Mainstreaming mHealth into maternal health: Identifying evidence-based solutions

The WHO Technical and Advisory Review Group on mHealth (mTERG) for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMNCH) represents a WHO-convened group of recognized global experts at the intersection of mHealth and RMNCH, across research and program implementation foci. Through a transparent process of discussions,  review and systematic evaluation, the WHO mTERG works to establish methodologies and build consensus recommendations for identification of mHealth strategies with substantial evidence of health system value for RMNCH. Established in 2012, the mTERG is convened on a regular basis to ensure that evidence generated by mHealth implementations is translated into actionable recommendations for decision-makers. The first area of evidence cataloguing, grading, and synthesis is on the topic of maternal health. This presentation focuses on detailing the methodologies, findings, and translation of the evidence into mainstream mechanisms that aim to ensure widespread adoption for evidence-based mHealth solutions.

 This presentation provides an overview of the methodologies developed and utilized by the WHO mTERG to: catalogue the activities and evidence of mHealth strategies for maternal health; grade and synthesize the evidence; and articulate the evidence and best practices such that they resonate with maternal health decision-makers present at the mHealth meeting and beyond. Additionally, the presentation will provide participants with an overview of how mHealth projects, strategies and associated evidence are classified and assessed, and the specific tools that have been created for this purpose. Participants will be introduced to the tools of evidence cataloguing and grading, synthesis findings, and locations where these can be easily accessed.