ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2017
mHealth for Clinical Decision-Making in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Barriers and facilitators to the implementation and adoption of computerised clinical decision support systems: an overview of reviews.Systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- The mHealth clinical decision-making tools for maternal and perinatal health care in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- A mobile health application use among diabetes mellitus patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Pooled it
- The global effect of digital health technologies on health workers' competencies and health workplace: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and lexical-based and sentence-based meta-analysis.The Lancet. Digital health · 2023Pooled it
- Decision-support tools via mobile devices to improve quality of care in primary healthcare settings.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Electronic Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (eIMCI): a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an electronic clinical decision-making support system for management of sick children in primary health care facilities in South Africa.BMC health services research · 2024Trial
- A digital health registry with clinical decision support for improving quality of antenatal care in Palestine (eRegQual): a pragmatic, cluster-randomised, controlled, superiority trial.The Lancet. Digital health · 2022Trial
- Can an mhealth clinical decision-making support system improve adherence to neonatal healthcare protocols in a low-resource setting?BMC pediatrics · 2020Trial
- Mixed-methods evaluation of clinician experiences and adoption patterns of an EHR-integrated generative AI-based clinical decision support uptake by clinicians in Kenya.BMJ digital health & AI · 2026Article
- Scoping review of artificial intelligence via mobile technology and social media for health in Africa.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A Novel Approach to Assessing the Potential of Electronic Decision Support Systems to Improve the Quality of Antenatal Care in Nepal.Global health, science and practice · 2025Article
- Article
- Assessing the Response Results of an mHealth-Based Patient Experience Survey Among People Receiving HIV Care in Lusaka, Zambia: Cohort Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Advancing mHealth Research in Low-Resource Settings: Young Women's Insights and Implementation Challenges with Wearable Smartwatch Devices in Uganda.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- "Following the data": perceptions of and willingness to use clinical decision support tools to inform HIV care among Haitian clinicians.Health policy and technology · 2024Article
- Regulatory Standards and Guidance for the Use of Health Apps for Self-Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Unlocking the potentials of digital twins for optimal healthcare delivery in Africa.Oxford open digital health · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn a bid to deliver quality health services in resource-poor settings, mobile health (mHealth) is increasingly being adopted. The role of mHealth in facilitating evidence-based clinical decision-making through data collection, decision algorithms, and evidence-based guidelines, for example, is established in resource-rich settings. However, the extent to which mobile clinical decision support systems (mCDSS) have been adopted specifically in resource-poor settings such as Africa and the lessons learned about their use in such settings are yet to be established.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to synthesize evidence on the use of mHealth for point-of-care decision support and improved quality of care by health care workers in Africa.
methodsA scoping review of 4 peer-reviewed and 1 grey literature databases was conducted. No date limits were applied, but only articles in English language were selected. Using pre-established criteria, 2 reviewers screened articles and extracted data. Articles were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and MAXQDA.
resultsWe retained 22 articles representing 11 different studies in 7 sub-Saharan African countries. Interventions were mainly in the domain of maternal health and ranged from simple text messaging (short message service, SMS) to complex multicomponent interventions. Although health workers are generally supportive of mCDSS and perceive them as useful, concerns about increased workload and altered workflow hinder sustainability. Facilitators and barriers to use of mCDSS include technical and infrastructural support, ownership, health system challenges, and training.
conclusionsThe use of mCDSS in sub-Saharan Africa is an indication of progress in mHealth, although their effect on quality of service delivery is yet to be fully explored. Lessons learned are useful for informing future research, policy, and practice for technologically supported health care delivery, especially in resource-poor settings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.