Assessing the acceptability of mobile telephone-based health interventions among rural women in Thomonde, Haiti

BACKGROUND: The growing availability of mobile telephones in the rural developing world may provide a novel mechanism for health information delivery. Where basic health infrastructure is scant, mobile telephone technology has significant potential to increase access to health providers.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the availability of mobile telephones and the acceptability of text messaging for communicating health information to women residing in rural Haiti.

METHODS: Community health workers (CHWs) in Thomonde, Haiti administered a questionnaire assessing mobile telephone usage, attitudes towards text messaging, and preferred ways of being contacted about health concerns.

RESULTS: 341 women were surveyed. 41.9% owned, or had access to, a mobile telephone (age-stratified rates were 56.5% [18-30], 42.7% [31-49], and 25.0% [50+]). Of those women, 82.5% stated that they regularly send and receive text messages on their mobile telephone and 36.5% expressed interest in receiving health information via text messaging. 5.0% preferred being contacted by mobile telephones about health concerns when compared to the CHWs (90.6%) or at the clinic (3.8%). The median travel time to the clinic was 120 minutes.

CONCLUSIONS: The growing ubiquity of mobile telephones offers a sustainable and scalable opportunity for remote healthcare interventions. Among women in Thomonde, the availability of mobile telephones paired with the general acceptability of text messaging health interventions, such as preventive screening reminders, has significant potential to improve health outcomes in this community. Utilizing locally relevant infrastructure, we intend to implement a pilot project assessing the feasibility of linking rural women in Haiti with CHWs through mobile telephones.