Implementation of m-health applications in Botswana: telemedicine and education on mobile devices in a low resource setting.
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Date
2013-05-22
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Abstract
Although Botswana has recently been categorised as an upper middle income country it is burdened by a scarcity of resources both human and technological There are barriers to patients access to specialized care and healthcare providers access to medical knowledge Over the past three years the Botswana University of Pennsylvania Partnership BUP has piloted four mobile telemedicine projects in the specialties of women s health cervical cancer screening utilizing visual inspection with acetic acid radiology oral medicine and dermatology Mobile telemedicine has been used in 11 locations in Botswana training a total of 24 clinicians and successfully contributing to the management of 643 cases In addition to mobile telemedicine BUP has initiated an m learning programme with the University of Botswana School of Medicine While successfully providing patients and providers with improved access to healthcare resources the m health projects have faced numerous technical and social challenges These include malfunctioning mobile devices unreliable IT infrastructure accidental damage to mobile devices and cultural misalignment between IT and healthcare providers BUP has worked with its local partners to develop solutions to these problems To ensure sustainability m health programmes must have strategic goals that are aligned with those of the national health and education system and the initiatives must be owned and led by local stakeholders Whenever possible open source technology and local IT expertise and infrastructure should be employed
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Facility-based health worker, Client, Community-based health worker, Manager, Access to information or data, Health worker competence, Quality of care, Supply of services, Diversity of treatment options, Continuity of care, Alignment with local norms, Geographic inaccessibility, Cancer, Oral health, Social and behavior change communication, Health education or promotion, Provider training and education