mHealth outcomes for pregnant mothers in Malawi: a capability perspective

Mphatso Nyemba-Mudenda and Wallace Chigona

Information Technology for Development, 2018, vol. 24, issue 2, 245-278

Abstract: Reducing maternal mortality rate (MMR) by 75% by the year 2015 was the primary target for Millennium Development Goal 5. However, between 1990 and 2015 the MMR only fell by 50%. Sustainable Development Goal 3 aims to reduce the global MMR to 0.1% by the year 2030. Mobile technology for healthcare service delivery (mHealth) is being implemented in many developing countries to address challenges faced in maternal health in trying to achieve this goal. Existing literature on mHealth tends to focus mainly on design and implementation of mHealth projects, a few studies have evaluated mHealth interventions to assess health outcomes. This study evaluates the effectiveness of mHealth based on consumers' capabilities, and investigates how mHealth contributes towards social change and human development using the capability approach theoretical framework. The findings show that the use of mobile phones to access health information and healthcare services can generate a number of opportunities for women in maternal health, not only for health purposes but also for their informational, economic and psychological wellbeing. However, the generation of the opportunities and realisation of the outcomes is mediated by a myriad of personal, social, and environmental factors that are either enabling or restrictive.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/02681102.2017.1397594

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