264662 CycleTel™ in India: Using Pilot Results to Inform mHealth Business Planning

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Priya Jha, MA , Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, New Delhi, India
Esha Kalra, MA , IRH/India, Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, Vasant Vihar, India
Meredith Puleio, BA , Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Victoria Jennings, PhD , School of Medicine, Dept of OB/GYN; Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  
     
CycleTel™ offers women and couples in India a modern, effective option for non-hormonal family planning (FP) via mobile phones. Developed by Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH), CycleTel is a mHealth service that supports use of the Standard Days Method® (SDM) by alerting a woman of her fertile days each menstrual cycle via text messages. Pilot results validated the feasibility and acceptability of CycleTel among users, and informed the development of elements of a business plan for CycleTel.

Before a public launch, it was important to test the innovation with a target group, comprised of women aged 19-36, with an educational level of “higher secondary” or above, and a need for FP. In exit interviews, over 80% of respondents (n=653) indicated that they liked CycleTel because it had no health side-effects, was easy-to-use, and provided timely reminders. While 90% of users would recommend CycleTel to friends, about 50% of the participants were interested in using CycleTel further. These users would also pay a monthly subscription fee for the service.

Based on the pilot results and additional sources, IRH worked with a leading business consulting firm in India to develop a business plan for CycleTel. Findings supported the profiling of a target market, defining CycleTel's value proposition, and building assumptions for the financial model. Analysis also indicated that product-positioning and sustained customer engagement beyond text messaging would increase customer retention over time. The process followed is an important consideration for those contemplating how to sustain an innovation beyond research/pilot projects.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to explain CycleTel™, a user-directed mobile health service to facilitate use of the Standard Days Method® (SDM) of family planning. 2) Participants will be able to identify the ways in which pilot results can inform business planning, and what key questions should be included in pilot research to inform business planning. 3) Participants will be able to articulate the importance of a business plan for sustaining innovations.

Keywords: International Family Planning, India

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: as the Director of Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health, I have overseen the research and development of the technology, CycleTel, that the presentation is about. I am also one of the inventors of the Standard Days Method, on which CycleTel is based.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4318.2: Innovations in International Health 2