Ethical implications of the widespread use of informal mHealth methods in Ghana
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21515232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuel Asiedu Owusu (0000-0002-9249-6036, Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 563-568 |
| Publication date | 2024-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Medical Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0306-6800 • E-ISSN: 1473-4257 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/medethics-2021-107920 |
| PMID | 35396337 |
| OpenAlex | W4223583270 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 36 |
BACKGROUND: Informal mHealth is widely used by community health nurses in Ghana to extend healthcare delivery services to clients who otherwise might have been excluded from formal health systems or would experience significant barriers in their quest to access formal health services. The nurses use their private mobile phones or devices to make calls to their clients, health volunteers, colleagues or superiors. These phone calls are also reciprocal in nature. Besides, the parties exchange or share other health data and information through text messages, pictures, videos or voice clips. There are some ethical dimensions that are inherent in these practices that ought to be critically scrutinised by bioethicists. OBJECTIVE: The author has argued in this paper that informal mHealth at large scale adoption in Ghana is associated with some bioethical challenges. METHODS: in 2021 on the use of informal mHealth methods in Ghana. RESULTS: Widespread adoption of Informal mHealth in Ghana is associated with privacy invasion of both the nurses and their clients, breaches confidentiality of the parties, discredits the validity of informed consent processes and may predispose the nurses to some other significant aggregated harms. CONCLUSION: The author affirms his partial support for a formalised adoption process of informal mHealth in Ghana but has reiterated that the current ethical challenges associated with informal mHealth in Ghana cannot escape all the debilitating bioethical challenges, even if it is formalised
Alternative medicine · Bioethics · Confidentiality · Health care · Informed consent · Internet privacy · mHealth · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Telemedicine · Computer Science · COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing · ICT in Developing Communities · Law · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing · Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |