“We are encouraged by the positive consumer feedback we have received for our alerts to date. If effective, mDiabetes will add to the evidence base for mHealth and become the cornerstone of a chronic disease prevention model for the developing world” Dr Sandhya Ramalingam, Head, Program Evaluation, Arogya World
betes prevention mHealth initiative started in January 2012, in India. As part of mDiabetes, an ongoing Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) send alerts in 12 regional languages, informing Nokia mobile phone users in India about diabetes and its prevention with lifestyle changes. It is also estimated that more than 70,000 consumers have completed the six-month program, having received free-of-charge mDiabetes alerts twice a week. Todate, Nokia Life services covering topics such as health, education and agriculture have been experienced by more than 95 million people across India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria. To cater to the growing number of elderly people living alone in urban cities, a personalised telecare service which helps senior citizens to manage their health and safety while staying connected with family is also launched in the market. ’HelpSOS’ offers services like medication and doctor appointment reminders as well as informing the family of an elderly living alone in case of an emergency through automated calls, SMS or email on a daily basis. Once you have registered with HelpSOS with the details, an exclusive number would be provided to the person which he can use to avail the service. This service is present across India in 11 regional languages as well as English. The services are offered under three
categories, health reminders; which include medication, vaccination and doctor appointment reminders. Care calls, under which the elderly remain connected with their family members, offer an automated call, daily requests confirmation of the senior’s well-being and notifying the family if the person is unwell or does not respond to the calls. The third is the emergency notification, which allows a senior to notify multiple family members when an unexpected event occurs anywhere, anytime. According to HelpAge India, an estimated 100 million elderly live in India and by 2025, 40 percent of the population, over 75, is likely to live alone and therefore there is need to focus on the needs of the urban elderly. It’s often the only device they can access; an SMS text information cam-
paign can significantly improve the impact and efficiency of organisations’ disease prevention programmes. In maternal, newborn and child health, we are witnessing the game-changing effects that mobile technology has to offer through services such as pregnancy and birth registries, immunisation and nutrition tracking. These services could prove useful in sub-Saharan Africa for instance, where more than 1.2 million newborns die each year and one in nine children do not reach the age of five, according to the report by GSMA and PwC. But the financing of mobile health in the developing world is still uncertain.”The question of financial sustainability and ultimately ‘who pays?’ poses persistent challenges in this sector.
april / 2013 ehealth.eletsonline.com
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