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Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Introduction: Digital health support using mobile and digital technologies, such as MomConnect and WhatsApp, is providing opportunities to improve maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, the perspective of health service providers, pregnant women, and mothers as recip...

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Autores principales: Muthelo, Livhuwani, Mbombi, Masenyani Oupa, Bopape, Mamare Adelaide, Mothiba, Tebogo M., Densmore, Melissa, van Heerden, Alastair, Norris, Shane A., Dias, Nervo Verdezoto, Griffiths, Paula, Mackintosh, Nicola
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9914499/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36767230
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031842
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author Muthelo, Livhuwani
Mbombi, Masenyani Oupa
Bopape, Mamare Adelaide
Mothiba, Tebogo M.
Densmore, Melissa
van Heerden, Alastair
Norris, Shane A.
Dias, Nervo Verdezoto
Griffiths, Paula
Mackintosh, Nicola
author_facet Muthelo, Livhuwani
Mbombi, Masenyani Oupa
Bopape, Mamare Adelaide
Mothiba, Tebogo M.
Densmore, Melissa
van Heerden, Alastair
Norris, Shane A.
Dias, Nervo Verdezoto
Griffiths, Paula
Mackintosh, Nicola
author_sort Muthelo, Livhuwani
collection PubMed
description Introduction: Digital health support using mobile and digital technologies, such as MomConnect and WhatsApp, is providing opportunities to improve maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, the perspective of health service providers, pregnant women, and mothers as recipients of digital health support is under-researched in rural areas. Material and Methods: An exploratory-descriptive qualitative research approach was adopted to reflect on the experiences of mothers, community leaders, and community health workers on mobile health opportunities in the context of maternal and child health in rural areas. Purposive sampling was used to select 18 participants who participated in the two focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews for data collection about digital maternal and child health support. The thematic open coding method of data analysis assisted authors in making sense of the given reflections of mothers, community leaders, and healthcare workers about digital health support. Results: Participants commented on different existing digital support apps and their importance for maternal and child health. For example, MoMConnect, Pregnancy+, WhatsApp, and non-digital resources were perceived as useful ways of communication that assist in improving maternal and child health. However, participants reported several challenges related to the use of digital platforms, which affect following the health instructions given to pregnant women and mothers. Conclusions: Participants expressed the significant role of digital support apps in maternal and child health, which is impacted by various challenges. Addressing the lack of digital resources could improve access to health instructions for pregnant women and mothers.
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spelling pubmed-99144992023-02-11 Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa Muthelo, Livhuwani Mbombi, Masenyani Oupa Bopape, Mamare Adelaide Mothiba, Tebogo M. Densmore, Melissa van Heerden, Alastair Norris, Shane A. Dias, Nervo Verdezoto Griffiths, Paula Mackintosh, Nicola Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Introduction: Digital health support using mobile and digital technologies, such as MomConnect and WhatsApp, is providing opportunities to improve maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, the perspective of health service providers, pregnant women, and mothers as recipients of digital health support is under-researched in rural areas. Material and Methods: An exploratory-descriptive qualitative research approach was adopted to reflect on the experiences of mothers, community leaders, and community health workers on mobile health opportunities in the context of maternal and child health in rural areas. Purposive sampling was used to select 18 participants who participated in the two focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews for data collection about digital maternal and child health support. The thematic open coding method of data analysis assisted authors in making sense of the given reflections of mothers, community leaders, and healthcare workers about digital health support. Results: Participants commented on different existing digital support apps and their importance for maternal and child health. For example, MoMConnect, Pregnancy+, WhatsApp, and non-digital resources were perceived as useful ways of communication that assist in improving maternal and child health. However, participants reported several challenges related to the use of digital platforms, which affect following the health instructions given to pregnant women and mothers. Conclusions: Participants expressed the significant role of digital support apps in maternal and child health, which is impacted by various challenges. Addressing the lack of digital resources could improve access to health instructions for pregnant women and mothers. MDPI 2023-01-19 /pmc/articles/PMC9914499/ /pubmed/36767230 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031842 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Muthelo, Livhuwani
Mbombi, Masenyani Oupa
Bopape, Mamare Adelaide
Mothiba, Tebogo M.
Densmore, Melissa
van Heerden, Alastair
Norris, Shane A.
Dias, Nervo Verdezoto
Griffiths, Paula
Mackintosh, Nicola
Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_full Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_fullStr Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_short Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_sort reflections on digital maternal and child health support for mothers and community health workers in rural areas of limpopo province, south africa
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9914499/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36767230
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031842
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