Using Mobile Technology to Address the ‘Three Delays' to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Zanzibar

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Author(s): Rachel Hoy Deussom (IntraHealth International, USA), Marc Mitchell (Harvard School of Public Health, USA)and Julia Dae Ruben (D-Tree International, USA)
Copyright: 2016
Pages: 15
Source title: E-Health and Telemedicine: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Information Resources Management Association (USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8756-1.ch057

Keywords: Health Information Systems / Medical Information Science Reference / Medicine & Healthcare

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Abstract

The hallmark article by Thaddeus and Maine (1994) presented a framework to reducing maternal mortality by addressing the delays: (1) deciding to seek care; (2) reaching care; and (3) receiving adequate care. This project developed a phone-based system used by traditional birth attendants to address the three delays in two districts in rural Zanzibar. Mobile phones provided: clinical algorithms to screen pregnant mothers for danger signs; phone numbers and mobile banking to arrange and pay for transportation; and contacts for health facility staff to alert them of referrals. 938 mothers participated in the “mHealth for Safer Deliveries” project. The intervention achieved a 71.0% facility delivery rate in the project zone, compared to the regional average of 32.0% (NBS and ICF Macro, 2011). This project demonstrated the effectiveness of mobile technology in addressing childbirth's three delays and its potential to impact maternal mortality in low-income countries.

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Using Mobile Technology to Address the ‘Three Delays' to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Zanzibar

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