Impact of WhatsApp Groups for Pregnant Women in Peri- Urban Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Leveraging Social Media Tools for Public Health Impact WhatsApp Use Cases What s up with WhatsApp Come learn how three NGOs are using this mobile communication technology to drive innovation and engagement in their work Jacaranda Health is pioneering a patient centered social support intervention using WhatsApp and measuring its impact on health outcomes for women and infants during pregnancy delivery and the postpartum period Based on demonstrated successes of in person group based pregnancy care models Jacaranda is studying the impact of a low cost easily accessible mobile tool that facilitates communication among pregnant women with the oversight of a moderator Jacaranda will share results from their RCT and discuss implications for scalability The Knowledge for Health K4Health Project tested the popular WhatsApp Messenger platform as a mode for delivering family planning continued professional development training content to Kenyan health workers A seven week training program on healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy was designed and delivered to 160 participants K4Health will highlight the lessons learned from an acceptability and feasibility study about this training program To support the implementation of service delivery improvement projects the Leadership Management and Governance LMG Project led by MSH integrated a peer support networking component via WhatsApp into the LMG for Midwifery Managers Course a five day workshop focused on a variety of leadership management and governance skills followed with individual six month action plans to address a clinical workplace challenge MSH will discuss how the use of a facilitated mobile networking group enabled midwifery managers to discuss service delivery improvement strategies share monitoring and evaluation data and provide peer support and encouragement during their six month workplace interventions Presented by Rachel M Jones Monitoring Evaluation Manager Jacaranda Health Jacaranda Maternity