ArticleJournal of public health (Oxford, England)2018
'The phone is my boss and my helper' - A gender analysis of an mHealth intervention with Health Extension Workers in Southern Ethiopia.
Article in Journal of public health (Oxford, England), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Planning for the Unexpected and Unintended Effects of mHealth Interventions: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Health workers' perceptions and experiences of using mHealth technologies to deliver primary healthcare services: a qualitative evidence synthesis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Safeguarding in practice: anticipating, minimising and mitigating risk in teenage pregnancy research in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.BMJ global health · 2024Article
- Development of a remote implementation support strategy to enhance integration of depression treatment into primary care settings in rural India.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- How Gender Influenced the Experience of Using a mHealth Intervention in Rural Mozambique: Secondary Qualitative Analysis of Community Health Worker Survey Data.Frontiers in global women's health · 2022Article
- The potential use of digital health technologies in the African context: a systematic review of evidence from Ethiopia.NPJ digital medicine · 2021Review
- Telemedicine in an Academic Movement Disorders Center during COVID-19.Journal of movement disorders · 2021Article
- Informal mhealth at scale in Africa: Opportunities and challenges.World development · 2021Article
- Gaps in Team Communication About Service Statistics Among Health Extension Workers in Ethiopia: Secondary Data Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Article
- How should community health workers in fragile contexts be supported: qualitative evidence from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Democratic Republic of Congo.Human resources for health · 2020Article
- Redressing the gender imbalance: a qualitative analysis of recruitment and retention in Mozambique's community health workforce.Human resources for health · 2020Article
- Barriers to Sustainable Telemedicine Implementation in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review.Telemedicine reports · 2020Review
- Gender dynamics in digital health: overcoming blind spots and biases to seize opportunities and responsibilities for transformative health systems.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2018Article
- Digital health, gender and health equity: invisible imperatives.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2018Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
Background: There is considerable optimism in mHealth's potential to overcome health system deficiencies, yet gender inequalities can weaken attempts to scale-up mHealth initiatives. We report on the gendered experiences of an mHealth intervention, in Southern Ethiopia, realised by the all-female cadre of Health Extension Workers (HEWs). Methodology: Following the introduction of the mHealth intervention, in-depth interviews (n = 19) and focus group discussions (n = 8) with HEWs, supervisors and community leaders were undertaken to understand whether technology acted as an empowering tool for HEWs. Data was analysed iteratively using thematic analysis informed by a socio-ecological model, then assessed against the World Health Organisation's gender responsive assessment scale. Results: HEWs reported experiencing: improved status after the intervention; respect from community members and were smartphone gatekeepers in their households. HEWs working alone at health posts felt smartphones provided additional support. Conversely, smartphones introduced new power dynamics between HEWs, impacting the distribution of labour. There were also negative cost implications for the HEWs, which warrant further exploration. Conclusion: MHealth has the potential to improve community health service delivery and the experiences of HEWs who deliver it. The introduction of this technology requires exploration to ensure that new gender and power relations transform, rather than disadvantage, women. Keywords: communities, e-health, gender.
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