University of Dar es Salaam School of Health Sciences

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Browsing University of Dar es Salaam School of Health Sciences by Author "Bishanga, Dunstan Raphael"

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    Requirements and logical model for a mobile Phone technology based reproductive and child health system in Tanzania: a case of Bagamoyo District Hospital
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2012) Bishanga, Dunstan Raphael
    Tanzania is amongst countries with very high number of maternal and child deaths in the world, while lack of adequate information among communities exacerbates the problem. This exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2010 in Bagamoyo District in the Coast region of Tanzania to determine requirements and then propose an appropriate logical model for a mobile phone technology based Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) system. The study employed a facility based approach where traditional methods for determining system requirements were used. Findings from this study showed that men and women did not think they were getting enough information regarding RCH services, and the same opinion was given by health workers. Thus, having alternative ways of disseminating health information to the community, in this case through mobile phones, was preferred and perceived useful. The study also demonstrated high perception of ownership of and accessibility to mobile phones among community members, where the use of SMS for sharing information was perceived to be a common practice in this community. The recommended audience for these messages extends beyond index mothers to include other gate keepers. Hence, the study summarizes the topics perceived by potential system users to be most appropriate for dissemination through SMS, pertaining to pregnancy, postnatal care and child care. Accordingly, the study proposes a logical model for a mobile phone technology based RCH system using data flow diagram (DFD) and structured English language. The proposed model responds to system requirements determined from potential users, including reminders for RCH clinic visits, dissemination of educational RCH messages and generation of regular RCH reports. Furthermore, some recommendations are made for the success of this system including a need to build capacity of health workers at respective facilities to be able to interact with the system effectively.