ArticleBMC primary care2024
Barriers and benefits of mHealth for community health workers in integrated community case management of childhood diseases in Banda Parish, Kampala, Uganda: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC primary care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Is Digital Healthcare Better Than None? The Digital Health Technology Dilemma in Low-Income Countries.Asian bioethics review · 2026Article
- Generalization of AI-Based Gestational Age Assessment Using Blind Sweep Ultrasonography.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Teledermatology: The Most Recent Advancements and Applications of Mobile Apps: A Narrative Review.Health science reports · 2026Review
- i-MoMCARE: AI-enabled mobile app for maternal and child health care in Cambodia - a pilot implementation and evaluation study.BMJ health & care informatics · 2026Article
- Pregnant women's and health workers' perceptions and experiences on the Rwandan ANC digital module intervention at selected health centres.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Perceived benefits of community-based TB preventive treatment in children in Uganda: "When she sees other children getting the same medication, she will feel not alone."PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Community health workers' usability and acceptability of an mHealth tool for post-cesarean assessments: A mixed-methods study in rural Rwanda.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Evaluating Cost Savings Associated with a Patient-Facing Asthma Mobile Health Intervention.Applied clinical informatics · 2025Article
- Barriers to the Utilization of mHealth Applications in Saudi Arabia: Insights from Patients with Chronic Diseases.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Healthcare Practitioners' Perceptions of mHealth Application Barriers: Challenges to Adoption and Strategies for Enhancing Digital Health Integration.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Examining Healthcare Practitioners' Perceptions of Virtual Physicians, mHealth Applications, and Barriers to Adoption: Insights for Improving Patient Care and Digital Health Integration.International journal of general medicine · 2025Article
- Barriers to the utilization of the Sehaty mobile health application in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey of non-healthcare users.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLow-quality data presents a significant challenge for community health workers (CHWs) in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mobile health (mHealth) applications offer a solution by enabling CHWs to record and submit data electronically. However, the barriers and benefits of mHealth usage among CHWs in informal urban settlements remain poorly understood. This study sought to determine the barriers and benefits of mHealth among CHWs in Banda parish, Kampala.
methodsThis qualitative study involved 12 key informant interviews (KIIs) among focal persons from Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) and NGOs involved in data collected by CHWs, and officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and two mixed-sex Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) of CHWs from Banda parish, Kampala district. Data analysis utilised Atlas Ti Version 7.5.7. Thematic analysis was conducted, and themes were aligned with the social-ecological model.
resultsThree themes of institutional and policy, community and interpersonal, and individual aligning to the Social ecological model highlighted the factors contributing to barriers and the benefits of mHealth among CHWs for iCCM. The key barriers to usability, acceptability and sustainability included high training costs, CHW demotivation, infrastructure limitations, data security concerns, community awareness deficits, and skill deficiencies. Conversely, mHealth offers benefits such as timely data submission, enhanced data quality, geo-mapping capabilities, improved CHW performance monitoring, community health surveillance, cost-effective reporting, and CHW empowering with technology.
conclusionDespite limited mHealth experience, CHWs expressed enthusiasm for its potential. Implementation was viewed as a solution to multiple challenges, facilitating access to health information, efficient data reporting, and administrative processes, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Successful mHealth implementation requires addressing CHWs' demotivation, ensuring reliable power and network connectivity, and enhancing capacity for digital data ethics and management. By overcoming these barriers, mHealth can significantly enhance healthcare delivery at the community level, leveraging technology to optimize resource utilization and improve health outcomes. mHealth holds promise for transforming CHW practices, yet its effective integration necessitates targeted interventions to address systemic challenges and ensure sustainable implementation in LMIC contexts.
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