Improving the health situation for pregnant women in rural south-western Uganda through the use of a mobile phone-based multimedia application

Project management

© Dr. Angella Musiimenta

Dr. Angella Musiimenta,
Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda
in cooperation with

 

Prof. Dr. Niels Pinkwart,
Humboldt University, Berlin

Project description

Maternal and child mortality rates remain high in many African countries. The maternal mortality rate in Uganda is considered one of the highest in the world, especially in rural and poorer areas. Traditional methods of health care delivery (e.g. face-to-face) have long been affected by stigma and discrimination, which can be particularly challenging for pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS.

The aim of the German-Ugandan cooperation project MatHealth was to improve the health of illiterate mothers in rural south-western Uganda with the help of a mobile phone-based multimedia application (app). The prototype mobile maternal health support technology was redesigned to be suitable for illiterate mothers and field-tested in rural Uganda to assess its preliminary impact on maternal health.

Project outputs include a conceptual framework for mobile health apps for illiterate mothers, with special attention to the needs of rural Africa, and the development of a multimedia mobile app for illiterate pregnant women with 30 videos and audios.

In 2019, the app was expanded in a follow-up project (MobileMomCare) to include prevention strategies against COVID-19 in response to the rapid spread of the virus in the context of poor health care for poor and illiterate mothers in Uganda.

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