THE USE OF MOBILE PHONES TO IMPROVE THE FOLLOW-UP OF CHILDREN AGED 0 TO 59 MONTHS IN THE DIALAKOROBA HEALTH AREA
Abstract
Abstract
Infant mortality is a public health problem in Mali. Various social and health development programs have
obtained encouraging outcomes. However, there are still aspects to be strengthened in terms of data monitoring
and management. The objective of this study was to combine mobile telephony with an information system to
improve the monitoring of underprivileged primary school children.We performed a 13-month analysis. This
work was organized in three parts: the literature review, situational analysis, development of a system
associating the mobile phone with the open-source software DATASANTE. An intranet Wifi network made it
possible to connect mobile telephony (smartphones, tablets) to the local database. The study made it possible to
set up a computerized and individualized monitoring tool. The system recorded 7,286 personal files including
2,068 children (28% of the total) and created an Internal Listing through the platform which gave 325 exchanges
between the doctor and the agents, or 25% of curative care. The system put in place has made it possible to
increase vaccination coverage thanks to mobile telephony supported by the DATASANTE alert function. It is
necessary that health policies accompany m-health initiatives to avoid fragmentation of the health system at the
national level.
Keywords: Mobile phone, software, computerized monitoring
