Mobile consulting (mConsulting) and its potential for providing access to quality healthcare for populations living in low-resource settings of low- and middle-income countries
Autor: | Jocelyn Anstey Watkins, Pauline Bakibinga, Caroline J. Huxley, Olufunke Fayehun, Komal Tabani, Romaina Iqbal, Eme T. Owoaje, Muntasir Billah, Frances Griffiths, Theodoros N. Arvanitis, Bronwyn Harris, Richard J. Lilford, Omar Rahman, Beatrice Chipwaza, Jackie Sturt, Saleem Sayani, David Davies, Senga Pemba, Akinyinka O. Omigbodun, Jonathan Cave, Motunrayo Ajisola, Caroline W Kabaria, Jo Sartori, Rita Yusuf, Nazratun Nayeem Choudhury |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
020205 medical informatics
Quality healthcare rural areas Health Informatics 02 engineering and technology slums lcsh:Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Health Information Management Health care 0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering Mobile technology 030212 general & internal medicine remote consultation Marketing mHealth Remote Consultation mConsulting business.industry Health Policy healthcare Computer Science Applications low-and middle-income countries mobile consulting Low and middle income countries Key (cryptography) lcsh:R858-859.7 Original Article Business Rural area |
Zdroj: | Digital Health, Vol 6 (2020) Digital Health |
ISSN: | 2055-2076 |
Popis: | Objective The poorest populations of the world lack access to quality healthcare. We defined the key components of consulting via mobile technology (mConsulting), explored whether mConsulting can fill gaps in access to quality healthcare for poor and spatially marginalised populations (specifically rural and slum populations) of low- and middle-income countries, and considered the implications of its take-up. Methods We utilised realist methodology. First, we undertook a scoping review of mobile health literature and searched for examples of mConsulting. Second, we formed our programme theories and identified potential benefits and hazards for deployment of mConsulting for poor and spatially marginalised populations. Finally, we tested our programme theories against existing frameworks and identified published evidence on how and why these benefits/hazards are likely to accrue. Results We identified the components of mConsulting, including their characteristics and range. We discuss the implications of mConsulting for poor and spatially marginalised populations in terms of competent care, user experience, cost, workforce, technology, and the wider health system. Conclusions For the many dimensions of mConsulting, how it is structured and deployed will make a difference to the benefits and hazards of its use. There is a lack of evidence of the impact of mConsulting in populations that are poor and spatially marginalised, as most research on mConsulting has been undertaken where quality healthcare exists. We suggest that mConsulting could improve access to quality healthcare for these populations and, with attention to how it is deployed, potential hazards for the populations and wider health system could be mitigated. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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