Abstract
Pakistan is among the countries with a considerably high rate of childhood deaths. Immediate cause for a large number of these deaths is diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria, which can be easily prevented through health education. This study explores the effectiveness of mobile phone memory cards, also known as SD cards or external storage, to deliver video health messages in a rural community affected by floods in Pakistan. The study used a pre-post-test within group design to measure the effectiveness of mobile phones for improving health outcomes. The results of the study revealed that the provision of health information will make a difference in preventing illnesses among children under 5 by empowering parents to make informed decisions for early diagnosis. The study design relied on the training of one male Community Health Worker (CHW) who then conducted mobile phone-based health education sessions with 100 male participants. The CHW transferred educational videos to the memory and after showing the videos using a structured paper-based questionnaire. Results show a statistically significant increase in knowledge about diarrhea and pneumonia danger signs. Specifically, participants showed a statistically significant increase in knowledge about increased water-intake during diarrhea, and on the importance of seeking timely healthcare without further delays. Further, the participants were also observed sharing the videos among other members of the community through Bluetooth, however the extent of this message dissemination was not recorded. Overall, the study offers possibilities to use mobile phone memory cards for health education campaigns in low-resource settings in Pakistan. The study also offers implications to use mobile phone memory cards for other health issues such as diabetes, cancer screening, hepatitis, and mental health among others
Syed Ali Hussain. (2019) Exploring the Use of Mobile Phones to Improve Child Health Awareness in Rural Pakistan, Journal of Gender and Social Issues, Volume 18, Issue 1.
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