Perspectives and experiences of community health workers in Brazilian primary care centers using m-health tools in home visits with community members

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art_SCHOEN_Perspectives_and_experiences_of_community_health_workers_in_2017.PDF (413.85 KB)
Citações na Scopus
25
Tipo de produção
article
Data de publicação
2017
DOI
Scopus
Web of Science
PubMed
Título da Revista
ISSN da Revista
Título do Volume
Editora
BIOMED CENTRAL LTD
Autores
SCHOEN, Julia
MALLETT, John William
GROSSMAN-KAHN, Rebecca
KASELITZ, Elizabeth
HEISLER, Michele
Citação
HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH, v.15, article ID 71, 10p, 2017
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Fascículo
Resumo
Background: Mobile health (m-health) tools are a promising strategy to facilitate the work of community health workers (CHWs) in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite their potential value, little is known about CHWs' experiences working with m-health tools in their outreach activities with community members. Methods: To understand the benefits of and barriers to using m-health tools for CHWs, we conducted semistructured interviews with 57 CHWs employed in six primary care centers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. All CHWs had experience using a cell phone application called Geohealth for collecting health and demographic data of community members. We assessed their experiences using Geohealth and recommendations for improvements. Results: CHWs described key benefits of using Geohealth as helping them save time with bureaucratic paperwork, organizing the data that they needed to collect, and by replacing sheaves of paper, reducing the weight that they carried in the field. However, there were many technical and social barriers to the successful adoption of the m-health tool. Key among these were poor quality hardware, faulty software programs, and negative community member perceptions of the m-health program. The CHWs provided valuable input as to how Geohealth could be improved to fit their needs. Conclusion: m-health tools have the potential to facilitate the work of CHWs in LMICs. However, such tools must be designed and implemented thoughtfully. Technical barriers related to both hardware and software must be anticipated and addressed to maximize their efficiency and successful adoption. CHW input on the design of the tool should be sought to maximize its utility and minimize barriers to use.
Palavras-chave
Community health workers, Brazil, Primary care, Community health, m-health, Qualitative research
URI
https://observatorio.fm.usp.br/handle/OPI/24317
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Coleções
Artigos e Materiais de Revistas Científicas - FM/MPE