mHealth in the context of primary health care re-engineering in South Africa: a pilot study in the north west province (Poster)

'A mHealth system (using cell phones) for CHWs, mimicking the data required for the District Health Information System (DHIS) is being field tested in the North West Province. The system (built on the Mobenzi Outreach platform) is implemented in a PHC re-engineering pilot site and as such the 10 participating CHWs are employed in a ward-based outreach team managed by a professional nurse. [...] The above is the result of 12 months' iterative implementation and development, and the system currently hosts records of all CHW visits and patient interactions for 1 460 clients. The research team highlighted the instantaneous recording of services and visual display of real-time data as the most important benefit compared to paper-based monitoring and evaluation. However, they emphasised that the system in itself does not guarantee improved supervision and the delivery of quality services. There is no alternative to well supervised visits to ascertain the quality of the service provided by the CHW, and the team had to invest considerable time to ensure that the supervisor utilises the system optimally.'