Perceptions on a mobile health intervention to improve maternal child health for Syrian refugees in Turkey
Opportunities and challenges for end-user acceptability
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22084012 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christina L Meyer (0000-0001-8692-4674, RTI International), Aral Sürmeli (0000-0002-5173-3867), Caitlyn Hoeflin Hana (University of Chicago), Nirmala P Narla (0000-0002-6152-9245, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Pages | 1025675-1025675 |
| Publication date | 2022-11-22 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1025675 |
| PMID | 36483243 |
| OpenAlex | W4309734409 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 20 |
Background: Mobile health (mhealth) technology presents an opportunity to address many unique challenges refugee populations face when accessing healthcare. A robust body of evidence supports the use of mobile phone-based reminder platforms to increase timely and comprehensive access to health services. Yet, there is a dearth of research in their development for displaced populations, as well as refugee perspectives in design processes to improve effective adoptions of mhealth interventions. Objective: This study aimed to explore healthcare barriers faced by Syrian refugee women in Turkey, and their perceptions of a maternal-child health mobile application designed to provide antenatal care and vaccine services. These findings guided development of a framework for enhancing acceptability of mobile health applications specific to refugee end-users. Methods: = 14) participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. Participants had the opportunity to directly interact with an operational maternal-child health mobile application during the interview. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified critical factors and qualities mhealth developers should consider when developing user-friendly applications for refugees. Results: It was observed that a refugee's perception of the mobile health application's usability was heavily influenced by past healthcare experiences and the contextual challenges they face while accessing healthcare. The in-depth interviews with refugee end-users identified that data security, offline capability, clear-user directions, and data retrievability were critical qualities to build into mobile health applications. Among the features included in the maternal-child health application, participants most valued the childhood vaccination reminder and health information features. Furthermore, the application's multi-lingual modes (Arabic, Turkish, and English) strengthened the application's usability among Syrian refugee populations living in Turkey. Conclusions: The inclusion of refugee perceptions in mhealth applications offers unique developer insights for building more inclusive and effective tools for vulnerable populations. Basic upfront discussions of the mobile application's health goals and its personal value to the user may improve their long-term use. Further prospective research is needed on retention and use of mobile health applications for refugee women and other displaced populations
Health care · Internet privacy · mHealth · Mobile device · Mobile phone · Mobile technology · Political science · Psychological intervention · Refugee · Usability · World Wide Web · Computer Science · ICT in Developing Communities · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing
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| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |