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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

335253
Improving Maternal Healthcare through Mobile Phones in India


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 3:22 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.

Nidhi Vij, PhD Candidate, The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, The Maxwell School , Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Abstract: This paper explores the potential of using mobile phones to improve maternal healthcare in India. India records 50,000 maternal deaths per year, 1 death every 10 minutes. Government of India offers numerous cash conditional maternal health policies to reduce maternal and infant mortality. However, in rural areas, free public healthcare and policy benefits remain underutilized due to low level of awareness, among other social-economic factors. Women are rarely aware of the policies and their benefits. According to Anderson’s Health Utilization Model, low awareness can lead to a low health policy take up, and healthcare underutilization.  

Amidst these issues, there is an upsurge in mobile-governance for information dissemination as mobile phones offer a low cost medium with most penetrative coverage. India is touted as the “Cell Phone Nation” with over 500 million users. Ostensibly, rural India has more mobile phones than toilets. For this research, the author broadcasted audio messages regarding maternal health and policy benefits to 82 pregnant women in a tribal community in Western India and followed them to trace any changes in their health preferences and maternal health policy take up. Using mixed methods of research, the findings confirm that mobile phones trigger active engagement and demand for public health but the decision to avail maternal healthcare policies is influenced by administrative burden, bureaucratic discretion, street level politics, conditionality attached to the benefits. The research recommends intensive public engagement, need for reduced administrative burden, and potential use of mobile phones as an innovative medium for improving maternal healthcare.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the shortcomings in maternal health policy design and implementation in India. Discuss the factors affecting maternal healthcare choices in rural India Evaluate the use of mobile phones to improve awareness about maternal healthcare policies in India,

Keyword(s): Maternal and Child Health, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: this is part of my doctoral dissertation work
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4332.0: Women’s health