Will gender play a role in the adoption of mobile technology in international health programming?

There is a perception that men are more likely to use mobile technology than women in international health settings.  This research examined whether gender will play a role in the adoption of mobile technology into M&E systems of international health programs among international non-governmental organization (INGO) staff.

Methods:  A mixed-methods approach included key informant interviews with INGO leaders (n=12), mobile technology platform providers (n=9), and an online survey of INGO personnel (n=311) representing 65 INGOs.

Results:  Overall, 54.5% of respondents to the survey were men and 45.5% women.  There was no significant difference between men and women in having used mobile technology (p = .787).  Women were significantly more likely to be planning to use mobile technology during the next year (p = .032).  When asked directly if gender would play a role in the adoption of mobile technology for M&E systems in health only 5.9% replied yes, while 89.9% replied no with the rest undecided.  However, many research participants stated that gender will likely play a role in women’s uptake of mobile technology in program implementation with mobile technology.

Discussion:  There appear to be few gender disparities with regard to the adoption of mobile technology for M&E systems among INGO staff.  The data illustrate clear participation of INGO women in using mobile technology and a strong intention to continue to use technology to improve M&E systems in the future.  More research is needed to understand the barriers for beneficiaries to using mobile technology in international settings.