mHealth is a term that means “mobile health,” as in harnessing the power of wireless technology to support healthcare provision, research or education. The infrastructure for mhealth is already in place as there are over 4.1 billion cell phones already in the world.
CORE Group has convened an “mhealth community of practice” for NGOs working on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health at the community level. We believe that this network is ideally positioned as a center point for innovation and field testing that will result in efficient, effective mhealth solutions: those that show measurable impact on the health of underserved women and children in low- and middle-income countries. Within the larger field of global health, mhealth efforts may have the most potential for impact within community-oriented programming, due to the "off site" and often remote nature of public health work carried out in communities and households.
Recent mHealth interest group items of note
Our mHealth fact sheet. A two-page introduction to mHealth, from the perspective of the field of Community Health.
Fundamentals of mHealth debate: A recent listserv discussion: interventions? architecture? platforms? As a new field, basic issues of approach are still under debate.
Publications
Exploring Health-related Uses of Mobile Phones: An Egyptian Case Study by Patricia Mechael
The Soul Beat: Mobiles for Development in Africa. Issue #157. Eighteen links to project descriptions and publications.
Resources
ICT4D "How CRS uses information and communications technology for development." Includes a short video on work in India and Niger, and a link to a project in Tanzania. Upcoming meeting: September 23, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
K4Health mHealth Toolkit. A wealth of mHealth resources addressing specific health issues (including reproductive health/family planning, HIV, malaria) and cross-cutting perspectives (including data collection and behavior change).
Kiwanja.net "Where technology meets anthropology, conservation and development," including news, projects, blog, links.
mHealth Summit Hosted by the Foundation for NIH, health professionals, IT experts and foundations converged at USAID to share experiences, tools and ideas. Visit the website to see presentations and resources. Upcoming meeting: November 8-10, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
Mobile Active A global network of people using mobile technology for social impact. Includes specific telecommunications data by country
NetHope A network of international humanitarian organizations working together to develop common products and platforms.
Technology Salon "A discussion at the intersection of technology and development."
UNF mHealth Alliance An umbrella organization to complement, draw together and expand upon the mHealth initiatives of multiple organizations around the world.
Platforms and tools applicable for community-level programming
Frontline SMS "Allows you to text message with large groups" and Frontline SMS Medic
Episurveyor "Data collection on mobile phones made incredibly simple" by Datadyne "Sustainable information technologies to benefit the world's neediest people."
Ushahidi "Crowdsourcing. Information collection, visualization and interactive mapping."