate descriptive statistics. The Chi-square test was used to assess differences in referral completion rates by age-group; marital status, district, and type of service, as well as differences between mHealth and paper-based referral completion rates within each of the groups for the variables above.Results: A total of 8,800 AGYW referred for RH and HTS, where 4,355 and 4,445 were referred through the mHealth and paper-based systems, respectively. About 95.2% (4,148/4,355) and 87.8% (3,903/4,445) referred through mHealth and the paper-based system, respectively completed referrals. The median time for referral completion was 1 day (Range = 0–9 days) for mHealth and 11 days (Range = 0–28 days) for the paper-based system. AGYW referred through mHealth were 17.995 timesmore likely to complete the referral system than those referred through the paper-based system (OR =17.995; p <0.001).Conclusion: Compared to the paper-based referral system the mHealth solution resulted in a higher, service referral completion rates and shorter turnaround time. We recommend expansion of the mHealth solution to all DREAMS supported districts to increase uptake of RH and HTS among AGYW aged 10–19 years.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frph.2021.656351/fullmHealthreferralAGYWservicesdreamscommunity |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Dominica Dhakwa Fungai H. Mudzengerere Mulamuli Mpofu Emmanuel Tachiwenyika Florence Mudokwani Blessing Ncube Mutsa Pfupajena Tendai Nyagura Getrude Ncube Taurayi A. Tafuma |
spellingShingle |
Dominica Dhakwa Fungai H. Mudzengerere Mulamuli Mpofu Emmanuel Tachiwenyika Florence Mudokwani Blessing Ncube Mutsa Pfupajena Tendai Nyagura Getrude Ncube Taurayi A. Tafuma Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe Frontiers in Reproductive Health mHealth referral AGYW services dreams community |
author_facet |
Dominica Dhakwa Fungai H. Mudzengerere Mulamuli Mpofu Emmanuel Tachiwenyika Florence Mudokwani Blessing Ncube Mutsa Pfupajena Tendai Nyagura Getrude Ncube Taurayi A. Tafuma |
author_sort |
Dominica Dhakwa |
title |
Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe |
title_short |
Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe |
title_full |
Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe |
title_fullStr |
Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe |
title_full_unstemmed |
Use of mHealth Solutions for Improving Access to Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons From Zimbabwe |
title_sort |
use of mhealth solutions for improving access to adolescents' sexual and reproductive health services in resource-limited settings: lessons from zimbabwe |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Reproductive Health |
issn |
2673-3153 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
Background: Gaps still exist in reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 10–24 years. High Internet coverage and mobile phone penetration rates present opportunities for the use of mobile health (mHealth) to support access to health services. We present results of an FHI 360 and Zimbabwe Health Interventions-implemented mHealth intervention for reproductive health (RH) and HIV testing service (HTS) referral among AGYW aged 10–19 years between October 2019 and September 2020.Methods: Adolescent girls and young women referred for RH and HTS under the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program had automatic reminders sent to their phones to facilitate access to services through short message service (SMS) and also using a paper-based system. These data were captured in a web-based District Health Information System (DHIS) database, which captured the referral completion status of the AGYW. Data for AGYW referred for RH and HTS for the period October 2018 to September 2019 for the paper-based system and October 2018 to September 2020 for the mHealth were extracted from District Health Information System version 2 (DHIS2) database and analyzed using SPSS to generate descriptive statistics. The Chi-square test was used to assess differences in referral completion rates by age-group; marital status, district, and type of service, as well as differences between mHealth and paper-based referral completion rates within each of the groups for the variables above.Results: A total of 8,800 AGYW referred for RH and HTS, where 4,355 and 4,445 were referred through the mHealth and paper-based systems, respectively. About 95.2% (4,148/4,355) and 87.8% (3,903/4,445) referred through mHealth and the paper-based system, respectively completed referrals. The median time for referral completion was 1 day (Range = 0–9 days) for mHealth and 11 days (Range = 0–28 days) for the paper-based system. AGYW referred through mHealth were 17.995 timesmore likely to complete the referral system than those referred through the paper-based system (OR =17.995; p <0.001).Conclusion: Compared to the paper-based referral system the mHealth solution resulted in a higher, service referral completion rates and shorter turnaround time. We recommend expansion of the mHealth solution to all DREAMS supported districts to increase uptake of RH and HTS among AGYW aged 10–19 years. |
topic |
mHealth referral AGYW services dreams community |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frph.2021.656351/full |
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