Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Nov 27, 2017
Date Accepted: Jan 13, 2018
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Women’s Perceptions of Using Mobile Phones for Maternal and Child Health Support in Afghanistan: Cross-Sectional Survey
Background:
Growing rates of global mobile subscriptions pave the way for implementation of mobile health (mHealth) initiatives, especially among hard-to-reach populations.
Objective:
This study aimed to determine the perceptions of Afghan women regarding the use of mobile phones for maternal and child health services.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in both rural and urban districts of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. The interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants’ demographic profile, mobile phone usage, and perception of respondents toward different aspects of health care delivery via mobile phones.
Results:
Of the 240 participants, 142 (59.2%) owned mobile phones and 220 (91.7%) routinely used mobile phones. Approximately 209 (87.1%) of participants were willing to receive health messages via a mobile phone. Automated voice call was the most preferred method for sending health messages. More than 90% of the women reported that they would like to receive reminders for their children’s vaccinations and antenatal care visits.
Conclusions:
Users’ perception was associated with mobile phone ownership, literacy level, and experience using mobile phones. In the study area, where the literacy rate is low, mHealth was well perceived.
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