“Must you make an app?” A qualitative exploration of socio-technical challenges and opportunities for designing digital maternal and child health solutions in Soweto, South Africa

Sonja Klingberg, Molebogeng Motlhatlhedi, Gugulethu Mabena, Tebogo Mooki, Nervo Verdezoto, Melissa Densmore, Shane A Norris and on behalf of the CoMaCH Network

PLOS Global Public Health, 2022, vol. 2, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Participatory and digital health approaches have the potential to create solutions to health issues and related inequalities. A project called Co-Designing Community-based ICTs Interventions for Maternal and Child Health in South Africa (CoMaCH) is exploring such solutions in four different sites across South Africa. The present study captures initial qualitative research that was carried out in one of the urban research sites in Soweto. The aim was twofold: 1) to develop a situation analysis of existing services and the practices and preferences of intended end-users, and 2) to explore barriers and facilitators to utilising digital health for community-based solutions to maternal and child health from multiple perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 participants, including mothers, other caregivers and community health workers. Four themes were developed using a framework method approach to thematic analysis: coping as a parent is a priority; existing services and initiatives lack consistency, coverage and effective communication; the promise of technology is limited by cost, accessibility and crime; and, information is key but difficult to navigate. Solutions proposed by participants included various digital-based and non-digital channels for accessing reliable health information or education; community engagement events and social support; and, community organisations and initiatives such as saving schemes or community gardens. This initial qualitative study informs later co-design phases, and raises ethical and practical questions about participatory intervention development, including the flexibility of researcher-driven endeavours to accommodate community views, and the limits of digital health solutions vis-à-vis material needs and structural barriers to health and wellbeing.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/artic ... journal.pgph.0001280 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/artic ... 01280&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pgph00:0001280

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001280

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS Global Public Health from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by globalpubhealth ().