Health Worker mHealth Utilization: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Global Health
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) technologies are increasingly explored for healthcare delivery in resource-limited environments.
• Existing literature lacks a comprehensive synthesis of mHealth interventions targeting healthcare workers in low-resource settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review mHealth interventions for healthcare workers in low-resource settings.
• To identify common intervention categories, methodologies, and reported outcomes.
• To assess the utility and limitations of mHealth in these contexts.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of the PubMed database (March 2009 - May 2015).
• Inclusion of 31 articles reporting on mHealth interventions for healthcare workers.
• Categorization of interventions into data collection, patient communication, inter-professional communication, and public health surveillance.

Main Results:

• Four primary categories of mHealth interventions were identified.
• Studies predominantly used mixed-methods approaches to evaluate acceptability, barriers, healthcare delivery changes, and health outcomes.
• Evidence suggests substantial benefits of mobile technology for healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare delivery, though few studies explicitly used theory for development or evaluation.

Conclusions:

• mHealth tools demonstrate significant utility and potential for improving healthcare systems in low-resource settings.
• Key limitations include insufficient program sustainability, unreliable infrastructure (internet, electricity), and security concerns.
• Further research and strategic implementation are needed to overcome barriers and maximize the impact of mHealth.