Shuai Shao
University of Melbourne, Australia
Title: Information and Communication Technology Capacity of mHealth implementation for cardiovascular management in Limited-Resource Settings in China, Vietnam and Kenya, a study from both Patient and Facility perspective
Biography
Biography: Shuai Shao
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: mHealth is increasingly becoming a promising solution to cardiovascular management around the world. Information and communication technology (ICT) play key roles for such intervention to succeed for improved health outcomes, however the underlying infrastructure required for mHealth implementation has not been adequately assessed, especially in limited-resource settings.
Objective: To evaluate the capacity of ICT in cardiovascular management in limited-resource primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in China, Vietnam and Kenya, from both patients’ and PHC providers’ perspectives.
Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Kunshan City and Nanhe County in China, Chi Linh District in Vietnam and Nairobi City and Machakos County in Kenya. Our study included a total of 46 PHCs in limited-resource settings and 305 patients who utilized cardiovascular-related services at those PHCs.
Findings: We found that mobile phone ownership was highly prevalent among the sampled patients as on average 85% of sampled patients possessed a mobile phone. Patients in Kenya sent or received 3.84 text messages daily on average whereas the number was 1.4 and 1.6 among Chinese and Vietnamese patients, respectively.
All PHCs in China and Vietnam could access Internet although only 20% of sampled facilities in Kenya had Internet access. In terms of hardware, all of the 46 PHCs had at least one desktop or laptop computer. Ownership of tablet devices was rare in both Kenya and Vietnam whereas almost half of the facilities in China owned at least one tablet device. Almost all of the PHCs owned at least one basic or smart phone.
Conclusion : In selected PHCs in China, Kenya, and Vietnam, use of ICT was prevalent at both the facility and patient levels with varying degree of deficit across platforms and countries. ICT environment appraisal is crucial to the design and implementation of mHealth interventions for limited-resource settings.