Browsing by Author "Wilkin, Holley"
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- ItemVulnerabilities in mHealth implementation: a Ugandan HIV/AIDS SMS campaign.(2013-04-03) Chib, Arul; Wilkin, Holley; Hoefman, BasHIV prevalence in Uganda has leveled off however trends indicate that incidence is on the rise and disproportionately affects certain vulnerable groups such as women There is growing support for using mobile health mHealth programs to reach vulnerable populations Using the Extended Technology Community Management model for mHealth we examined a text message campaign in Arua Uganda that disseminated and measured HIV AIDS knowledge and promoted HIV AIDS testing at clinics Empirical data from this campaign illustrated that mHealth campaigns need to address socio cultural informational economic and individual vulnerabilities We found for example that the interactive SMS quiz design motivated recipients with the correct HIV AIDS knowledge to respond and thus become eligible for free HIV screening In doing so however the more vulnerable sections of the population such as those with incorrect knowledge were further put at risk We discuss the programmatic implications and provide strategic recommendations for campaign focus particularly to reach young women
- ItemYou have an important message! Evaluating the effectiveness of a text message HIV/AIDS campaign in Northwest Uganda.(2012-05-02) Chib, Arul; Wilkin, Holley; Ling, Leow Xue; Hoefman, Bas; Van Biejma, HajoThere is a growing interest in the effect of mobile phones in health care mHealth service delivery but more research is needed to determine whether short message service SMS based campaigns are appropriate for developing countries This pilot study explored the efficacy of an mHealth campaign using SMS as a platform to disseminate and measure HIV AIDS knowledge and to promote HIV AIDS testing at clinics in rural Uganda Over a 1 month period 13 HIV AIDS quiz questions were sent to 10 000 mobile subscribers Despite participation incentives only one fifth of the mobile subscribers responded to any of the questions The campaign had proportionately limited success in increasing knowledge levels on a mass scale Furthermore the program design may be reinforcing entrenched knowledge gaps The results suggest that it is important to be conservative when considering the potential overall effect of SMS based programs However the authors recognize the potential of mHealth tools when extended to millions of mobile phone users as part of an integrated health campaign approach The authors propose several steps to improve the program design to reach a larger portion of the intended audience and increase campaign effectiveness