May 2016 Meeting Recap - Harnessing Closed User Groups
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In our May meeting on Harnessing Closed User Groups we had four presenters showcase the ways they use WhatsApp in their programs The growing popularity of WhatsApp and other programs such as Slack and Telegram allow health workers and other stakeholders to communicate with each other to share information about health services or more informal information such as the latest news in sports Embracing Digital Development Principle 7 Reuse and Improve utilizing WhatsApp allows us as program implementers to connect with health workers clients and even each other in exciting new ways Our meeting kicked off with a presentation from Dr Christoph Pimmer from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland He presented on the innovative work the Millennium Village Project is doing in Malawi to use WhatsApp to connect community health workers The program south to understand how CHW and supervisors used WhatsApp and if they would adapt the application as a way to share information with each other The program established two groups of about 20 CHWs supervisors and provided a short training on how to use WhatsApp techniques for prolonging the battery of the phone and how to tips to protect client privacy During the five months of the project over 2 000 messages were sent through WhatsApp The purpose of the messages were to Mobilize resources share information about trainings find out if any supplies and drugs were needed etc Problem Solve Seek advice from each other such as nutrition advice Acknowledge performance Motivational messages to encourage each other Enact empathy Connect socially and spiritually Engage in Cross Boundary Debates Anything from politics to sports to cuisine So what did they learn After the study the group concluded WhatsApp is easy to use and was a great way to connect with those isolated CHWs Some of the constraints included finding a balance between health related and non health related conversations the lack of the thematic structure as all of the conversation was in one channel and the limited ability of some CHW to type Power and connectivity were not surprisingly another challenge A final report will be coming soon so stay tuned to learn more Dr Pimmer asked that anyone interested share your WhatsApp Global Health experience in a short survey The next presentation came from Akuba Dolphyne at the Grameen Foundation in Ghana who presented on the Community Health Nurse CHN on the Go program The project which includes a mobile App to support health worker learning and point of care tools wanted to utilize the popular WhatsApp to connect with the CHN and Supervisors All users were given mobile devices and data plans as part of the program a different approach than the previous CHW work in Malawi in which CHWs used their own phones The Grameen project was implemented in five districts The groups used WhatsApp to communicate important messages across the districts such as national level information about salaries submit reports and share information on upcoming trainings Nurses used it to connect with supervisors to seek advice and report issues ahead of supervision visits Fellow CHN connected with each other and the Grameen staff even connected with the health workers to troubleshoot any issues throughout the project The project outcomes echoed the learnings from the Malawi presentation WhatsApp is a great tool to connect health workers and really bring people together One provider noted that the use of the app made our district smaller A final report on the project will be available in July or August Next up was Aly Azhar from VaxTrac an organization that builds implements and evaluates a mobile vaccine registry system The VaxTrac team is using WhatsApp to connect with each other bringing their staff in the Washington DC headquarters and their Benin office closer In Benin they are working with 99 health centers in three health zones and have staff spread out throughout the region By using WhatsApp they are able to share pictures share program monitoring information and have a little fun building their communications to facilitate team building with each other They like being able to export the conversations if they need the information for any M E reports Several Global Digital Health Network participants in the Washington meeting were nodding their heads they too use WhatsApp to connect with field staff and greatly value the benefit to connect with each other Our final presenter was Nandini Jayarajan from Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs She presented on an upcoming study in Kenya that seeks to understand what factors in using WhatsApp may enhance knowledge sharing Now that IRB approval has just been obtained the study will be kicking off in the coming weeks Using WhatsApp K4Health the CCP project supporting this activity will provide a seven week training to 30 participants on Health Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy The participants are all health workers or students training to be health workers in the Kitui District about 2 hours outside of Nairobi There will be two models for the study a points based system for using the platform for learning and a self directed model The study will have a pre and post test to measure knowledge outcomes but also interesting will be the motivation to use WhatsApp for learning by comparing the two groups A report will be coming next year when the study wraps The online chat and in person discussion at the May meeting was very engaging and this is a very popular topic There is no doubt that WhatsApp is a great way to connect groups and really engage health workers especially those in rural areas who may often feel isolated We would like to hear more from the Network about Closed User Groups For those on the phone or AdobeConnect who encountered some feedback we have worked with IT to correct the settings for the room This should pose no problem for future remote participation The June Global Digital Health Network meeting will take place on June 17 focused on Content adaptation Utilizing multimedia to support frontline community health Please join us to hear from mPowering Frontline Health Workers The Maternity Foundation on their Safe Delivery App the Global Health eLearning Center on the upcoming Content Adaptation Guide and Global Health Media Project which has dozens of new videos on breastfeeding and instruction on how to care for very sick children when referral is not possible We also will be hosting a Deep Dive on Sustainable Business Models on July 20 This meeting will be for in person participants only and space will be limited Registration will open June 1st Are you using WhatsApp Slack Facebook or another platform Do you have any reports or papers linking the impact of closed user groups and health services We invite you to discuss with us Warmest wishes Heidi Amanda
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Monthly Meeting Minutes, what's app