Health: Hype or Hope?

Cell-Life on mHealth 101

Dr Peter Benjamin [email protected]

Skype ID: peterbenjamin #PeterB_CellLife

www.cell-life.org.za

What is Cell-Life is?

• • • • • • Not-for-profit making tech & services accessible to improve health & meet social challenges Started 2010, UCT & CPUT Cape Town, SA 10 African countries (mainly SA) 25 staff (mainly techies) Open Source © Cell-Life 2011

• • •

What do we do?

1.

Applying eHealth (especially mHealth): Social & behaviour change communications 2.

Primary health system strengthening • • • • • • We are one of the few mHealth organisations active in Technical development Proof-of-concept pilots at sites Larger health system implementations Developing business models Research and Policy Lots of things ‘work’ as pilot, issue is  S C A L E

Main Services

Intelligent ARV Dispensing, Stock Management, and Reporting Data collection, Monitoring & Evaluation using mobile phones Mass HIV and health messaging using mobile phones Contributing to the mHealth evidence base © Cell-Life 2011

Intelligent Dispensing of Antiretroviral Treatment

• Software solution designed to support pharmacists dispense ARV & related drugs • Improved reporting, data quality, stock control • 300+ sites (92 main clinics, 211 down-referral) • 350,000 patients receive ARVs © Cell-Life 2011

iDART in action

Mobile Data Collection

© Cell-Life 2011

Clinical data collection in SA public sector

• Dept of Health cellphone rollout • 12,000 phones • Data collection for all 4,332 health facilities • First application: monitoring of HCT • Project awarded to Cell-Life and HISP • Initial rollout in 950 facilities June 2012 • Full rollout from Sept - Nov 2012 • Infrastructure for clinical mHealth © Cell-Life 2011

Tools for mass mobile communication

• Basic phones 25% mobiles in SA • Voice, SMS, Text menus (USSD) • “Feature phones” 65% mobiles in SA • Basic internet connection (GPRS) • WAP / Mobi-sites, MXit, Java Apps • Smartphones 10% UP  •Apps (Est 13,000 iPhone health Apps) © Cell-Life 2011

Communicate applications

Messaging for prevention & testing Soul City, SANAC, Brothers for Life, RTC, Just positive

Mass information for positive living Linking patients & clinics Counselling TAC Adherence Clubs, Siyayinqoba ECHO, Kidz +ve, DTHF, RHRU National AIDS Helpline Building capacity of HIV related organisations Maternal health CARIS, HIVAN, TAC ...

– over 100 organisations Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action

mHealth Research

• SMS to test • RCT 2,400 enrolled. Control; ‘Information’/‘Motivation’; 3 / 10 • Stat significant only with 10 ‘Motivational’ • PMTCT (ECHO @ Coronationville Hosp) • RCT 320 mothers (½ test, ½ control). SMS info & reminders.

• • • Msgs help women deal with status, ‘psycho-social’ support. Better retention @ 10 weeks.

2 Adherence trials MXit text counselling (RedChat) • MXit link with National AIDS Helpline. 55,000 conversations • Good access to youth, anonymity, multiuser © Cell-Life 2011

© Cell-Life 2010

“These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring”

(Clay Shirky, 2010)

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Towards mobile primary care

Formal health system inaccessible, inadequate or abusive to many mHealth can reduce the barrier to accessing healthcare The cellphone can be the first point of contact with the health system Like mBanking provide better financial services with users outside banks … © Cell-Life 2011

Towards primary mHealth

1. Promotive & Preventive 2. General health info 3. Triage services 4. CHW assistance 5. Clinical referral 6. Treatment support 7. Maternal & child health focus 8. School-based © Cell-Life 2011

Communicate

• Web based software solution/ Platform that Provides communication and information services through cell phone channels.

• SMS, USSD, WAP, MXIT

Dr Peter Benjamin [email protected]

Skype ID: peterbenjamin @PeterB_CellLife `

Nkosi Siyabonga Ke a leboga Dankie Thank you